* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. ALL RIGHT. [00:00:01] GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UM, WE ARE SIX MINUTE PASS. UM, BUT I KNOW THAT IT'S THE NEW YEAR AND WE'RE ALL CATCHING UP. UH, SO I'M [CALL TO ORDER] GONNA OFFICIALLY START OUR MEETING. UH, WELCOME TO THE EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, AND I LOVE TO SEE ALL THE RANK CHOICE SUPPORTERS IN THE ROOM, SO THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. ALRIGHT, MADAM CLERK, MAY WE PLEASE HAVE ROLL [ROLL CALL] CALL. COMMISSIONER BROWN HERE. COMMISSIONER BUTLER. I'M HERE. COMMISSIONER DE LEON. COMMISSIONER DOCKERY. COMMISSIONER COLE? YES. COMMISSIONER LARA HERE. COMMISSIONER LIZETTE FLORES. HERE. COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SAMME WILD HERE. COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SHA MALONE HERE AND CHAIR COVINGTON HERE WE HAVE CORA. THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR [CHAIR REMARKS] THIS TO BE OUR FIRST, UH, EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING. UH, I JUST WANT TO EXPRESS AND WISH EVERYONE A GOOD YEAR INTO THIS NEW YEAR. I WAS SADDENED AND ANGERED, UM, BY THE LOSS OF LIFE TODAY BY AN ICE OFFICER, UM, BASED OFF OF MY READING. UH, THIS WAS A PERSON WHO WAS OUT THERE TRYING TO HELP. UH, THE COMMUNITY WAS A LEGAL OBSERVER AND, UH, DUE TO RASH DECISIONS OF OFFICER, ICE OFFICER, ICE AGENT, UM, THEY LOST THEIR LIFE. UM, AND SO AS WE MOVE INTO THIS YEAR, UH, WITH OPTIMISM, LET'S BE REMINDED THAT EVEN WITH OPTIMISM, THERE ARE GONNA BE CHALLENGES, UH, THAT LIE AHEAD. AND THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN RISE TO THE MOMENT IS BEING IN UNITY AS COMMUNITY, UH, FIGHTING FOR EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS, UM, TOGETHER. UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, LET'S MOVE OVER TO ITEM NUMBER ONE. BEFORE WE DO SO, JUST FOR THE RECORD, COMMISSIONER DE LEON AND COMMISSIONER DOCKERY ARE EXCUSED FROM THE MEETING. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? SEEING NONE. ITEM NUMBER ONE [1. 26-57394 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Equity and Human Relations Commission meeting of Wednesday, November 5, 2025.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] IS A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 2025. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND PLEASE? UH, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COLE. THANK YOU. UH, ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES? IF THERE ARE ANY IN PERSON FOR THE MINUTES, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AND IF THERE'S ANY IN THE ZOOM FOR ITEM NUMBER ONE, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FUNCTION. NOW, SEEING NONE, BOTH IN PERSON AND ZOOM, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER ONE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, MAY WE HAVE A VOTE PLEASE? COMMISSIONER BUTLER? I CAN TAKE A VERBAL THANK YOU. MOTION IS CARRIED. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MAY WE MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO? ITEM NUMBER TWO [2. 26-57395 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on Ranked Choice Voting and its effect on Equity and Human Relations in the City of Long Beach, from the RCV in the LBC Steering Committee.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION ON RANK CHOICE VOTING AND ITS EFFECT ON EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH FROM THE RCV IN THE LVC STEERING COMMITTEE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ITEM MOVED BY COMMISSIONER COLE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DR. LARA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND THEN LET'S GO OVER TO PUBLIC. NO, LET'S HAVE THE PRESENTATION FIRST. UH, SO WHO WILL BE JOINING US AND PROVIDING THE PRESENTATION. OKAY. COME UP TO THE PODIUM. AND THEN DO WE HAVE THE CLICKER FOR THEM? YES, THE CLICKER'S AT THE PODIUM. SO YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND CLICK THE FORWARD, UM, ARROW. YOU WANT TO TEST IT OUT, MAKE SURE IT WORKS. SOMETIMES WE HAVE TECH ISSUES. ALL RIGHT, PERFECT. ALL GOOD? ALL RIGHT. TAKE IT AWAY. I WON'T DO THAT. UH, HELLO COMMISSIONERS. UH, AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING US AND THE REST OF OUR COALITION HERE TO YOUR MEETING TONIGHT. MY NAME IS RENEE HOLIDAY. I'M ONE OF THE, UH, STEERING MEMBER COMMITTEES [00:05:01] FOR RCV AND THE LBC. I'M ALSO A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST OF AMERICA CHAPTER HERE IN LONG BEACH. AND I'M ERIN. I AM ONE OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, FOR RCV AND LBC, AND I CAME TO THIS THROUGH, UH, CAL RCV, WHICH IS A NON-PARTISAN GROUP WORKING TOWARDS RANK CHOICE VOTING ACROSS CALIFORNIA. AND WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT RANKED CHOICE VOTING, UH, AND HOW WE CAN MAKE DEMOCRACY MORE EQUITABLE IN LONG BEACH THROUGH A RANKED CHOICE VOTING SYSTEM. SO, UH, IF YOU'LL PERMIT ME A LITTLE BIT OF PARTICIPATION BY SHOW OF HANDS, WHO HERE HAS HEARD OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING BEFORE? JUST SO I KNOW WHERE THE SLATE IS. OKAY. COUPLE PEOPLE. FUNNY ENOUGH, THIS IS ACTUALLY KIND OF THE PROPORTIONS THAT I'VE SEEN WHEN TALKING TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THIS. UH, I WOULD SAY IT'S ABOUT A 70 30 SPLIT HERE IN LONG BEACH OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW WHERE RANKED CHOICE VOTING IS IN ABOUT 30% WHO MAYBE HAVE HEARD OF IT BEFORE, UH, WHETHER THEY'VE HEARD ABOUT IT THROUGH OTHER MEANS IN IN THE PAST DECADE OR NOT, OR MOST RECENTLY THROUGH THE NEW YORK MAYORAL ELECTION. I'VE, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT IT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME THERE. SHOUT OUT TO NEW YORK FROM THE PEOPLE BEHIND US. BUT, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND WE'LL COVER THE BASICS FIRST. UH, AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE PROS OF WHY IT WOULD BE EQUITABLE FOR US HERE IN LONG BEACH. UH, BEFORE WE CAN GET INTO WHAT IT IS, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IT IS NOT, AND THAT IS OUR CURRENT STATE, WHICH IS THE TWO ROUND RUNOFF. I'M SURE YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS, BUT, UH, JUST TO CLARIFY, THE WAY THAT ELECTIONS WORK IN LONG BEACH RIGHT NOW IS, UH, THAT WE HAVE A TWO ROUND RUNOFF SYSTEM. WE HAVE THE PRIMARIES IN WHICH ANY CANDIDATE CAN RUN, AND THEN WE HAVE THE GENERAL. SO IN THE PRIMARY, IF A CANDIDATE RECEIVES A MAJORITY, WHICH IS 50% PLUS 1% OF THE VOTE, UH, THEN NO GENERAL ELECTION IS HELD. THAT PERSON IS ELECTED, WE MOVE ON WITH OUR DAY. IF NO CANDIDATE RECEIVES THE MAJORITY, THEN THE TOP TWO CANDIDATES ARE VOTED ON IN THE GENERAL ELECTION. THIS IS OKAY, BUT IT HAS A LOT OF GLARING ISSUES FOR ONE, UH, HAVING A PRIMARY AND A GENERAL ELECTION MEANS A LONGER CAMPAIGN TIMELINE, WHICH MEANS HIGHER COSTS FOR, UH, PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE FUNDRAISING CAPABILITIES OF SOMEBODY WHO IS SORT OF ALREADY IN CONNECTION WITH A LOT OF, UH, PACS AND DONATIONS AND THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN LATER. UM, ANOTHER THING IS THAT SIMILAR CANDIDATES SPLIT VOTES IN HERE, YOU CAN ONLY VOTE FOR ONE CANDIDATE, WHICH MEANS IF TWO PEOPLE WITH MAYBE BOTH PROGRESSIVE IDEAS OR, UM, BOTH SIMILAR IDEAS ON ONE PARTICULAR ISSUE OR NOT BOTH RUN, THEN YOU SORT OF HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THOSE TWO. AND SO WE CALL THIS VOTE SPLITTING. UH, AND THEN LAST, BUT, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS NEAR OR DEAR TO MY HEART IS THAT LOW TURNOUT EQUALS LESS VOTES. WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN LOOKING BACK IN THE ELECTION HISTORY HERE IN LONG BEACH IS THAT THERE IS DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL ELECTION THAN THERE IS IN THE PRIMARY. THIS IS CONSISTENT ELECTION CYCLE OVER ELECTION CYCLE, AND IT'S ESPECIALLY EGREGIOUS ON PRESIDENTIAL YEARS. WE'LL TAKE 2024, FOR EXAMPLE, IN 20 24, 90 8,000 EXTRA PEOPLE VOTED IN THE GENERAL ELECTION THAN THEY DID IN THE PRIMARY ELECTION, BUT BY THEN THREE OF THE FOUR CITY COUNCIL SEATS THAT WERE UP FOR GRABS WERE ALREADY DECIDED ON IN THE PRIMARY. THAT MEANS, OF THOSE 98,000 PEOPLE, WHOEVER WAS IN THOSE FOUR, UM, DISTRICTS DID NOT GET TO DECIDE WHO THEIR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER WAS. I THINK THAT'S PARTICULARLY EGREGIOUS. WE'VE SEEN TIME AFTER TIME, THE PRIMARY WINS ARE BY LESS THAN A THOUSAND VOTES, AS LITTLE AS ONE TO 200 VOTES IN A DISTRICT WHERE THERE ARE, UH, 50,000, UH, ELIGIBLE VOTERS. THIS IS EGREGIOUS TO ME AND TO MANY PEOPLE BEHIND ME. ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT RANK CHOICE VOTING IS AND HOW IT ADDRESSES SOME OF THESE ISSUES. SO RANK CHOICE VOTING IS A SIMPLE UPGRADE TO HOW YOU VOTE, WHERE INSTEAD OF VOTING FOR A SINGLE CANDIDATE, YOU'RE VOTING FOR YOUR FIRST CHOICE, SECOND CHOICE, THIRD CHOICE. AND AS A VOTER, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS I'M RANKING THIS PERSON FIRST, THIS PERSON SECOND, THIS PERSON THIRD, AND YOU CAN TURN IN YOUR BALLOT UNDER THE HOOD. WHAT HAPPENS IS, UH, IF THE PERSON THAT YOU VOTED FOR AS YOUR TOP CHOICE CAN'T WIN, THEN YOUR VOTE AUTOMATICALLY GOES TO YOUR NEXT CHOICE. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS EXAMPLE UP HERE, UM, IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND, CANDIDATE A HAD 40%, CANDIDATE B HAD 23, AND CANDIDATE C HAD 37. SO NO ONE REACHED THAT 50% PLUS ONE THRESHOLD. SO THE CANDIDATE WITH THE LOWEST VOTES IS ELIMINATED. SO THAT'S CANDIDATE B. AND YOU CAN SEE UP THERE THAT I THINK IT'S 6% VOTED FOR A SECOND AND 6% OR, AND 17% VOTED FOR C SECOND. SO THEN IN THE SECOND ROUND WHERE [00:10:01] B HAS BEEN ELIMINATED, UH, C ACTUALLY DOES REACH THAT 50% PLUS ONE THRESHOLD, AND THEY WIN THE ELECTION. SO IT JUST MEANS THAT IF I WANNA VOTE FOR CANDIDATE B, THAT'S A CANDIDATE THAT I REALLY VIBE WITH, I CAN STILL HAVE A SAFE CHOICE, UH, AS MY SECOND CHOICE. UM, AND I DON'T WASTE MY VOTE, I DON'T SPLIT MY VOTE. IF THERE'S TWO CANDIDATES THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR, UM, AND IT HAS BENEFITS, UH, THAT WILL GET INTO WITH EQUITY AS WELL. SO THE THING ABOUT RANK CHOICE VOTING IS IT'S AN INSTANT RUNOFF. SO YOU GET ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED TO BASICALLY DO THE SAME THING THAT WE HAVE WITH THE PRIMARY AND THE GENERAL, BUT YOU ONLY NEED TO COLLECT PEOPLE'S VOTES ONE TIME. SO YOU CAN HAVE A SHORTER ELECTION CYCLE. THAT MEANS THAT CANDIDATES HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO RUN BECAUSE IT IS CHEAPER BOTH IN TIME AND MONEY TO RUN FOR OFFICE. SO MORE PEOPLE HAVE A CHANCE TO RUN. AND WE HAVE HIGHER TURNOUT BECAUSE PEOPLE ONLY HAVE TO SHOW UP TO VOTE ONE TIME, AND THAT'S THE GENERAL ELECTION, WHICH WE'VE SEEN HAS WAY HIGHER TURNOUT THAN PRIMARY. AND THE LAST BULLET UP THERE IS THAT THIS WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AS A TRIGGER CLAUSE. UH, WHAT THAT MEANS IS LA COUNTY PRINTS OUR BALLOTS. SO EVEN IF LONG BEACH ADOPTED THIS TODAY, WE WOULD WAIT UNTIL LA COUNTY SUPPORTED IT, AND ONCE IT DOES, WE WOULD ADOPT IT. UM, THAT'S MORE OF A LOGISTICAL POINT. SO TO REITERATE, AND WE'LL DIG INTO ALL OF THESE POINTS, WHY DO WE NEED IT? FOR ONE, IT ENSURES ACTUAL MAJORITY SUPPORT INSTEAD OF THE PLURALITY THAT WE'RE USED TO. IT INCREASES PARTICIPATION FOR PEOPLE THAT FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER ONLY VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION. AND IT ALSO LOWERS THE BARRIER OF ENTRY FOR CANDIDATES, UH, CANDIDATES OF COLOR, UH, CANDIDATES THAT ARE WOMEN. MANY REASONS WE'LL GET INTO THIS. JUST TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF A RECAP THOUGH, UH, LAST MONTH WE ALSO PRESENTED TO THE COMMISSION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS, AND THEY DECIDED ON THEIR OWN TO CREATE AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO FURTHER RESEARCH RCV WITH, UH, HOPEFUL THE EXPECTATION THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND IT TO CITY COUNCIL. SO JUST KIND OF TO CATCH YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHO IN THE CITY SORT OF ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT IT AND SORT OF WHAT THEY'VE DONE. UM, WE'RE ALSO IN TALKS WITH, UM, SOME CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL. NOW LET'S, LET'S GET INTO WHAT YOU GUYS CARE ABOUT, WHICH IS HOW RANKED CHOICE VOTING, UH, ENFORCES EQUITY. SO LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE SHORTER CAMPAIGN TIMELINES REALLY MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. UM, LOOKING AT THE FINANCES FOR OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MOST OF THEM FUNDRAISE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO RUN FOR OFFICE IN LONG BEACH. UM, THIS IS OUT OF REACH FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYONE HAS RICH FRIENDS, AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE A, THAT SHOULDN'T BE A PREREQUISITE TO RUN FOR OFFICE. UM, AND SO CUTTING THE ELECTION TIME DOWN GIVES MORE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RUN. UH, THE SAME IS SAID WITH, UH, FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES