Page 4A | GRUNION GAZETTE | January 12, 2012
O’Donnell Attempts Third Term By Harry Saltzgaver Executive Editor
Patrick O’Donnell will try for a third term representing the Fourth District on the Long Beach City Council instead of running for a state Assembly seat, as previously announced. The announcement came in an email press release Friday afternoon. Since Beverly O’Neill successfully ran for a third term as mayor in 2002, three council members (Jackie Kell, Tonia Reyes Uranga and Val Lerch) have tried and failed to win a third term under the city’s term limit rules. O’Donnell was first elected in 2004 — defeating Dennis Carroll, who ironically authored the city’s term limit law. O’Donnell’s name cannot appear on the April primary ballot, but would appear in the June election if he makes it into a runoff. “I think I have more to offer the city, and that’s where my heart lays,” O’Donnell said. “I played a significant role in the city hav-
ing a balanced budget, and helped make a lot of positive progress. I want to continue that.” Last August, O’Donnell announced that he would seek a state Assembly seat in the newly formed 70th Assembly District. Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske also has announced she would seek that seat. However, current state Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal said in November that she would seek a last term in the Assembly from the 70th District instead of pursuing a previously announced run for the state Senate. All three candidates are Democrats, as is Assemblyman Ricardo Lara, who also is running for the 33rd Senate District seat (where Lowenthal would have ran) and has the backing of party officials. The announcement caught two of the already-announced candidates for the Fourth District by surprise. “People have associated me with Councilman O’Donnell for years,” said Daryl Supernaw, a
business consultant who has been an announced candidate since October. “Now I have to differentiate myself and show how I will be unique… When I announced I would run, I had absolute assurance that this scenario would not take place, that a write-in was not in the cards.” John Watkins, a retired police officer who was the first candidate to announce, said he would continue to run as well. He said O’Donnell will break the public’s trust by running a third time. “Councilman O’Donnell has served well for the last eight years,” Watkins said. “But the voters voted for term limits in 1992, and it’s unfortunate that the councilman would go against that decision.” The third announced candidate, Herlinda Chico, immediately suspended her campaign and said she would support O’Donnell. She said the only reason she was running was to continue O’Donnell’s policies. O’Donnell said that there is never a sure thing in politics. “That’s the reality,” he said. “Any time you run, you have to know that the unexpected is possible.” In his press release, O’Donnell said that he wants a third City Council term to continue a path of fiscal conservancy with recent budget and other reforms. “With me, you know what you are getting,” he said in the release. “I am a straight shooter that has worked hard to balance the city budget by instilling reforms and long-term thinking into the city budget process, both of which are too often left behind in the era of term limits.” The primary election is on April 10. The candidate nominating period when there is no incumbent on the ballot ends Wednesday, Jan. 18 The write-in candidate filing period begins Feb. 13.