UP THERE. IT JUST TAKES LESS TIME TO RUN FOR OFFICE IF THE ELECTION SE UH, SEASON IS ONLY A FEW MONTHS INSTEAD OF AN EXTRA 3, 3, 4 MONTHS BECAUSE OF A PRIMARY AND A GENERAL. SO JUST REALLY, REALLY REDUCING THE BURDEN FOR RUNNING FOR OFFICE AND GIVING MORE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO GET IN THE GAME. AND IF YOU HAVE THE BEST IDEAS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN FOR OFFICE EXACTLY. IF YOU HAVE THE BEST IDEAS, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN FOR , LIKE FIGHTING FOR THE REMOTE. UM, SECONDLY WE'LL TALK ABOUT CROSS ENDORSEMENT AND POLICY DRIVEN CAMPAIGNING. SO CROSS ENDORSEMENT IS SOMETHING THAT RIGHT NOW CAN SORT OF ONLY HAPPEN WITH RANK CHOICE VOTING. YOU GUYS ARE SORT OF FAMILIAR THAT ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND OFTENTIMES IN LOCAL AS WELL, THAT, UM, STRATEGIES ARE BASED ON SURE, POLICY FIRST, BUT THEN ALSO WHY THE PERSON NEXT TO ME IS BAD AND WHY YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR THEM. UM, THIS, AT ITS WORST, CAN WHITTLE DOWN TO STEREOTYPING BASED ON SOMEBODY'S RELIGION, BASED ON THEIR SKIN COLOR, BASED ON THEIR GENDER, BASED ON, UH, MANY OF THESE REASONS. NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING SHOWS UP ALL SORTS OF PLACES FOR ALL SORTS OF REASONS. AND THE PERSON WITH THE MOST MONEY AND THE MOST POWERFUL MESSAGE ABOUT WHY THAT PERSON IS BAD OFTEN WINS. THIS IS NOT A WAY TO DO POLITICS WITH RANKED CHOICE VOTING. WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN MANY PLACES ALREADY IS WE SEE CROSS ENDORSEMENT PEOPLE WITH, UM, SIMILAR CAMPAIGN POLICIES, UH, SIMILAR WAYS TO SORT OF RUN THE CITY. THEY'LL SAY, HEY, THIS PERSON HAS GOOD IDEAS. I HAVE GOOD IDEAS AS WELL. VOTE FOR ME FIRST. VOTE FOR HER SECOND. OR IF YOU WANT, VOTE FOR HER FIRST VOTE FOR ME SECOND. [00:15:01] AND THAT WAY THESE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO ACTUALLY COME TOGETHER, NOT SPLIT THAT VOTE AS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, AND ARE ABLE TO PUSH THESE SORT OF, UH, AGENDAS THAT THAT MAY BE A LITTLE LESS POPULAR IF IT'S ONLY ONE PERSON WITH LESS MONEY RUNNING FOR IT. UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, AS ERIN ALLUDED TO EARLIER, FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMES INTO PLAY HERE WITH NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING. SOMETIMES UNFORTUNATELY, WE SEE A SORT OF SMEAR CAMPAIGN AND, AND FAMILIES ARE, ARE FELT THREATENED BY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S, UM, A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THOSE KIDS ARE CURRENTLY IN SCHOOL AND, AND THERE'S SOME SORT OF POLITICS GOING ON OVER THERE. UM, SOME PEOPLE ARE DISCOURAGED FROM, UH, RUNNING FOR OFFICE FOR THESE REASONS. UH, BASED ON A STUDY, UM, THAT WE SAW FROM 20 24, 80 4% OF WOMEN SAID THAT, UH, FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES AND, AND KEEPING IN LINE AND KEEPING THEIR FAMILY SAFE IS AT LEAST A MINOR REASON WHY IT MAKES IT HARDER FOR WOMEN TO RUN FOR OFFICE. UH, AND SO WE CARE ABOUT THESE THINGS. AND WITH THE REDUCTION IN NEGATIVE AND CRITICAL CAMPAIGNING AND A FOCUS ON POLICY, WE'RE ABLE TO SORT OF ELIMINATE SOME OF THESE ISSUES. SPEAKING OF POLICY IS ANOTHER STUDY THAT SHOWS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY YOUNG WOMEN PARTICULARLY CARE ABOUT POLICY DRIVEN CAMPAIGNS. THEY, THEY, THERE ARE SINGLE ISSUES OR A PLETHORA OF ISSUES, WHETHER THAT'S ABORTION, WHETHER THAT'S CIVIL RIGHTS, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, PROTECTION FOR WORKERS, UH, THAT PEOPLE REALLY CARE ABOUT. AND THEY WOULD LOVE TO VOTE FOR SOMEONE THAT ALIGNS WITH THEIR GOALS. WHETHER OR NOT THAT PERSON MAY BE THE MOST POPULAR PERSON ON THE BALLOT WITH MAKE CHOICE VOTING. THEY, THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE VOTING FOR THAT PERSON INSTEAD OF GOING, I GUESS I HAVE TO GO WITH THE SAFE CHOICE, I HAVE TO GO WITH, YOU KNOW, WHAT ALL MY FRIENDS ARE TALKING ABOUT. SO WE SORT OF TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE PRINCIPLED IDEAS, WHY IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR A CANDIDATE WHO IS A CHALLENGER TO THE INCUMBENCY, WHETHER THAT IS A LACK OF RESOURCES OR A PERSON OF COLOR OR STATISTICALLY, UH, A WOMAN CANDIDATE, WHY IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR THEM TO RUN. WE'VE SHOWN YOU, UH, WHY IT MIGHT EMPOWER VOTERS TO ACTUALLY USE THEIR VOICE AND VOTE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY FOR WHO THEY ACTUALLY WANT. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DATA. MARGINALIZED GROUPS WIN AND THIS MAKES CITY COUNCILS MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF ITS POPULATION. UM, THE PICTURE THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE RIGHT, UH, IS A STUDY BY REPRESENT WOMEN FROM 2024 LOOKING AT RCV ELECTED CITY COUNCILS VERSUS CITY COUNCILS OF THE LARGEST 100 CITIES. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WOMEN MAKE UP 52% OF THESE SEATS AS OPPOSED TO 33% IN THE LARGEST 100 CITIES. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY MUCH MORE, UM, ALIGNED TO HOW WE SEE OUR GENERAL POPULATIONS AND DEMOGRAPHICS, WHERE THAT'S MORE OF A, AN EVEN SPLIT THERE. UH, THIS IS ALSO THE CASE FOR MAYORAL. UH, I'LL NOTE WITH, UH, 38% OF MAYORAL CANDIDATES BECOMING, UM, MAYORS BEING WOMEN VERSUS JUST 33%, UH, OUTSIDE OF THESE RCB ELECTED CITIES. ON THE LEFT, YOU WILL SEE A CASE STUDY OF THE FOUR BAY AREAS THAT USE RANKED CHOICE VOTING. I'LL NOTE RIGHT NOW, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, SAN FRANCISCO HAS ACTUALLY HAD RANKED CHOICE VOTING SINCE 2004. UM, AND IT'S IN PLENTY OF OTHER MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, STATEWIDE AND, AND MAINE AND ALASKA. IT'S USING PLENTY OF PLACES, BUT WE'RE LOOKING HERE AT THE FOUR BAY AREA CITIES THAT USE RANK CHOICE VOTING ALREADY AND SHOWING THAT CANDIDATES OF COLOR HAVE WON 62% OF THESE RANKED CHOICE VOTING RACES COMPARED TO ONLY 38%, UH, PRIOR TO RANKED CHOICE VOTING. SAN FRANCISCO HAS A POPULATION THAT IS 34% WHITE, AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, POST RCV, THAT, UM, DISPARITY OF WHERE THOSE ELECTED SEATS ARE GOING TO IS MUCH MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POPULATION OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAN IT WAS PRE RCV. ALL RIGHT? AND SO WE WANNA END HERE ON OUR COALITION. SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO, UH, COMMUNITY GROUPS ACROSS LONG BEACH, UH, TO GET SUPPORT. WE ALSO HAVE SURGE, WHICH, UH, HAS NOT BEEN ADDED YET, BUT, UH, RECENTLY SIGNED ON. AND, UH, WE'RE REALLY WORKING TO MAKE THIS A UNITED THING. IT'S NOT ABOUT ANY ONE GROUP, UH, STANDING OUT A ABOVE THE OTHERS. WE WANNA GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO BE REPRESENTED IN THEIR CITY AND, UH, BE ABLE TO TRUST THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT IS WORKING FOR THEM. AND WITH THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN GATHERING PEOPLE AND YEAH, WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. YEP. THANK YOU SO [00:20:01] MUCH GUYS. WE HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER RANK CHOICE VOTING. IT IS NOT NEW. UH, IT IS NOT AN EXPERIMENT. IT IS PROVEN TO, TO HAVE GOOD RESULTS FOR, UH, CANDIDATES OF COLOR AND EMPOWERING VOTERS ACROSS ALL DEMOGRAPHICS TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN HAVE A VOICE IN THEIR POLITICS. AND WE HOPE YOU'D CONSIDER THAT AS YOU START TO PONDER AFTER WE LEAVE HERE TODAY, THE EFFECTS OF FRANK CHOICE VOTING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, UM, BEFORE WE GO INTO THE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE TO OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK FOR QUESTIONS AND, UH, DISCUSSION. UH, CAN I GET A SHOW OF HANDS IN THE ROOM? WHO'S GOING TO BE PROVIDING PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? ONLY 2, 3, 4. OKAY, COOL. UM, SO WE'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES EACH, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM. UM, MADAM CLERK, CAN WE PLEASE CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME? FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AND IF THERE'S ANY IN THE ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE NOW, OR DIAL STAR NINE IF CALLING IN. OKAY. SO FOR THOSE IN PERSON, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. HELLO, MY NAME'S KATHLEEN ADAMS. I'M FROM DISTRICT FOUR, LONG BEACH RESIDENT SINCE 1972. UM, I AM A PARTICIPANT WITH CLUE, WHICH STANDS FOR CLERGY AND LADY UNITED FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE. AND WE BELIEVE THAT SOLIDARITY IS SACRED. IT'S AN INTERFAITH GROUP WITH MEMBERS, UH, FROM CONGREGATIONS ALL OVER LONG BEACH AND OTHER PARTS OF CALIFORNIA. UM, WE'RE, I'M HERE TO SUPPORT THE RANK CHOICE VOTING. WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE PEOPLE FEEL DISILLUSIONED BY GOVERNMENT AND DON'T TRUST THAT OUR VOTE MATTERS. RANKED CHOICE VOTING HELPS ENCOURAGE VOTERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION BECAUSE THEY CAN VOTE FOR LEADERS THEY BELIEVE IN AND RANK THEM IN ORDER, RATHER THAN HAVING TO CHOOSE JUST ONE CANDIDATE. AMONG MANY, WE HAVE SEEN THE SYSTEM WORK IN MANY CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THIS SYSTEM WILL MAKE MORE LONG BEACH, MAKE LONG BEACH OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE MORE EQUITABLE BECAUSE IT LOWERS THE BARRIERS FOR CANDIDATES TO RUN AND EMPOWERS VOTERS TO CHOOSE BASED ON THEIR VALUES. WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT VOTE SPLITTING, I URGE YOU TO SUPPORT RANK CHOICE VOTING. THANK YOU. HI. GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS. UM, I, I THINK MOST OF THE POINTS WERE, UH, REALLY THOROUGHLY COVERED IN THE PRESENTATION. I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK MORE ON THE LOGISTICS OF, UM, POSSIBLY MOVING THIS ITEM FORWARD. UH, I DO THINK THAT THE COMMISSIONS ARE VERY GRASSROOTS WAY FOR PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED IN THEIR GOVERNMENT. AND, UH, YOU ALL ARE SORT OF GRASSROOTS REPRESENTATIVES OF WHAT WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM THE PEOPLE? WHAT ARE YOU HEARING IN YOUR COMMUNITY? AND SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS THE COMMISSIONS PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN POLICY MAKING. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE POLICIES COME FROM COMMISSIONS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN THEIR, IN THEIR COMMISSIONS AND THEY, THEY UTILIZE THESE COMMISSIONS AS WAYS TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP PUBLIC POLICY. SO I WOULD HOPE THAT THIS COMMISSION WOULD MOVE TO ENDORSE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF STUDY OR RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, WHERE THAT, WHERE THE POWER ACTUALLY LIES, UH, TO, TO MOVE THIS INTO SOME SORT OF POLICY. SO AS IT IS LISTED, IT IS, UH, IT IS A RECEIVE AND FILE PRESENTATION, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT MOVING FORWARD, UH, THERE CAN BE A SECOND ITEM THAT IS AN ACTION ITEM, UH, THAT WOULD ACTUALLY MOVE THIS, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE THIS ITEM UP. THANK YOU. HELLO. GOOD COUNCIL PEOPLE. MY NAME IS JACKIE WEBER. I'M ALSO WITH, UM, CLUE CLERGY AND LA UNITED FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE. UM, WE ARE AN ORGANIZED, CONNECTED INTERFAITH MOVEMENT THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER TO MAKE A MORE, UM, UH, A SOCIETY WHERE EVERYBODY CAN THRIVE. WE ARE, UM, PROUD TO BE, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH THE EFFORT AND ENDORSING THE EFFORT FOR RANKED CHOICE VOTING SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE WHEN MORE PEOPLE CAN ENTER THE PROCESS FOR, UH, PARTICIPATING IN GOVERNANCE, THEY ARE MORE IN, I JUST HAD THIS, SO IN MY, I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S THE ONE SENTENCE THAT I NEED TO ADD TO WHAT SHE SAID. [00:25:01] WHEN MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATE, WHEN MORE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY CAN PARTICIPATE, MORE PEOPLE WILL PARTICIPATE. THE, UM, THE LAWS THAT WE ALL MAKE, THAT YOU ALL MAKE AS CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE, UM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAN REFLECT THE VALUES OF ALL THESE AMAZING PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE. LIKE, LOOK AT ALL OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE WHO ARE, UM, EXCITED AT THE PROSPECT OF PARTICIPATING IN GOVERNMENT. IMAGINE IF THAT WERE, UH, MORE COMMON. HOW WOULD OUR WORLD BE DIFFERENT? THANKS. HI, I'M CODY. I LIVE IN DISTRICT ONE. UH, GENERALLY I THINK LIKE THE US IS MEANT TO BE SORT OF REPRESENTATIONAL DEMOCRACY, CORRECT, . UM, AND CURRENTLY OUR AB CHOICES ARE PRETTY COUNTERINTUITIVE TO THAT. AND I BELIEVE RANK CHOICE VOTING WILL RE-EMPOWER VOTERS AND DISEMPOWER CANDIDATES. 'CAUSE NOW, LIKE THEY'VE SAID BEFORE, THE CURRENT ADS ARE BASICALLY JUST KNEECAP YOUR OPPONENT, RIGHT? ALL I HAVE TO DO IS PROVE THAT THEY'RE WORSE THAN ME. AND WE SEE THAT IN OUR GOVERNMENT CURRENTLY, AND IT'S NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE IF ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HAVE MONEY THAT'S NOT REALLY CIVIL SKILLS, THAT'S NOT REALLY GOVERNING, THAT'S NOT PERSONAL SKILLS, THAT'S NOT EVEN CARING ABOUT PEOPLE. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S VERY GOOD FOR OUR SOCIETY SINCE IT IS A SOCIETY MADE OF PEOPLE NOT OF POLITICIANS. AND THEIR CHOICES SHOULD REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE, YOU KNOW, A THIRD PARTY AND NOT BE SCARED THAT YOU'RE JUST DUMPING IT IN THE TRASH SO A NAZI CAN BE IN CHARGE. IT'S PRETTY MUCH BEEN THE PLAYBOOK FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS FOR OUR PRESIDENT. AND I REALIZE THAT THIS IS NOT THAT, BUT WE ARE NEXT TO LA AND WE ARE THE SECOND BIGGEST PORT ON THE PACIFIC COAST. AND I DO BELIEVE THAT LONG BEACH CAN SHIFT THE AMERICAN POLITICS. WE CAN DEFINITELY AT LEAST DO CALIFORNIA. AND I THINK JUST GETTING OUR LIKE RANKED CHOICE VOTING STARTED AND GETTING IT TO SPREAD, IT'S GONNA BE BETTER FOR FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE AND EVERYONE'S VOICES. WE HEARD MORE CLEARLY BEING ABLE TO HAVE MULTIPLE CHOICES. UM, THAT'S ALL. HELLO? UM, MY NAME IS MICHAEL. I AM NOT A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH, BUT I AM A RESIDENT OF LA. UM, I DID, UH, I DO AGREE WITH EVERYONE HERE ON RANK CHOICE, VOTING BEING, UH, AN OPTION THAT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH CAN USE. UM, I DO WANT TO JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT THE CITY OF THE LOS ANGELES DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT, UH, YEARS AGO, BUT THEY DECIDED TO GO WITH A SECOND OPTION, A MORE COSTLY OPTION, WHICH WAS DO A FUNDING MATCH FOR POLITICIANS. SO INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING REPRESENTATIONAL DEMOCRACY, IT IS INSTEAD A MONEY GRAB WHEREBY PEOPLE SPEND GIVE MONEY TO POLITICIANS FOR THE CITY OF LA AND INSTEAD THEY PAY SIX TO ONE. SO IT'S A SIX, A MATCH OF SIX TO ONE, UH, SO PEOPLE CAN SPEND MONEY TO RUN, WHICH I FEEL IS A WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS BY DOING REPRESENT, UH, RCV. UH, YOU END UP SAVING A WHOLE LOT MORE. THANK YOU. HI COMMISSIONERS. UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE. MY NAME'S SEAN MCMULLEN. I AM ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE ALONG WITH RENEE AND ERIN AND MICHELLE AND LIZ. AND I'M ALSO A, UH, COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR FOR POKEMON GO. THANKS TO POKEMON COMMUNITY WHO CAME OUT TONIGHT AS WELL AS A INNOVATOR IN RESIDENCE WITH THE LB COLAB. WE'RE, UH, YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE SAVING THE BEES AND IMPROVING OUR VACANT LOTS IN THE CITY. UH, AND YEAH, I LOVE THIS CITY. UM, SINCE FALLING, UH, MOVING HERE, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THIS CITY. AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY IN LONG BEACH IN THAT WE ARE SMALL ENOUGH THAT WE CAN ALL SHOW UP IN THIS ROOM TOGETHER, AND YOU GUYS CAN ALL SHOW UP HERE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS AND MAYBE WE CAN MOVE THIS FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL AND MAYBE A VOTE HAPPENS, AND MAYBE WE'RE VOTING ON THIS IN NOVEMBER, [00:30:01] AND THIS HAPPENS IN LONG BEACH. AND WHAT HAPPENS HERE, IT'S TAKEN NOTICE AND NOW THIS IS HAPPENING IN LA COUNTY, IN LA CITY, AND NOW ALONG WITH ALL OF THESE CITIES THAT HAVE DONE IT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NOW THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS LOOKING AT IT. AND NOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NATIONALLY. AND ALL OF THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE IN THIS ROOM TONIGHT, BECAUSE WE SHOWED UP ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN LONG BEACH. AND THAT IS REALLY COOL, AND THAT IS A REALLY AWESOME OPPORTUNITY THAT ALL OF US HAVE TOGETHER. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR TONIGHT IS, IS ASKING YOU TO JOIN US AND TO, TO BE PART OF THIS AND TO HELP MAKE, UH, LONG BEACH A MORE EQUITABLE SPACE FOR ALL OF US. UM, YEAH, SO THANKS FOR HAVING US AND THANKS FOR HEARING US OUT AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANYONE ONLINE? NO ONE HAS RAISED THEIR HAND ONLINE. SO THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO. AWESOME. UH, AND FOR OUR PRESENTERS, FEEL FREE TO COME BACK UP, UH, AND WE'LL START WITH, UH, DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS. UM, I SEE YOUR HAND, COMMISSIONER BUTLER, SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND GO FIRST AND THEN LET ME GO TO THIS SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE, IF FOLKS WANT TO QUEUE UP, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO. I CAN QUEUE WE READY? ALMOST. OKAY. BUT YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH YOUR QUESTION. OKAY. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT. IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND I PERSONALLY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT OUR CV. UM, THE YOUNG, THE WOMAN IN THE BURGUNDY SHIRT, THANK YOU FOR PROMOTING ME. I, I'M A COMMISSIONER, NOT A COUNCIL PERSON, , BUT I APPRECIATE THE PROMOTION. THEY'LL PROBABLY BE JUST BETWEEN YOU AND I . UM, I, I TOO AM EXCITED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE I SEE IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT. I I REALLY LIKE THE EXCITEMENT AND THE ENGAGEMENT AND I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO CONTINUE, UM, WITH THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AS A RESULT OF, OF THIS ISSUE. WE NEED YOUR ENERGY, WE NEED YOUR EXCITEMENT. UM, I, MY QUESTION, WHAT HAPPENS IF LA COUNTY DOESN'T APPROVE THIS CONCEPT? UH, I HEARD YOU REFERENCE THAT YOU WERE WAITING ON THEM EARLIER. SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON'T SAY YES, WE WANT TO DO THAT? SO THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS. UM, FIRST I'LL CALL OUT THAT THE CITY OF LA IS ALSO GOING THROUGH THEIR CHARTER REFORM RIGHT NOW. AND RANK CHOICE VOTING IS ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT THEY'RE DISCUSSING. SO IF LA AND US THE TOP, THE LARGEST TWO CITIES IN LA COUNTY ARE ON BOARD, THEN THE REGISTRAR WHO PRINTS OUR VOTER OR OUR BALLOTS IS PRETTY LIKELY TO GET ON BOARD. UH, THAT BEING SAID, I MEAN, REDONDO BEACH DOES PRINT ITS OWN BALLOTS, SO IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE FOR LONG BEACH TO DO IT WITHOUT THE COUNTY, BUT I DO THINK IT WOULD BE A HIGHER LIFT. YEAH. UH, OKAY. AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE I, I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SEEMS TO BE OF HIGH INTEREST IS SAVING TIME AND SAVING MONEY. SO IF LONG BEACH HAS TO PRINT THEIR OWN BALLOTS, THAT OF COURSE IT'S GONNA BE AN ADDITIONAL COST AND IT'S GOING TO BE ADDITIONAL TIME TOTALLY. IN INVOLVED, ALSO CHEAPER. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT FLIP SIDE OF COURSE OF THE COIN ALSO, SORRY, NOT TO CUT YOU OFF. UH, WE ARE HOPING, UM, THAT IF THIS DOES GO, THEN THIS GETS IMPLEMENTED ON A TRIGGER CLAUSE, WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE CHARTER REFORM DOESN'T APPROVE, UH, RANK CHOICE VOTING IN LA RIGHT NOW, UH, IT DOESN'T MATTER. WE HAVE IT IN OUR CHARTER THAT AS SOON AS THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE VOTER EQUIPMENT BECOMES AVAILABLE MM-HMM . THEN THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL PURSUE. UM, LA COUNTY HAS ITS OWN PUBLIC VOTER EQUIPMENT, WHICH IS WHY, UH, THE RCV IS NOT CURRENTLY A CAPABILITY. THERE'S A SORT OF WORKAROUND, UM, THAT'S BEING EXPLORED FOR THAT. UH, OTHER VOTING EQUIPMENT HAS THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SORT OF REPLICATE, UH, IN THIS MOMENT. BUT IN TERMS OF LONG BEACH SPECIFICALLY, IF EVERYBODY VOTES ON IT AND DECIDES THAT IT'S A GOOD IDEA FOR THE CITY, THEN IT MEANS THAT WHENEVER THAT EQUIPMENT COMES, BECOMES AVAILABLE, THAT'S WHEN WE WILL IMPLEMENT IT AND WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO GO TO A SECOND VOTE EIGHT YEARS FROM NOW. YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND I THINK I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION SLASH COMMENT. UM, YOU, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS OF THE PRIMARY ELECTION VERSUS THE GENERAL ELECTION, [00:35:01] AND SOME OF THE CONCERNS BEING, UM, SOME OF THE, WHAT WAS IT, THE CANDIDATES BEING I, I'M GONNA KIND OF PARAPHRASE, BEING SUBJECTED TO ADVERSE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS, OH, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE HARASSING THEM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ESPECIALLY WHERE THE WOMEN WHO HAVE FAMILIES AND ALL THAT STUFF IS CONCERNED. UM, DON'T YOU, DON'T YOU THINK THAT THAT KIND OF ACTIVITY IS GOING TO HAPPEN REGARDLESS WHETHER THE, WHETHER THE ELECTION PERIOD IS THREE MONTHS OR SIX MONTHS? I, I, I MEAN, I, I I'M JUST THINKING THAT THOSE ARE CON GENERAL CONCERNS, UH, FOR ANY ELECTION AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT SHORTENING THE VOTING PERIOD IS GONNA NECESSARILY ADDRESS THAT ISSUE. SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT KIND OF STUCK WITH ME. AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA KEEP IN MIND ALSO, BECAUSE EVEN IF WE GO WITH JUST THE ONE ELECTION, I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARILY GONNA GET RID OF THE MEAN-SPIRITED PEOPLE. SURE. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, CUTTING THE PRIMARY IS NOT GONNA ELIMINATE THAT, BUT RANKED CHOICE VOTING AS, UM, THE PROCESS OF VOTING DOES HELP WITH THAT. UH, WE'VE SEEN A CASE STUDY, UH, AT OUR MOST RECENT ELECTION IN ALASKA WHERE, UH, THE TOP GOP CANDIDATE FOCUSED ON DISPARAGING AND FOCUSED ON DON'T RANK ANY OTHER CANDIDATES, ONLY RANK MYSELF. WHEREAS, UH, THE SECOND HIGHEST DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE SAID, UM, AVOIDED THE DISPARAGING AND SAID, RANK AS MANY AS YOU'D LIKE. YOU HAVE THE VOICE, YOU HAVE THE POWER. AND SHE ACTUALLY CAME TO POWER. 'CAUSE PEOPLE REALIZE THAT, OH, THIS PERSON THAT'S ENCOURAGING US TO HAVE A VOICE MIGHT ENCOURAGE US TO HAVE IT IN POLITICS. WE'VE SEEN THIS IN NEW YORK AS WELL. MOST RECENTLY WITH THE, UH, MAYORAL RACE. ANDREW CUOMO RECOMMENDED THAT, UH, YOU RANK HIM AND NOBODY ELSE. UM, ZORAN MOMANI SAID IN THE PRIMARIES THAT IF YOU RANK ME, UH, RANK BRAD LANDER SECOND 'CAUSE WE HAVE VERY SIMILAR POLICIES AND, AND RANK WHOEVER YOU LIKE. I BELIEVE EVEN IN THE LAST DEBATE, HE SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D RANK MYSELF FIRST AND I, AND I'D RANK THE REPUBLICAN SECOND, CURTIS LEWA. UM, AND I WOULD NOT RANK ANDREW CUOMO. SO IT, IT GOES TO SHOW , IT GOES TO SHOW IN IN THESE EXAMPLES. AND OF COURSE THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES, BUT THEY'RE PRETTY NOTABLE FOR THE STATES THAT THEY'RE IN. THAT, UH, WHEN WE ENCOURAGE VOTERS TO VOTE MORE AND USE THAT CROSS ENDORSEMENT AS SOMETHING THAT IS INNATE TO RANK CHOICE VOTING AS A PROCESS, AND NOT JUST CUTTING OUT THE PRIMARIES, THAT, UM, LESS OF THAT SORT OF HARASSMENT AND NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING HAPPENS. SO JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I MEAN, IDEALISTICALLY SPEAKING, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE CAMPAIGNS THAT ARE SIMPLY, UH, ISSUE DRIVEN CAMPAIGNS WITHOUT ALL OF THE NAME CALLING AND THE DISPARAGING THAT GOES ON. I DON'T THINK WE'RE REALISTIC TO THINK THAT IT'S GONNA BE LIKE THAT ANYTIME SOON. BUT, UM, IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD JUST DO IT LIKE THAT. JUST FOCUS ON THE ISSUES AND THE ISSUES ONLY. AND GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING. I'M GONNA YIELD THE FLOOR AND ALLOW SOMEBODY ELSE TO TURN A TURN TO ASK QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER BUTLER. UH, QUEUED UP IS GONNA BE DR. LARA. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THERE'S A REOCCURRING THEME THAT HAS COME UP. UM, AND I HAVE THIS IN MY BRAIN AS YOU WERE PRESENTING, AND THEN I SAW SPEAKER SHARE THIS AND COMMISSIONER BUTLER SHARE THIS, UH, IN AN AGE WHERE THERE IS VERY LITTLE HOPE IN SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY, UM, IN PROMOTING JUST A HEALTHY PLANET AND CONNECTIONS WITH HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS SO REFRESHING TO SEE YOUNG FOLKS HERE AND TWO PRESENTERS HERE. UM, AND THAT GIVES ME, UH, HOPE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT REALLY CONNECTING IT TO A LARGER LEVEL. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I WANNA UPLIFT AS A THEME, UH, THAT HAS COME UP AND, UH, ADDING MY OWN VOICE TO THAT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND ALSO POWERFUL PRESENTATION. UM, I'M AN EDUCATOR BY TRAINING AND I JUST LOVE, YOU KNOW, SEEING FOLKS PRESENT THEIR WORK. AND, UH, AND I'M ACTUALLY SURPRISED I ALWAYS LEARNED SOMETHING ABOUT, I'M SURPRISED THAT I HAD NEVER HEARD OF YOUR GROUP, SO I APPRECIATE YOU COMING, 'CAUSE NOW I KNOW YOU EXIST. I, I NEVER HEARD OF POKEMON GO LONG BEACH, . I'M LIKE, YES. AND THAT REALLY SPEAKS TO JUST THE, SPEAKS TO OUR CITY, RIGHT? THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS EXIST. I DON'T KNOW WHAT Y'ALL DO YET, BUT I'M GONNA LOOK AT YOU ALL UP. POKEMON, COME ON. GO . UM, SO I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS. HOPEFULLY I CAN REMEMBER THEM ALL RIGHT. BUT, UH, MY [00:40:01] QUESTION I REALLY APPRECIATE SHOWING SPECIFIC EQUITY CONCERNS AND HOW RANK CHOICE VOTING, UM, PROMOTES EQUITY ACROSS RACE AND GENDER. CURIOUS AND NO WORRIES IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THIS DATA PREPARED 'CAUSE IT'S ON THE SPOT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT SPEAKS TO L-G-B-T-Q CANDIDATES AND HOW IT PROVIDES EQUITY FOR THAT COMMUNITY AS WELL? OR ANY OTHER HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED GROUPS? THAT'S QUESTION ONE. UM, QUESTION TWO, AND I CAN REPEAT THESE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I DON'T FORGET THEM. TWO, QUESTION TWO WOULD BE CHANGE MANAGEMENT. IS THERE A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN? I THINK IF THIS WERE TO MOVE FORWARD AND WHETHER IT'S NEAR FUTURE OR FAR FUTURE OR AT SOME POINT IN TIME, AND I, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH RANK CHOICE VOTING, SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT I CARE ABOUT. UM, UM, CHANGE IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE. VERY DIFFICULT. SO WHAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN IS THERE? OR WILL THERE BE DEVELOPED TO EDUCATE, UH, VOTERS ON THIS SYSTEM IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGES AS WELL, UM, IN TRAINING? 'CAUSE CHANGE IS HARD FOR, FOR FOLKS. AND THEN THIRD, WHAT WAS MY THIRD? IT WAS, UM, I WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO IT. MM-HMM . UM, I'M USUALLY A REALLY GOOD REMEMBER OF THINGS, BUT YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC KIND OF FRIED OUR BRAINS FOR THE FIRST TWO, THREE YEARS, . SO, YOU KNOW, BUT I'LL COME BACK TO THIRD QUESTION 'CAUSE I KNOW I HAD THOUGHT THAT I THINK COULD REALLY, REALLY HELP, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, MOVING THIS FORWARD IN, IN SOME PARTICULAR WAY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. SO DO YOU WANNA TAKE THE FIRST TWO SECONDS? YEAH. SO, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU AND I WANNA ADDRESS THIS BEFORE I GET INTO YOUR QUESTIONS. UM, NOT JUST SORT OF AFFRONT OR ANYTHING MM-HMM . BUT, UM, I AM 25. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN POLITICS. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ORGANIZING AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY, REALLY CARE ABOUT. UM, AND, UH, A LOT OF MY PEERS, UH, I'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW, OUT ON THE STREETS WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE AND AARON, I'LL GET INTO THAT. UM, AND THEN JUST EVEN IN MY OWN LIFE, AND I'M SURE YOU GUYS AS WELL, A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, DON'T BELIEVE IN POLITICS AND, AND THEY HAVE A SORT OF, UH, WE CALL IT DOMER MINDSET OF THINGS WILL NOT GET BETTER. AND RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN ADDITION TO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT I CARE ABOUT HAS, HAS ACTUALLY GIVEN ME HOPE AND, AND MADE ME FEEL THAT, UM, I CAN SORT OF, UH, USE MY VOICE, UH, AND, AND NOT HAVE IT SORT OF DISREGARDED BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY. I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CONNECTIONS. AGAIN, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ORGANIZING. SO, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY BEEN A LIFT FOR ME PERSONALLY TO, TO TO MEET ALL THE PEOPLE YOU SEE BEHIND YOU KIND OF FOR THE FIRST TIME. AND, UM, UH, I LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT. IT GIVES ME A LOT OF HOPE. UM, AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR BRINGING THAT UP. AND THERE'S, YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE BEHIND ME THAT, THAT REALLY FEEL INSPIRED AS WELL, THAT ARE, THAT ARE YOUNGER. UM, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OH, HAT TO DE SEAN WHO, UM, LOOK THIS UP. SO, UH, IN SALT LAKE CITY'S FIRST RANKED CHOICE VOTING CITY COUNCIL ELECTION 20 21, 4 OF SEVEN COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE OPENLY LGBTQ PLUS, THAT'S 57% OF COUNCIL SEATS HELD BY LGBTQ OF OFFICIALS RIGHT AFTER RANK CHOICE VOTING WAS ADOPTED. AND AGAIN, THAT WAS SALT LAKE CITY. AND THEN IN NEW YORK CITY, UNDER RCV THREE, LESBIAN WOMEN OF COLOR WERE ELECTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN 2021 A FIRST FOR THE CITY. SO STRONG RESULTS. UM, AND THEN FOR YOUR SECOND QUESTION, WHICH WAS ABOUT, UH, VOTER EDUCATION, AND I MEAN, YES, TO GET IT ACROSS THE LINE, BUT EVEN AFTER IT'S ADOPTED, LIKE HOW TO USE IT, UM, THERE ARE EXAMPLES THAT WE CAN TAKE FROM OTHER CITIES. UM, ALAMEDA COUNTY HAS LIKE A REALLY COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM THAT WE CAN ESSENTIALLY COPY AND PASTE OVER HERE. UH, WE WILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, I THINK ENGLISH AND SPANISH IS PRETTY COMMON, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALGAN KAMAI FOR, UH, LONG BEACH. BUT, UM, THE MATERIALS EXIST AND WE DEFINITELY KNOW THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO AND NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE PLAN. IT'S ALSO, UM, A BENEFIT OF OUR COALITION. UH, OBVIOUSLY NOT EVERYBODY IN RCV AND THE LBC SPEAKS EVERY LANGUAGE, BUT WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE LONG BEACH LATINO DEMOCRATIC CLUB THAT HAS SIGNED ONTO THIS AS WELL. AND, AND THEY HAVE AGREED TO, TO HELP MAKE IT PART OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. WE'RE NOT GONNA ASSUME THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO EVERY SINGLE COMMUNITY IN THE CITY, BUT THE PART OF THE COALITION IS THAT SOMEBODY KNOWS SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE. RIGHT. AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION GOES OUT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. I REMEMBER MY MY MY THIRD QUESTION, [00:45:01] AND, AND AGAIN, YOU MAY NOT HAVE THESE DATA IN IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD AT LEAST CONVERSATIONAL INFORMATIONAL POINT. YOU HAD MENTIONED BAY AREA IN GENERAL AS HAVING RANKED CHOICE VOTING PROCESSES. HOW MANY CITIES IN TOTAL CALIFORNIA HAVE RCV OUT OF TOTAL NUMBER OF CITIES? AND REGARDLESS OF WHAT THAT NUMBER IS, BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE VERY LITTLE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, AND MAYBE WE CAN ASK AI OR GOOGLE NO, NOT AI THAT PAYS TOO MUCH WATER. UM, SO, SO, UM, BUT I KNOW LONG BEACH LIKES TO LEAD, SO REGARDLESS OF WHAT THAT IS, IF IT IS A LOW NUMBER, I KNOW TRADITIONALLY I DON'T KNOW WHERE FOLKS ARE GONNA GO WITH, WITH THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE. YOU KNOW, I KIND OF KNOW WHERE MY THINKING IS, BUT, UM, LONG BEACH DOES LIKE TO LEAD, BUT I THINK THAT'S GOOD INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW. UM, IF WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION, UM, HERE OR AT A, AT A FUTURE POINT. I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. I CAN NAME SIX, I THINK. UM, BUT I, YEAH, THERE MIGHT BE MORE, ESPECIALLY SMALLER CITIES. UM, I KNOW THAT SACRAMENTO ALSO HAS A, THEY'RE IN A SIMILAR STAGE TO US, UM, WHERE THEY'RE BUILDING A COALITION, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN ADOPTED YET. BUT SAN FRANCISCO, UM, SAN JOSE, UM, OAKLAND, BERKELEY. BERKELEY. MM-HMM . A LOT OF PLACES IN THE NORTH. I THINK THAT BASED ON MY PRIOR RESEARCH, I BELIEVE IT'S 11 MUNICIPALITIES, UH, IN CALIFORNIA. I THINK THERE'S 50 NATIONWIDE THAT HAVE THIS ADOPTED. UH, REDONDO BEACH BECAME THE FIRST, UH, PEOPLE TO ENACT RANK CHOICE VOTING IN THE COUNTY OF, UH, LA. SO FORTUNATELY WE CAN'T GET NUMBER ONE, BUT, UH, THEY'RE SMALL. WE GOT IT. , UH, UH, A A CITY OF 400,000. MM-HMM . OBVIOUSLY, UM, HAS A LOT OF INFLUENCE AS IT HAS IN, IN PAST MEASURES. YOU KNOW, YOU SORT OF ALLUDED TO THIS, BUT LONG BEACH HAS SORT OF BEEN A DRIVING FORCE FOR ALL OF CALIFORNIA IN MANY WAYS. WE'VE SORT OF BEEN PIONEERS OF, OF STUFF. SO, UM, WE'RE STILL ON THE EARLY WAVES OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN MANY WAYS. IT'S, IT'S NOT NEW. UM, BUT IT IS, THE BALL IS STARTING TO ROLL UP THE HILL, YOU KNOW? OKAY. AND WE CAN BE PART OF THAT. SEE, HOPE RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THERE AGAIN. AND OPTIMISM. WELL, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE, UM, ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT WERE REALLY ON THE SPOT. UM, AND I REALLY FEEL THAT YOUTH POWER IN THIS ROOM AND IN THE RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION. SO GOOD LUCK AND I'M SURE THERE'LL BE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH THIS COMMISSION AND OTHERS AND CITY COUNCIL AND WE'LL SEE WHAT, WHERE THIS GOES. THANK YOU. I WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU DR. LARA. WE'RE GONNA GO TO COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. VERY IMPRESSIVE, UH, PRESENTATION. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. UM, BUT YOU HAD ME AT POKEMON . MY, MY SON IS VP OF HIS POKEMON CLUB AT HIS HIGH SCHOOL. SO THAT HAS US LINED UP AT LIKE 6:00 AM AT THE LOCAL BEST BUY A FEW TIMES A YEAR. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. SO, ALL RIGHT. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE LIGHTHOUSE MEAN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO COME HERE. GO , UM, UH, DO KIND OF A RANKED CHOICE WHEN YOU CHOOSE A HIGH SCHOOL. PARENTS HAVE TO CHOOSE A HIGH SCHOOL FOR THEIR KIDS. YEAH. AND, UH, UH, I OF COURSE VOTED IN HIGH SCHOOL, ONE, TWO, AND THREE. AND I WAS WONDERING, WOW, COULD THAT BE A POSSIBILITY? UH, UH, UH, UM, SO I WANT ON YOUR WEBSITE, 'CAUSE I LIKE TO LOOK SMART WHEN I, WHEN I COME TO THESE THINGS HERE, AND I, AND I PLAYED ON YOUR WEBSITE, IT'S A VERY INTUITIVE, VERY, UH, INFORMATIVE WEBSITE. I LEARNED A LOT FROM IT, BUT I VOTED FOR PALM SPRINGS AND CAME IN LAST PLACE FOR MY FAVORITE DESTINATION. DID YOU GUYS, YOU GUYS EVER BEEN TO YOUR WEBSITE? NO. YOUR OWN WEBSITE. OKAY, FANTASTIC. WELL, IF YOU GO TO THE RCV, LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RCV. I LOVE IT. IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE, THERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF, OF RCV ON THE WEBSITE AND YOU VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE VACATION SPOT. AND I PICKED PALM SPRINGS AND I LOST TO LIKE, DISNEYLAND IN YOSEMITE. AND IT HAPPENS. GET WHAT YOU GET. I GUESS A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T GO TO PALM SPRINGS . I, I WENT THERE FOR MY BACHELORETTE PARTY, I WILL SAY. SO, OKAY, I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE, . UM, CONGRATULATIONS. UH, CONGRATULATIONS. UH, UH, UH, AND SOMETHING ELSE I WANNA POINT OUT. WITHOUT EXCEPTION, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, EVERY ONE OF THE SPEAKERS THAT CAME UP HERE [00:50:01] LEFT MORE THAN A MINUTE ON THE CLOCK. SEE, I I, I, I LOOK FOR THAT. 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE MAKE THEIR POINTS BY GOING WELL AFTER OUR, UH, UH, OUR WONDERFUL CLERK HAS TO, YOU KNOW, SHUT THEM OFF. UH, BUT YOU, YOU, YOU, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR BREVITY SPEAKS ALMOST AS LOUDLY AS, AS YOUR PARTICIPATION AND YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, UH, IT LEAVES 'EM WANTING MORE. SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S NOTICED. UH, UH, SO MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING TO THIS RSV THE THE BREVITY OF, OF, OF, OF, OF ALL THE LOGISTICS. UM, UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S HARD TO SAY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UH, THANKS FOR, FOR MAKING ME SMARTER ABOUT, UH, UH, OUR CV. AND I, I'M, I THINK THAT COULD BE, UH, A GREAT THING FOR OUR CITY AND OUR COUNTY AND OUR STATE. SO THANKS FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. AND I THINK Y'ALL ALL JUST GOT A NEW, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER, UH, TO RECRUIT. UH, SO DEFINITELY CHECK IN WITH HIM AFTER. UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ON THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER COLE. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WERE HERE, YOU HAD A REPRESENTATIVE HERE AT OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING WHERE WE HAD A LISTENING SESSION. AND I'M SORRY I CAN'T REMEMBER YOUR NAME, BUT I SEE YOUR FACE OUT THERE AND YOU ASKED HOW CAN WE GET ON THE AGENDA? AND SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT YOU WERE ON THE AGENDA. AND, UM, I HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION. SO, UM, MAYBE WE'RE, I CAN ADD VALUE, SINCE YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE NEW TO THIS IS, UM, WELL, 'CAUSE I DID LOOK INTO THIS TO BE PREPARED FOR THE MEETING. AND AGAIN, YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB. AND AS YOU MOVE UP THE RANKS TO GETTING APPROVALS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW WERE ALL THE OBJECTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAD TO THIS. SO MAYBE IT WOULD HELP FOR YOU JUST TO BE PREPARED ABOUT THAT. 'CAUSE I WAS LIKE, WHAT ARE THESE OBJECTIONS? SO LIKE, ONE OF THE TOP ONES IS THAT PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, BUT THE NEW YORK STUDY, FOR EXAMPLE, SHOWS THEY DO AND 'CAUSE THAT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, I CAN IMAGINE IN A CITY COUNCIL MEETING, PEOPLE ARE GONNA LINE UP AND ASK THAT PEOPLE WON'T KNOW. THEY'RE VERY CONFUSED. AND THEN THERE'S, UM, WHAT WAS THE OTHER TERM YOU GUYS WOULD KNOW AND I MIGHT NOT USE IT PROPERLY? EXHAUSTION BALLOT. SO THE OTHER THING IS, IN THE RANKING SYSTEM, IF YOU SAY YOU ONLY WANNA RANK FOR YOUR FIRST TWO AND YOU DON'T WANNA DO THE REST, YOUR VOTE'S DISQUALIFIED. SO PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE ISSUES WITH THAT . UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S RESOLVED IF PEOPLE ARE EDUCATED. SO, AND UM, TYING TO THAT, ONE OF THE FOLKS WHO CAME UP TO SPEAK MENTIONED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, REQUESTING US MAYBE TO MOVE THIS ALONG AND REQUEST THAT THE COUNCIL DO A STUDY, BUT PERHAPS WE CAN LEAPFROG THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE STUDIES MM-HMM . YEAH. SO PERHAPS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS DO A REDO IT, YOU GUYS CAN DIRECT ME, UM, IF THERE ARE STUDIES, IF WE IDENTIFY GAPS IN MISSING INFORMATION. BUT I DID SEE A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE. AND THE ONE OTHER THING, SORRY, SPEAKING OFF THE CUFF WAS I THINK, UM, THAT, AND PLEASE, YOU KNOW, LOOK IT UP, I COULD BE WRONG, BUT THE NCAA OR NCAA A CP, UM, I HAVE MY BOYFRIEND'S GOING LIKE WATCHING EVERY SPORT POSSIBLE. SORRY. UM, THEY, THEY WERE AGAINST THIS, BUT, UM, THEY HAVE, SINCE THEY'VE AGREED TO CONDUCT MAYBE EITHER TO CONDUCT STUDIES OR THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR POSITION. SO I WOULD LOOK INTO THAT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO ADD TO YOUR SELLING POINTS. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. UM, I'LL ADDRESS A COUPLE OF THESE POINTS. UM, WE, SO WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH, UM, OCB AND THE LBC, AND THEN WITH HELP OF THE COALITION, UH, AS WELL, PUTTING TOGETHER RESEARCH AND, AND ACTUALLY MAKING SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA, NOT JUST ON PAPER. UM, AND SO SOME OF THE RESEARCH IT SOUNDS LIKE IS, IS STUFF THAT WE'VE TAKEN BACK AS WELL. AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS IS THAT, UM, PEOPLE MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND IT AND PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY THAT, UM, PEOPLE OF COLOR MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND IT. UM, PEOPLE SAY LOW INFORMATION VOTERS MAY NOT UNDERSTAND IT, SOMETIMES THEY CONFLATE THE TWO. I PERSONALLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEMPT WITH THAT SORT OF EQUATING, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR WITH LOW INFORMATION VOTERS. OF COURSE, I DON'T LOVE THAT. UM, BUT IT IS A CONCERN THAT WE'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WHEN WE ARE GOING OUT AND WE'RE TALKING TO PEOPLE, WE'RE MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO TALK TO PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ENGAGED WITH POLITICS. OFTENTIMES, THIS IS, THIS IS PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, WORKING TWO, THREE JOBS, THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO WORRY ABOUT IT. UM, [00:55:01] SOMETIMES THIS IS PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT REALLY SEEN THEMSELVES REPRESENTED IN POLITICS, SO THEY GO, WHY BOTHER? UM, AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THESE PEOPLE AND SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY FEEL LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE A VOICE RIGHT NOW, BUT IN EXPLAINING IT TO THEM, MOST PEOPLE THAT WE'VE TALKED TO HAVE BEEN PRETTY ON BOARD WITH THE IDEA OF, OF SAYING, OH, MAYBE MY VOTE CAN'T COUNT FOR SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, SO, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING, THIS IS A CONCERN THAT WE'RE TAKING REALLY SERIOUSLY. UH, IN REGARDS TO THE EXHAUSTION THING, UM, THERE ARE SOME STUDIES ABOUT THAT AS WELL. ONE OR TWO, I BELIEVE HAVE BEEN DEBUNKED SINCE THEN, UM, BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND BY A COUPLE OF PEOPLE. UM, AND BASICALLY WHAT IT WHITTLES DOWN TO IS IF SOMEBODY IS LOOKING AT CANDIDATES, UH, WITH WHICH TO VOTE ON, AND SORT OF HOW WE DO RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT ALL THE CANDIDATES TO DECIDE WHICH ONE YOU WANT TO VOTE ON. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT, OKAY, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE CANDIDATES NOW AND YOU GO, WELL, I I LIKE THIS ONE AND I'M OKAY WITH THIS ONE, AND I LIKE THIS ONE THE LEAST. AND YOU SORT OF VOTE THAT WAY. SO IT'S, AGAIN, HAND IN HAND WITH EDUCATION. AND THEN ALSO, IF PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK TO SEEK OUT THAT INFORMATION ON WHO THEY'RE VOTING FOR, THEY, THEY CAN RANK THEM. IT'S, IT'S NOT ANY MORE WORK THAN THEY'RE ALREADY DOING TO DECIDE WHICH ONE THEY WANT TO VOTE FOR. I HAVE A COMMENT RELATED TO YOUR, UM, SUGGESTION THAT MAYBE WE COULD SKIP THE, UH, STUDY. UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE DONE THEIR OWN STUDIES AND I KNOW THEY'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THEIR WORK. SO, UM, WHEREVER WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SEND THAT, UM, I'M HAPPY TO GET THAT FROM CAL CV AND FORWARD IT ALONG EFFICIENCY. EXCELLENT. THANKS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. NEXT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER SHA MALO. I, I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED YOUR PRESENTATION, FIRST OF ALL. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. MY QUESTION, UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF, UM, QUESTIONS. YOU WERE SAYING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE AND TALKING TO THEM. UM, WHAT, HOW DO YOU REACH OUT? WHAT IS YOUR OUTREACH AND DO YOU GET STATS? ARE YOU TAKING DOWN THE STATS OF, BECAUSE WHEN PRES PRESENTING THINGS, PEOPLE WANNA KNOW SPECIFICALLY PERCENTAGES, YOU KNOW, OF, OF HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU SPOKE TO, HOW MANY OF COLOR OR L-G-B-T-Q, YOU KNOW, SO FORTH AND SO ON. I THINK THAT THAT WOULD ALSO HELP YOUR CAUSE. AND ALSO HOW, UM, ARE YOU GETTING INFORMATION TO DIFFERENT DISTRICTS LIKE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT DON'T REGULARLY GET OUT TO A CITY COUNCIL MEETING OR THEY DON'T BELONG TO LIKE THE NAACP OR THE RCV OR ET CETERA, ET CETERA. ALL THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, AS YOU SHARED, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING TWO AND THREE JOBS, A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT, THEY DON'T BELONG TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS. HOWEVER, THEY'RE STILL INTERESTED. THEY WANT TO BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY. AND PEOPLE THAT DO HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, PEOPLE WILL GO THERE, YOU KNOW, FASTER THAN THEY WOULD COME HERE, YOU KNOW, TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. UM, LASTLY, I, AGAIN, I'M SO HAPPY. I WAS ALSO IN EDUCATION. I'M A RETIRED, UH, EDUCATOR PRINCIPAL, BUT, UH, IT'S GREAT TO SEE SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE HERE. AND I'M CONCERNED ALSO ABOUT THE SENIOR POPULATION. NOT ONLY GETTING THIS INFORMATION, BUT UNDERSTANDING THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE SET IN THEIR WAYS, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THIS BETTER? HOW IS THIS GONNA HELP ME? HOW IS THIS GONNA BENEFIT, YOU KNOW, MY INTEREST? AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT AS WELL. SO, YEAH, I, I I WILL SAY TO, I'LL ADJUST THE LAST POINT FOR FIRST, UM, THAT WHEN WE'VE GONE OUT AND TALKED TO PEOPLE, SOMETIMES THE MOST RESISTANT IS, IS WE'LL GET WITH, UH, SOME OF THE ELDERLY POPULATION THAT ARE FULLY OKAY WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. UM, SOMETIMES WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, SHOW THEM THE PROBLEMS OF SORT OF THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE NOW, SOMETIMES WE ARE NOT. UM, AND THAT'S A CASE BY CASE BASIS. UH, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE OVER 700 INDIVIDUAL SIGNATURES ON OUR PETITION AS WELL AS THE COALITIONS BEHIND US. UM, AND THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT WE SEE ON THE STREET. THIS IS FARMER'S MARKETS THAT WE'RE GOING OUT TO. THESE ARE SOME COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE'RE GOING OUT TO THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO POLITICS. AND THEN SOMETIMES THIS IS RALLIES THAT WE'RE GOING OUT TO. UM, WE HAD A LOT OF, UH, PARTITION, UH, PARTICIPATION, SORRY, [01:00:01] AT THE NO HANDS PROTESTS LAST YEAR THAT WERE, UM, FILLING THE STREETS, AS I'M SURE YOU GUYS KNOW. UM, OBVIOUSLY THOSE GUYS ARE GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ENGAGED WITH WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY HERE. BUT, UM, WE ARE MAKING THAT EFFORT. AND NOW THAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER, UH, AND THIS IS STARTING TO BECOME MORE VISIBLE TO THE CITY, UH, OUR HOPE AND OUR EFFORT IS AS WE KEEP THE BALL ROLLING, THAT WE HAVE MORE AND MORE VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE ABLE TO GO OUT TO MORE SPACES BESIDES JUST FARMER'S MARKETS AND THE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT THEY KNOW OF TO, TO START DOING THAT. UM, WE'RE ALL VOLUNTEER. WE DON'T HAVE ANY STAFF, SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN SEND SOMEONE OUT TO A GROCERY STORE FOR EIGHT HOURS IN THE WAY THAT, THAT SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS CAN. SO, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CAPACITY THAT, UH, WE HAVE AND WE ARE INTERESTED IN INCREASING THAT EVERY SINGLE WEEK AS WE, UM, AS THE MONTHS GO ON CLOSER TO APRIL. YEAH. AND ONE OTHER THING I'LL ADD IS WE DO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE LONG BEACH GRAY PANTHERS, SO IT'S NOT THAT, YOU KNOW, OLDER PEOPLE HATE THE IDEA, UM, . SO, UM, KAREN RE SIDE COULDN'T MAKE IT TONIGHT, BUT, BUT THEY'RE ON OUR COALITION AND UH, IT'S DEFINITELY A GROUP THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE REACHING OUT AND DOING, UM, VOTER EDUCATION WITH AS WELL. THANKS. HAVE YOU, UM, CONSIDERED GOING OUT TO THE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND THE DIFFERENT DISTRICT MEETINGS? 'CAUSE EACH DISTRICT HAS A MEETING ONCE A MONTH. JUST A IDEA. TOTALLY. I THINK WE WENT TO SEVEN AND NINE. EIGHT AND NINE. EIGHT AND NINE, UM, RECENTLY. AND WE'VE SENT OUT EMAILS TO ALL OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, SORT OF TO MINIMAL SUCCESS. SO WE DO NEED TO SHOW UP IN PERSON. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT THAT. UM, AND, AND THAT'S AN EFFORT THAT WE'RE GONNA, UH, MAKE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS HERE. YEAH. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONER? NO. COMMISSIONER BUTLER. IT'S, IT'S REALLY A COMMENT MORE THAN A QUESTION. I, I JUST WANNA KIND OF TO PIGGYBACK ON SOMETHING THAT COMMISSIONER BENITA SAID. UM, SHE SPOKE ABOUT THE SENIORS. HAVE YOU GUYS CONSIDERED DOING A PRESENTATION TO THE COMMISSION ON AGING? BECAUSE THEY WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE SENIORS. AND, AND TO HER POINT, YOU KNOW, THE SENIORS ARE AS IMPORTANT OF A DEMOGRAPHIC AS ANY, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTIONS, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS LONGER, UH, THEORETICALLY LONGER THAN ANYBODY ELSE. AND, AND, AND IT'S TRUE THAT THEY ARE PRETTY MUCH SET IN OUR WAYS. WE, I, I'M IN THAT GROUP. WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SET IN OUR WAYS. HOWEVER, WE'RE STILL OPEN TO NEW AND, AND BETTER WAYS OF DOING THINGS. SO I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY HELP YOU A LOT. THE SENIOR CITIZEN IS LOCATED OVER ON FOURTH STREET AND, UH, WE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY COMMISSIONERS ARE ON THE AGING ON THE COMMISSION, THE AGING COMMISSION, BUT THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HEARING YOUR PRESENTATION ALSO. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK. UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY TRYING TO REACH OUT TO AS MANY COMMISSIONS AS WE'LL. LISTEN TO US, UM, , YOU GUYS AND WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE THE FIRST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY ONES THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT TO. UM, AGAIN, WE THINK THAT THIS IS GOOD FOR EVERY DEMOGRAPHIC IN THE CITY. SO WE'RE, WE'RE REACHING OUT TO WHOEVER'S INTERESTED. THANK YOU. AWESOME. CAN I JUST ADDRESS THAT DIRECTLY? I JUST WANT TO SAY AS THE PERSON WHO'S OUT THERE EVERY SINGLE TUESDAY AT THE FARMER'S MARKET AND DISCUSSING THIS, YOU KNOW, WEEK IN AND WAY OUT, WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT, THERE'S A LOT OF P****D OFF OLD LADIES IN LONG BEACH RIGHT NOW. A LOT. THE ELDERLY IS NOT WHO WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ON THIS ONE. THEY ARE ON BOARD FOR REAL. . YEAH. YOU GUYS BETTER EDUCATED . OUTSTANDING. 'CAUSE WE WANT INFORMED, EDUCATED VOTERS AT THE POLL. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UH, EDUARDO, I MEAN, DR. LARA, YOU QUEUED UP, UH, YEAH. ON, ON, UH, REGARDING FEEDBACK THAT WOULD BE BE HELPFUL. UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER COLE FOR BRINGING UP SOME OF THE CHALLENGES. AND THEN SHE, UH, BROUGHT, UM, NOT ONLY BROUGHT THOSE, THOSE ISSUES, BUT THEN COME UP HAD DATA TO SHOW THAT THOSE CHALLENGES WERE INCORRECT AND THEN YOU CHIMED IN. SO ON THAT NOTE, I THINK MAY BE HELPFUL FOR THIS PRESENTATION WHERE, UH, WHEREVER YOU MAY PRESENT IT AGAIN, UM, FEATURE YOUR ISSUES. JUST HAVE A SPY WITH COMMON MYTHS, RIGHT? AND THEN HAVE THOSE REBUTTALS READY TO GO, UH, IN ADVANCE, UH, BECAUSE THAT'LL CONTINUE TO COME UP. AND THE MORE YOU CAN DO IN ADVANCE, UH, TO, UH, THINK AHEAD AND DIFFUSE OR YEAH, DIFFUSE SOME OF THAT, THOSE, THOSE ARGUMENTS WITH DATA WOULD BE HELPFUL. AND THEN [01:05:01] SECONDLY, UH, LONG BEACH, LIKE MANY OTHER CITIES, PROBABLY ALL CITIES LOVE STUDIES, RIGHT? SO IT'LL BE SURPRISED IF THAT'S THE FIRST STEP, YOU KNOW? UH, BUT THE MORE YOU CAN DO TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE OTHER STUDIES, AND THE REASON THOSE STUDIES ARE IMPORTANT, IT'S ALWAYS IN THE CONTEXT. IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THERE'S ALWAYS CONTEXTUAL ISSUES THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THIS AREA. UM, UH, BUT IF YOU CAN KIND OF COVER THAT GROUND OF, LOOK AT THOSE OTHER STUDIES IN COMPARABLE CITIES AND WHAT ARE WE NOT ASKING RIGHT? THAT IS UNIQUE TO LONG BEACH THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER, RIGHT? AND, UH, BUT THEN DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THERE'S A STUDY FIRST. 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THOSE STUDIES ARE FOR. CONTEXT MATTERS AND LONG BEACH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE LOVE THIS CITY. AND PART OF IT, PART OF WHY I, WELL, PART OF THE REASON I LOVE THIS, JUST THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS CITY, RIGHT? UM, AND SO THOSE STUDIES ARE, ARE IMPORTANT. THANK YOU. THAT'S GOOD FEEDBACK. UM, YEAH, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN LONG BEACH. I LOVE THE CITY. I'M GONNA STAY IN THE CITY. BUT, UM, YEAH, WE, THIS IS, THAT'S A QUESTION. UM, THE, THE SO-CALLED CONS OF RCV THAT CAME UP AT THE LAST PRESENTATION AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. I THINK WE'LL DEFINITELY ADD A SLIDE IN THERE. UM, AND THEN, YEAH, WE HAVE ACCESS TO A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, AGAIN, TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A GOOD IDEA. HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT TO WHOEVER WANTS IT. SO. ALRIGHT. UH, NOW THAT THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS, I HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS TO ASK. UM, AND THE QUESTIONS THAT I'LL BE ASKING IS GOING TO BE HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY IN MY EXPERIENCE OF RUNNING THROUGH A LOT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL. WE GET A LOT OF LIKE, UH, FEEDBACK FROM THE CITY MANAGER OF LIKE MISSING INFORMATION. UM, THERE'S NO MONEY FOR THIS, UM, KIND OF RESPONSES THAT GOES TO CITY COUNCIL. SO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE TO KIND OF HELP, UM, CLOSE SOME OF THE GAPS THAT I'M ANTICIPATING IF WE SUPPORT A RECOMMENDATION IS CITY COUNCIL. UM, SO THE FIRST QUESTION, AND I'LL READ THEM OFF TO YOU AND THEN, UM, AND THEN YOU CAN ANSWER THEM HOWEVER YOU WANT, UH, IS HOW MUCH PROCESSING TIME AND IMPACT WILL THE RANK CHOICE VOTING HAVE ON THE COUNTY REGISTERS, UH, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS? UH, 'CAUSE IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SYSTEM. WHERE IS THE CURRENT, UH, LA COUNTY REGISTRAR, UH, COUNTY CLERK ON RING CHOICE FOR VOTING? I THINK HIS NAME IS DEAN LOGAN. UM, I SAW IN A RECENT ARTICLE THAT JUST GOT PUBLISHED TODAY THAT Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO GET THIS ON THE 20 NOVEMBER, 2020 SIXTH BALLOT. UH, AND IF SO, UH, WHERE ARE YOU ALL IN THAT PROCESS? UM, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA REQUIRE A CHARTER AMENDMENT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR LONG BEACH. UM, AND THEN WHAT IS THE COST, UH, FOR IMPLEMENTING RANKED CHOICE VOTING AS SOMETHING NEW? UM, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE A CULTURE SHIFT, SO THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF MARKETING AND EDUCATION THAT'S GONNA BE TIED TO IT. UM, SO WHAT ESTIMATED COST HAVE Y'ALL CALCULATED THUS FAR? AND THAT IS THE ONLY QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR YOU. OH, I, I HAVE MY FINGERS THAT I WANNA ANSWER QUESTION TWO, BUT WHAT WAS THE ? YEAH, I'LL REPEAT IT. UH, SO HOW MUCH PROCESSING TIME AND IMPACT WILL IT HAVE ON THE COUNTY, UH, FOR DOING RANK CHOICE VOTING? UH, WHERE'S THE, UH, COUNTY REGISTRAR COUNTY CLERK ON THIS? AND THEN, UM, OKAY, BEFORE YOU, BEFORE I FORGET. I HAVE TO ANSWER THAT . I'M GONNA FORGET AGAIN. UH, SORRY TO INTERRUPT. UM, SO WHERE THE COUNTY CLERK IS, IS, UM, HE HAS STATED WE DON'T SUPPORT RANK CHOICE VOTING BECAUSE NOBODY HAS ASKED FOR IT DIRECT QUOTE. AND SO WE WANT TO BE THE ONE SAYING, HEY, WE'RE ASKING, UM, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WHY, UH, YEAH. UH, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WHY WE WANNA GET ON THE BALLOT. IT, THAT'S A TRIGGER CLAUSE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T USE IT UNTIL THEY SUPPORT IT. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THEY'RE GONNA GO AND SUPPORT IT UNTIL WE ASK. UM, SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THE COUNTY IS. UM, AS FAR AS THE COST TO IMPLEMENT, I AM NOT SURE, UM, THE EXACT COSTS. IT WILL BE OFFSET BY THE LOWER COST OF FUTURE ELECTIONS. UM, BECAUSE INSTEAD OF HAVING RUNOFFS, WE'LL HAVE A SINGLE ELECTION, SO FUTURE ELECTIONS WILL BE CHEAPER, BUT THERE WILL BE SOME UPFRONT COSTS, AS YOU MENTIONED, FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SYSTEM AND FOR VOTER EDUCATION. UM, YEAH, DEFINITELY [01:10:01] SOME TRADE OFFS THAT VARIES, UM, OBVIOUSLY BY MUNICIPALITY. SO THERE'S NOT, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, PROCESSING TAKES AN EXTRA TWO WEEKS ONCE THE VOTES ARE COUNTED. UM, IT, IT'S KIND OF DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY. UH, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDN'T REALLY BE ABLE TO COUNT MAIL-IN BALLOTS UNTIL ELECTION DAY, SO WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT SORT OF DELAY THAT ALL OF THOSE GETS COUNTED AT THE SAME TIME. UM, WE WOULD ESTIMATE THAT THAT'S A COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, BUT AGAIN, THE HARD NUMBERS AREN'T IN FOR THAT. THAT IS SOME RESEARCH THAT WE WOULD DO. AND WE HAVE A, A LEGAL AND LOGISTICAL TEAM WITH FAIR VOTE AND KR CV THAT CAN HELP WITH THOSE SORT OF EXACT NUMBERS AND WE CAN GET THOSE TO YOU. YEAH. AND THEN AS FAR AS THE, UM, CHARTER AMENDMENT, SO WE ARE WORKING WITH FAIR VOTE'S LEGAL TEAM AND CAL R CB'S LEGAL TEAM, AND THEY HAVE DRAFTED, UM, BALLOT LANGUAGE AND A CHARTER AMENDMENT. AND, UM, THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING, BUT ESSENTIALLY WE WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT THE CITY ATTORNEY WITH A, HEY, THERE'S A DRAFT THAT YOU CAN START WITH SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH, UM, TO TRY TO SAVE AS MUCH OF THE CITY'S TIME AS POSSIBLE. YEAH. AND WHERE WE ARE IN OUR TIMELINE RIGHT NOW, WE ARE ACTUALLY, UM, PRETTY ON WITH OUR TIME. WE ARE AWARE THAT, UM, SORT OF TOWARDS THE END OF APRIL IS, IS THE LAST TIME THAT CITY COUNCIL CAN RECOMMEND SOMETHING AS A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO PUT ON THE BALLOT FOR NOVEMBER. SO THAT'S THE TIMELINE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH. UM, WE HAVE THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WE'RE GONNA BE REACHING OUT AND, UH, HOPEFULLY GAINING CHAMPIONS, UH, IN THE CITY COUNCIL TO AGAIN JUST SORT OF LIKE, UM, EXPEDITE THIS PROCESS AND, AND NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE DEBATE ON THE FLOOR WITHOUT GETTING SUPPORT FIRST. UM, SO SUPPORT FROM COMMISSION, SUPPORT FROM THE PUBLIC, SUPPORT FROM CHAMPIONS AND CITY COUNCIL, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET, UM, BEFORE IT'S DEBATED ON THE FLOOR HERE, SO. GOTCHA. AND THEN IN REGARDS TO THE BALLOT MEASURE, UM, IS THE PLAN B TO GO TO THE RESIDENTS AND, UM, GET SIGNATURES OR IS THAT GONNA BE LIKE A 2028 CONVERSATION? IT, IT WOULD BE A FUTURE CONVERSATION. OKAY, COOL. YEAH. UM, I'M ONLY ANTICIPATING BECAUSE MANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE SEND UP TO CITY COUNCIL DON'T GET ACTUALLY AGENDIZED. UM, AND SO I JUST DON'T WANNA SET YOU UP FOR, FOR LIKE HEARTBREAK OR FAILURE . NO, ABSOLUTELY. IN TERMS OF LIKE, OH, WE CAME TO THE COMMISSION AND THEN THE COUNCIL TOOK IT ON AND WE'RE GONNA WIN. AND, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT TO DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS AS WELL. OKAY. UM, BECAUSE WE THINK IT'S RELEVANT TO DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS AND, AND ALSO IT, IT PROVES THE STRENGTH OF THE MEASURE. MULTIPLE COMMISSIONS ARE ON IT AND WE ALREADY HAVE, YOU KNOW, CHAMPIONS AND THAT SORT OF THING. IT'S NOT JUST COMING AT, AT DINNER. COOL. UM, SO IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS, UM, THIS AGENDA ITEM SPECIFICALLY IS A RECEIVING FILE OF A PRESENTATION. UM, SO AS A COMMISSION WE HAVE THE OPTION, UM, TO CREATE AN AD HOC TO DEVELOP OUT A RECOMMENDATION THAT GOES TO COUNCIL. UM, WE, WE COULD ALSO BRING YOU BACK, UH, IF YOU HAVE A FLESHED OUT RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE COUNSEL TO, UH, APPROVE, UH, WE COULD DO THAT AS WELL. UM, I THINK THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS WE HAVE FROM HERE. IS THAT CORRECT? UH, CITY ATTORNEY? YEAH, THAT WOULD BE CORRECT. I, I, I WOULD WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME JUST TO ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR THE COMMISSIONS, UM, EDIFICATION REGARDING HOW THE, THE CHARTER PROCESS DOES WORK. UM, AND WE DO APPRECIATE OBVIOUSLY OUR OFFICE WOULD, WOULD LOOK AT ANY, ANY TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT LANGUAGE. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE STEPS LOGISTICALLY CITY COUNCIL WOULD'VE TO VOTE ON JUST PUTTING THIS, YOU KNOW, TO THE CHARTER. UH, IT WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO BE A, A, A VOTE, UH, WITHIN THE, AN ELECTION WITHIN THE, THE CITY. SO GIVEN THAT THIS IS 2026 WITH THE GENERAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, I, I ONLY SEE THAT HAPPENING THROUGH A SPECIAL ELECTION. UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AS THE COMMISSION'S AWARE, YOU WOULD NEED TO GIVE 50 MORE THAN 50% OF THE, OF THE CITY VOTERS. UM, THAT, AND THAT'S JUST THE, OKAY. THE, THE CHARTER NOW, I THINK FEASIBLY SPEAKING TO BE, HAVE THAT BE DONE BY, YOU KNOW, NO, THIS NOVEMBER WOULD PROBABLY BE A BIG, A BIG BURDEN. BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY THIS BODY CAN MAKE A, A PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL AND CC WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY VOTE ON. UM, AND I THINK ONE OTHER THING, JUST FOR THE COMMISSION'S KNOWLEDGE, MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I THINK THAT THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS DONE A LOT OF, UM, RESEARCH ON THIS, BUT WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO LA LA COUNTY CURRENTLY, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S WITH THEIR ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY ON HOW THEY CAN, UH, IMPLEMENT THE, UH, UM, RCV UH COM. UH, [01:15:01] COMPARED TO WHAT THEY HAVE NOW, I THINK THEY DO LACK THAT TECHNOLOGY. I'M NOT SURE, AND I HAVEN'T SPOKEN WITH ANY COUNTERPARTS WITH THE LA CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE AT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE PROBABLY COULD GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION FOR THE COMMISSION, BUT I, I THINK IT WAS A COMBINATION OF SEVERAL FACTORS, WHICH MAKES THIS A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF AN OBSTACLE, JUST MAKING IT FOR 2026. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YES. COMMISSIONER SHA MALONE. SORRY. UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF, IN FACT, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL. UH, THERE'S GOING TO BE A NATIONAL LEADERSHIP, A NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP SUMMIT ON MARCH 14TH. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TOO LATE FOR YOU TO GET INCLUDED INTO THE PROGRAM OR, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE, THE, THE PROGRAM FOR THAT DAY. BUT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ALL YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS THERE IN ONE SPOT AND YOU MIGHT WANNA, UH, SPEAK WITH JEFF WILLIAMS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN GET ON THAT AGENDA THAT WOULD HIT ALL EVERYBODY AT THE SAME TIME. THANKS FOR THE TIP. UHHUH , WHAT DAY WAS THAT? MARCH, MARCH 14TH. MARCH 14TH. MARCH. MARCH 14TH. MARCH 14TH. NEVERMIND. THAT'S PIE DAY FOR THE POKEMON . THAT'S FUNNY. SHOULD KNOW THAT. COOL. AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE PUTTING TOGETHER THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, SO YOU MIGHT WANNA TAP INTO THAT. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, SO A FINAL QUESTION THAT I HAVE. UM, DO YOU HAVE A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION, UM, DRAFTED THAT YOU WOULD LIKE COUNSEL TO CONSIDER? SO, SORT OF , IT'S NOT REALLY A VERY GOOD ANSWER, BUT, UH, THERE, THERE IS A DRAFT THAT IS BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE FAIR VOTE FOLKS AND THE CLER CV FOLKS. UM, SO WE COULD GET THAT TOGETHER I THINK RATHER QUICKLY. UM, PROBABLY IN LIKE A WEEK OR TWO IF THAT IS PREFERABLE FOR YOU GUYS AS OPPOSED TO DOING THE AD HOC COMMITTEE. UH, ALSO COMMENT ABOUT THE SPECIAL ELECTION. I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK IT'S NECESSARY BECAUSE WE CAN'T USE THIS UNTIL LA COUNTY SUPPORTS IT. SO I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO LIKE, HAVE A SPECIAL ELECTION JUST TO LIKE HAVE THIS AND THEN NOT BE ABLE TO USE IT . UM, ANYWAYS, YEAH, I DEFINITELY RESONATE WITH, UH, YOUR STANCE. AND, UM, AND IT'S WEIRD FOR ME TO EVEN SAY THIS, BUT FROM EXPERIENCE, UM, THE, THE CITY LIKES TO WORK VERY SLOW , UM, AND, UH, YOU CALL IT BUREAUCRACY OR WHATEVER, BUT IT'S, UM, DONE SPECIFICALLY THAT WAY, UM, TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE DUCKS AND ARE IN A ROW AND THE T'S ARE CROSSED AND THEN THE I'S ARE.IN, UM, SO THAT THERE'S NO REPERCUSSIONS, UH, DOWN THE LINE. SO, AND ALSO IT'S KIND OF LIKE A, OH, I WAS GOING TO MAKE A RANKED CHOICE JOKE, BUT UH, THERE ARE COMPETING PRIORITIES TRYING TO GET ON THAT BALLOT AS WELL. UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER CONSIDERATION, UH, TO CONSIDER. UM, BUT I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE ARE, UH, A DRAFT IN THE WORKS AND THAT CAN BE SOLIDIFIED. UM, I AM, I PERSONALLY AM OPEN TO CREATING A SMALL AD HOC, MAYBE TWO OR THREE FOLKS FOR US TO CONSIDER, UH, DURING THE AD HOC DISCUSSION, UH, SO THAT WE CAN REVIEW THE DRAFT THAT YOU ALL HAVE, UH, AND THAT WE CAN INCLUDE SOME SPECIFIC STRATEGIC, UM, LANGUAGE, UM, AND IDEAS TO HELP, UM, ENCOURAGE OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO ACTUALLY TAKE ON THIS ITEM. IT'S VERY DISHEARTENING. WE'VE PASSED LIKE MAYBE EIGHT OR 10 SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION, RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL AND THEY HAVEN'T PICKED UP ONE. SO, UM, SOMETHING TO WORK ON. ? YES. OH YEAH, WE HAD CEASEFIRE. UM, MAYBE I'M JUST LIKE DISHEARTENED 'CAUSE I'M, WE TRY SO HARD AND THEN A LOT OF THINGS DON'T GET PASSED. BUT ANYHOW, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, I WILL BE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE A SMALL AD HOC, UM, TO LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP FORM SOMETHING THAT WE CAN BRING BACK AT A FUTURE, UM, COMMISSION MEETING. UM, WE ALSO WORK VERY SLOW, SO IT WOULD PROBABLY BE LIKE WE HAVE TO CREATE THE AD HOC, UM, MEET AND GET ON A MEETING TOGETHER WITH YOU ALL, REVIEW INFORMATION, AND THEN HOPEFULLY SCHEDULE IT FOR FEBRUARY'S. UM, BECAUSE OUR MARCH MEETING IS GONNA BE A LISTENING SESSION. UM, SO IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN IN FEBRUARY, YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL APRIL, UNFORTUNATELY. UM, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, UH, AND THE PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [01:20:03] WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH. OKAY. UM, UH, MADAM CLERK, IN ORDER TO CREATE THE AD HOC, DO I HAVE TO CREATE A FRIENDLY MOTION OR SHOULD WE JUST WAIT UNTIL THE ITEM? YES, WE CAN WAIT UNTIL THE ITEM FOR YOUR AD HOC TO BE CREATED. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, WHICH IS A RECEIVING FILE, UM, WE HAVE OUR MOTION AND SECOND, CAN WE DO A ROLL CALL VOTE PLEASE. COMMISSIONER BUTLER, I CAN TAKE A VERBAL THANK YOU. MOTION IS CARRIED. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, SO THAT CONCLUDES THIS PARTICULAR ITEM. UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER THREE. AND THEN, UM, AFTER ITEM NUMBER THREE, WE'RE GONNA GO INTO, UH, VICE CHAIR ELECTIONS. IT WAS CONCERNING R CV. ITEM NUMBER THREE IS [3. 26-57396 Recommendation to receive and file a report from current Ad Hoc Committees; discuss anticipated Ad Hoc Committees for upcoming projects; and, if appropriate, take action to dissolve or create Ad Hoc Committees.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT FROM CURRENT AD HOC COMMITTEES. DISCUSS ANTICIPATED AD HOC COMMITTEES FOR UPCOMING PROJECTS, AND IF APPROPRIATE, TAKE ACTION TO DISSOLVE OR CREATE AD HOC COMMITTEES. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ITEM? LAURA AND COLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? IF WE CAN GET THE REPORTS FIRST AND THEN WE CAN CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. PERFECT CHAIR. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, SO IN REGARDS TO OUR AD HOS, LET'S DO A REFRESHER OF WHICH ONES WE HAVE LEFT. UM, EXCUSE ME, MY COMPUTER KEEPS KICKING ME OUT. I I CAN HELP WITH THAT. UH, CHAIR. I THANK YOU. SO, SO CURRENTLY YOU HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AD HOC, UM, THE, UH, BIPOC PRESERVATION. I, UH, AD HOC AND THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT LISTENING SESSION AD HOCS ARE ALL STILL ACTIVE. YEAH. SO WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL BIPOC AND THEN THE LISTENING SESSIONS. CORRECT. SPECIFICALLY THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT LISTENING SESSION. ALRIGHT, COOL. WHO PLANNED THE NOVEMBER LISTENING SESSION? ALRIGHT, AWESOME. UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR, HEAR FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL. I KNOW JOSH IS NOT HERE, BUT ANYONE ELSE IN THE, UH, AD HOC WOULD LIKE TO GIVE AN UPDATE? YES, I WILL GIVE THE UPDATE. ALRIGHT. 'CAUSE I VOLUNTEERED AND THEN TONY SENT ME THESE NOTES. OKAY. UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. HOPE YOUR MEETING'S DOING WELL. WHERE'D EVERYBODY GO? . THEY ALL LEFT GOOD BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF LONG. UH, AS FAR AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, AD HOC, UH, WE MET ON, UH, DECEMBER 19TH, UH, AS AN AD HOC COMMITTEE. UH, OUR PURPOSE IN THE AD HOC IS TO EXAMINE EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND OTHER DISASTERS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS THAT MAY IMPACT LONG BEACH RESIDENTS. AND IF APPROPRIATE, DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO STRENGTHEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE EFFORTS. UH, WE SPOKE ABOUT, UM, SB NINE 90, UH, WHICH IS A, UH, IT'S KIND OF AN ONGOING SENATE BILL NINE 90. SB NINE 90 REQUIRES A STATE TO HOST DISASTER PLANNING AND IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT WORKSHOPS, UH, AND RECOGNIZES THAT CITIES ARE ON THE FRONT LINES OF PUTTING THESE PLANS INTO ACTION. THIS PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LONG BEACH TO BE AN EARLY ADOPTER OF EQUITY CENTERED DISASTER PLANNING PRACTICES SHAPE HOW IMPLEMENTATION HAPPENS LOCALLY, AND TO ENSURE THAT VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES ARE MEANINGFUL MEANINGFULLY, MEANINGFULLY INCLUDED IN PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS. TONY USES BIG WORDS. . WE THANK YOU, CHRIS. WE SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ALIGN STATE REQUIREMENTS WITH LOCAL EQUITY GOALS. UH, AND AND PERSONALLY SPEAKING, I, YOU KNOW, LONG BEACH IS, IS, UH, IS CUTTING EDGE. LONG BEACH IS IS WHERE [01:25:01] THE, THE REST OF THE, THE STATE AND SOMETIMES THE COUNTRY LOOKS FOR HOW WE DEAL WITH EQUITY AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND, AND, AND NOT JUST PREPAREDNESS, BUT EXECUTION. IF YOU SAW, UM, THE GOVERNOR TROLLING AROUND THE CONVENTION CENTER, UH, UH, PARKING LOT, UH, UH, WHEN WE WERE DOING, UM, UH, THE MASS, UH, VACCINATIONS, UM, OTHER CITIES CAME AND, AND SAW HOW WE DO IT, HOW, UH, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, WORKS, UH, HOW CERT, UH, GETS INVOLVED AND HOW WE, UM, WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING WHEN IT COMES TO DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND, UH, UH, UH, IN HELPING OTHERS IN TIME OF, OF DISASTERS, UM, UH, KEY EQUITY QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE EXPLORING. UH, WE'RE GROUNDING OUR WORK IN A SET OF, UH, GUIDING QUESTIONS SUCH AS, WHERE DO CURRENT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SYSTEMS FAIL TO REACH OR PROTECT CERTAIN COMMUNITIES? WHICH POPULATIONS FACE THE GREATEST BARRIERS TO PREPAREDNESS, EVACUATION, COMMUNICATION AND RECOVERY, HOW TO RACE, INCOME, LANGUAGE, DISABILITY, IMMIGRATION STATUS, GENDER IDENTITY AND HOUSING INSECURITY, SHAPE DISASTER RISK AND RESPONSE. UH, AND HOW CAN DISASTER PLANNING SHIFT FROM A UNIVERSAL MODEL TO A TARGETED EQUITY CENTERED APPROACH? UM, YOU OKAY? YOU NEED SOME WATER? YOU NEED A BREAK? I HAVE A WATER. OKAY. WE CAN, WE CAN THANK YOU. I'D BE HAPPY TO STOP READING. WE CAN TAKE A BREAK. UH, UH, STRATEGIC LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT APPROACH. UH, WE PLAN TO LEARN TO, TO LEARN DIRECTLY FROM BOTH PRACTITIONERS IN IMPACTED COMMUNITIES BY ENGAGING, FOR INSTANCE, FIRE DEPARTMENT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS LEADERSHIP, INCLUDING DENNIS GARRETT, WHO'S OUR PIO, UM, AND OUR, OUR CERT TEAMS. WE'VE, UH, ALREADY BEEN TALKING WITH THEM. CITY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY TEAMS. YOU KNOW, LONG BEACH HAS ITS OWN, UH, UH, EMERGENCY DISASTER DEPARTMENT. MM-HMM . IT'S, UH, 9 1 1 IS NOT A PART OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. IT'S, IT'S UNDER OUR EMERGENCY, UM, UH, PREPAREDNESS DEPARTMENT. I, I, I DID NOT KNOW THAT. AND THEY'RE A COOL DEPARTMENT. IT'S A VERY COOL DEPARTMENT, VERY COOL BUILDING. IT'S, YOU SHOULD DO A TOUR WITH THE 9 1 1 BUILDING IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE TO DO THAT. UM, COUNTY LEVEL PARTNERS, INCLUDING LGBTQ PLUS EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, PUBLIC HEALTH HOUSING, AND SOCIAL SERVICE PRACTITIONERS, ACADEMIC AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, UH, LIKE, UH, LIKE, UH, DR. MENDEZ, WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN, UH, BEST PRACTICES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED ELSEWHERE. UH, WHAT HAS WORKED AND WHAT HAS FAILED, AND HOW EQUITY HAS OR HAS NOT BEEN EMBEDDED IN DISASTER POLICY AND PRACTICE. UM, OUTCOMES, UH, FROM LEARNING TO RECOMMENDATIONS, OUR INTENTION IS NOT JUST TO GATHER INFORMATION, BUT TO TRANSLATE LEARNING INTO ACTION BY IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC EQUITY GAPS IN LONG BEACH'S DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FRAMEWORK, UH, AND DEVELOPING A SET OF CONCRETE EQUITY INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL. UH, OUR NEXT STEPS ARE, UH, ARE FURTHER OUTREACH TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, PREPAREDNESS STAFF AND COUNTY PARTNERS. UH, WE ALSO WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT EQUITY ISSUES WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE, AND WE ALSO WANT TO ESTABLISH A REGULAR MEETING CADENCE FOR THE AD HOC, FOR OUR AD HOC, UH, TO SUPPORT MOMENTUM AND ACCOUNTABILITY. WE'LL BE MEETING ON A MONTHLY BASIS UNTIL RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNSEL HAVE BEEN DRAFTED. AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SHARE, UH, THOSE NOTES AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. UH, UH, UM, WITH THAT, TONY, APPRECIATE YOU GETTING THOSE TO ME. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. UH, AND JUST FOR CLARITY, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, RESEARCH BEING DONE AND CONNECTION BEING DONE WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. UH, BUT WHAT IS A SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE THAT THE AD HOC IS WORKING TOWARDS FOR, UM, TO PREPAREDNESS THAT'S NOT WRITTEN DOWN HERE. SORRY, PUT ME ON THE SPOT. SORRY. CHAIR, CHAIR BUZZ KILL. OKAY. . UM, I, I THINK JUST IDENTIFYING, UH, EQUITY, UM, UH, UH, UH, WHERE WE'RE LACKING IN, IN OKAY. EQUITY. CAN I, I CAN, I CAN SUPPORT WITH THAT IF YOU WOULD LIKE. SO THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE AD HOC AS IT WAS, UM, STATED WHEN YOU CREATED THE AD HOC WAS TO EXAMINE EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND OTHER DISASTERS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS THAT MAY IMPACT A LONG BEACH RESIDENTS. AND IF APPROPRIATE, DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO STRENGTHEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE EFFORTS. OKAY. COOL. I I SAID THAT. YES, YOU DID. JUST I WAS, I WAS TAKING NOTES. I WAS TRYING TO, BUT I MISSED A COUPLE OF THE THINGS. [01:30:01] THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION. , I CAN SAY A . UM, BUT THAT'S COOL. WEATHER. WEATHER, UH, RELATED. AND I, AND I, AND I, UH, UH, CHAIR, I BELIEVE OUR, UM, AD HOC, UM, CHAIR, UH, DE COMMISSIONER DE LEON HAS, UH, SOMETHING THAT, UH, HE SENT RICHARD COMMISSIONER BROWN TO READ. THIS IS ACTUALLY FOR THE, UM, RVC. OH, IS THAT WHAT THAT IS? MM-HMM . OH, OKAY. WELL, LEMME JUST TURN MY MIC OFF AND OKAY. GIVE EVERYBODY A BREAK. COOL. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. I THINK THAT WAS REALLY GREAT. UM, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU ALL WILL BE MEETING ON A MONTHLY BASIS, UH, AND THEN SCHEDULING THE APPROPRIATE MEETINGS AS NECESSARY. UM, WE'RE GONNA MOVE OVER TO, UM, THE BIPOC, OR SHOULD WE DO THE OTHER ONE? ARE YOU READY? YEAH. FOR BIPOC. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE, UM, BIPOC, UM, AD HOC, SORRY. OKAY. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN. SO THE BIPOC AD HOC COMMITTEE HAD, UM, MET THIS WEEK, UM, AND WE C WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE PREVIOUSLY CREATED BIPOC, UM, AD HOC COMMITTEE, WHICH WAS THE LGBTQ PLUS SLASH BIPOC WOULD BE, UM, WOULD BE SEPARATED, SHOULD BE SEPARATED. AND, AND THAT'S BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME OVERLAP OF CONCERNS AND ISSUES, THERE ARE, THERE ARE VERY DISTINCT DIFFERENCES, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONCERNS AT, AT THAT RELATE TO THOSE, TO THE TWO GROUPS. AND SO THE AD HOC ITSELF, THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ITSELF DECIDED THAT THAT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR US TO PROCEED, UM, WITH TWO DIFFERENT AD HOC COMMITTEES. NOW, I'M NOT SURE IF WE NEED, WHAT, WHAT EXACTLY WE NEED TO DO THAT? DO WE NEED A, A VOTE OR JUST A REQUEST OR, I DON'T THINK SO. 'CAUSE IN, IN MAYBE A 20 OR 20 YOU COULD HELP OUT WITH THIS. BUT MY, MY UNDERSTANDING FOR THE PARTICULAR AD HOC AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THE AD HOC IS TO CREATE A LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEFACING OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. MM-HMM . UM, AND I THINK IT WAS LIKE MAY OR MAYBE JUNE, THE, UM, THE PRIDE CENTER, OR EXCUSE THE, THE PRIDE OFFICE, LONG BEACH PRIDE'S OFFICE WAS DEFACED, UM, WITH, UM, DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE OUTSIDE OF THEIR OFFICE. AND SO THERE WAS A, AN ASK THAT, UM, THAT IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT Y'ALL ARE DEVELOPING, COULD BE ENCOMPASSING FOR LIKE, ALL CULTURAL, UM, ART, UM, THAT HAS BEEN DEFACED. UM, SO I DON'T THINK PERSONALLY, I DON'T THINK, UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE A SEPARATION OF THE TWO. MAYBE IT CAN BE LIKE, HERE'S OUR RECOMMENDATION SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DEFACING OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART. AND I, AND I BELIEVE THAT THE ASK WAS SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS. UH, CORRECT. AND JUST TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. SO THE AD HOC JUST MET AND, UH, PICKING YOUR PARDON. IT, IT WAS NEVER DECIDED TO CREATE AN ADDITIONAL AD HOC TO DATE. THE CONVERSATION WAS AROUND, UM, THE FOCUS OF THE AD HOC, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN, UM, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ART AND BIPOC ART IN THE CITY. MM-HMM . UM, AND THEN WHETHER TO INCLUDE L-G-B-T-Q AND OTHER, UM, UH, UH, MARGINALIZED, UH, SORRY, OTHER INTERSECTIONS IN, IN THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION. AND AFTER THE DISCUSSION, THE CONVERSATION WAS TO FOCUS THE RE THE AD HOC DECIDED TO SOLELY FOCUS ON BIPOC ART, UM, AND HOW, UM, THE DEFACING OF BIPOC ART HAS BEEN IMPACTING THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. AND THEN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL BASED ON THAT, THE AD HOC ALSO DECIDED TO CONTINUE, UM, GATHERING INFORMATION. AND SO THEY WILL USE THIS MONTH TO, UM, MEET WITH MEMBERS OF, UH, TO INDIVIDUALLY INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE AD HOC. WE'LL BE MEETING AND OR COMMUNICATING WITH, UM, MEMBERS OF THE ARTS COUNCIL TO GET SOME OF THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED, WHICH THEY WILL HOPE TO USE IN THE DRAFTING OF THE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL. AND, UM, THEY ALSO DECIDED, OR LANDED ON A WEEKLY, UH, MEETING CADENCE TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY [01:35:01] AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO ENSURE THAT THIS GETS DONE AT A PROMPTLY TIME. UM, AND THEN THE CONVERSATION ALSO EVOLVED INTO THAT IF AT A FUTURE TIME THE COMMISSION DECIDES TO FOCUS ON L-G-B-T-Q, THEN THE DEFACING OF L-G-B-T-Q PROPERTIES, LANDMARKS, AND OR, UM, FACILITIES, THEN THAT CAN CR THEN AN OTHER, THEN AN AD HOC CAN BE CREATED AT THAT POINT FOR THAT. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, I APPRECIATE THE URGENCY. I KNOW THAT, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ITEM FOR A YEAR NOW, UM, AND IT'S BEEN HELD UP BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET MEETINGS, UM, SCHEDULED, UM, WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS. UM, SO I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT YOU EACH HAVE BEEN DOING TO GET THIS BALL MOVING, EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN A STRUGGLE BUS, UH, TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, THAT IT'S OUT OF OUR CONTROL. UM, AND SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THE RECOMMENDATION FOR US TO CONSIDER AT A FUTURE, UM, COMMISSION MEETING. RIGHT. AND, AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN, UH, QUITE A BIT OF BACK AND FORTH AND SOME DIFFICULTIES SCHEDULING A MEETING WITH THE ARTS COUNCIL. AND WHEN THE AD HOC MET, I VOLUNTEERED TO REACH OUT TO A MEMBER OR TWO, UM, ON THE ARTS COUNCIL JUST TO GET SOME PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS ANSWERED. ONE OF THEM BEING THE NUMBER OF, UH, REPORTS THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED REGARDING, HOLD ON, LET ME BRING THIS UP. OKAY. SO I, I, I'M A STATISTICS KIND OF PERSON AND I LIKE TO DEAL IN NUMBERS. AND SO WHAT I FOUND OUT WAS THAT IN, IN THE YEARS 2024 AND 20 25, 97 ARTWORKS WERE REPORTED AS DEFACED OUT OF THE 160 PLUS REPORTS WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR TIME PERIOD. THAT'S MORE THAN 50%. THAT IS VERY ALARMING TO ME. THAT TELLS ME WE NEED TO REALLY FOCUS ON THAT ISSUE, ON THAT CONCERN. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF OTHER INFORMAL, UM, COMMUNICATIONS WITH ME PERSONALLY AROUND THIS SUBJECT. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I STILL BELIEVE IT VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE FOCUS ON THE BIPOC SITUATION, UM, IN AND OF ITSELF SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS, SO THAT WE CAN GIVE ADEQUATE TIME TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES AND CONCERNS AROUND THIS SUBJECT. I KNOW I PERSONALLY HAVE SAT ON THIS AD HOC, UH, SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING AND THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TIME, EXTENSIVE ENERGY EXERTED ON ISSUES THAT CONCERNED THE L-G-B-T-Q LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. I SIMPLY WANT THAT SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY AND TIME EXPENDED ON THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT BECAUSE IT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT AND WE NEED TO ADDRESS IT AND WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF IT. AND WITHOUT DRAG DRAGGING ON MORE AND MORE AND MORE OR LONGER AND LONGER AND LONGER, THAT, THAT'S MY POSITION ON THE SUB, ON THE, ON THE SUBJECT, ON THE ISSUE. THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I WANNA SEPARATE THE TWO SO THAT WE CAN FO FOCUS ON THIS ISSUE AND ADDRESS IT AS BEST WE CAN AND SUBMIT RECOMMENDATIONS OF COURSE, HIGHER UP THE FOOD CHAIN SO THAT HOPEFULLY SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS OTHER THAN TALKING ABOUT IT. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. UH, I DEFINITELY RESONATE WITH THAT AND, UH, LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THE AD HOC, UH, IN GETTING THE RECOMMENDATION, UM, READY FOR US. OKAY. UM, IS THAT ALL IN TERMS OF THE AD HOCS UPDATE? YEAH. OKAY, COOL. UH, THE LAST ONE WE'RE GONNA GO TO NOW IS THE LISTENING SESSION, UH, FOR SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO START WITH THAT? SURE. THE LISTENING SESSION, WE HAD A WONDERFUL LISTENING SESSION, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IT WAS OUR FIRST ONE. IT WAS A BOILERPLATE OF WHAT IS TO COME. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF LEARNINGS THAT WE SHARED AS A COMMITTEE. WE WILL LOOK AT IMPROVING THE LISTENING SESSIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UM, I KNOW WE HAD DISCUSSED AT OUR A MEETING IN DECEMBER THAT WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THE LISTENING SESSION TO APRIL INSTEAD OF MARCH TO GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME. IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. MM-HMM . SO AND SO, SO SO CAN I JUST JUMP IN? YES. SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A DIFFERENT AD HOC. THE AD HOC YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT LISTENING SESSION. THE LAST MEETING WAS JUST A DEBRIEF WHERE YOU ALL DISCUSS YOUR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ACTUAL LISTENING SESSION IN NOVEMBER. UH, AND THEN AFTERWARDS YOU'LL GET TO DECIDE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUNSET THAT AD HOC SINCE THAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE, AND THEN CREATE A NEW ONE TO FOCUS PLAN AND COORDINATE THE NEXT LISTENING SESSION. THANK YOU, TONY. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING US ON TRACK. YES. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SUNSET THE COMMISSIONER FLORES, IF, IF I CAN, I THINK YOU WERE ALLUDING [01:40:01] TO THE TIPS FOR THE NEXT AD HOC YES. ON THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT. YES. COOL. SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON TRACK. OKAY. TERRIFIC. . SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SUNSET THAT, UM, AD HOC AND OPEN THE AD HOC FOR THE NEW LISTENING SESSION IN APRIL AT THIS MOMENT. COOL. SO YOU'LL MAKE A, A RECOMMENDATION TO MAY, MAY, I RECOMMEND THAT WE SUNSET THE AD HOC LISTENING SESSION THAT HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER SO THAT WE CAN OPEN A NEW AD HOC FOR THE LISTENING SESSION IN APRIL. PERFECT. AND THEN, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO DO AN ADDITIONAL MOTION TO CREATE THE, THE NEW AD HOC, UM, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO SUBMIT THE NAMES OR GET THE NAMES FROM THIS, FROM THIS MEETING TODAY, RIGHT? CORRECT. YEAH. OKAY. SO, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO AGAIN, SUNSET THAT PREVIOUS AD HOC AND THEN CREATE A NEW AD HOC TO PLAN LISTENING SESSION NUMBER TWO, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE WINTER, UH, FOCUSING ON ECONOMIC STABILITY WITH THE KEY TOPICS BEING EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, FOOD SECURITY, INCOME AND REENTRY. UM, BASED ON THE, UH, COMMISSIONERS WHO WERE AVAILABLE, UH, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS AD HOC BACK IN THE RETREAT WE HELD IN MAY, UM, THE COMMISSIONERS WHO SIGNED UP TO BE A PART OF THIS AD HOC OR WHO, WHO EXPRESSED INTEREST IN BEING A PART OF THIS AD HOC WERE JOSHUA DE LEON, COMMISSIONER BUTLER, COMMISSIONER FLORES, COMMISSIONER DOC DOCKERY, AND COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY. UM, AND YOU'LL GET TO ENGAGE IN A DISCUSSION IF, IF YOU STILL HAVE CAPACITY AT THIS TIME TO, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS AD HOC OR NOT. ARE YOU PART OF THAT? CAN YOU LIST OFF THE COMMISSIONERS AGAIN? JOSH? YES. BUTLER, DOCKERY, MONTGOMERY, AND FLORES. AND FLORES, MM-HMM . SO, YEAH. YEAH. MAY I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED. , SORRY. I THOUGHT WE WERE TRYING TO CREATE, UM, AN AD HOC FOR THE LISTENING SESSION IN APRIL, NOT THE ONE IN THE FALL LISTENING SESSION. UM, NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS IN THE WINTER, UM, FOCUSING ON ECONOMIC STABILITY. CORRECT. OKAY. IT'S JUST GONNA HAPPEN IN APRIL. AH, GOT IT. OKAY. UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE HERE, ARE Y'ALL OKAY WITH SERVING ON THIS NEW AD HOC? UM, JOSH ISN'T HERE AND DOCKERY IS NOT HERE, BUT, BUT LYNN, MONTGOMERY AND FLORES? YES, YES, YES, YES. OKAY, COOL. UM, BECAUSE DOCKERY AND DE LEON ARE NOT HERE, UM, CAN THEY BE ADDED OR WE HAVE TO WAIT IN A MONTH OR CAN THEY JUST JOIN THE AD HOC AS LIKE VOLUNTEER? BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE INTERESTED, BUT THEY'RE NOT HERE. I THINK THEY SHOULD BE HERE TO ACCEPT. SO YOU CAN ESTABLISH THE AD HOC TODAY, AND THEN AT THE NEXT MEETING IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN, HAVE THEM, THEY CAN SAY SO AT THAT NEXT MEETING. OKAY. AND THE CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR ME IS IF THE MEETING GETS SET AND THEY WANT TO JOIN IT BEFORE THEY ACCEPT, ARE THEY BARRED FROM ATTENDING THE MEETING? NO, THAT SHOULD BE FINE, SINCE WE'RE, UH, WITHIN, UH, BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE. OKAY, COOL. THEY'LL JUST BE OFFICIAL AT THE NEXT MEETING. OKAY, COOL. UM, SO THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION, OR EXCUSE ME, THE MOTION IS TO DISSOLVE, UH, THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE LISTENING SESSION THAT WE JUST HAD. AND AMAZING WORK, BY THE WAY, EVERYBODY ON THE PLANNING COMMITTEE, THAT WAS A REALLY GREAT LISTENING SESSION. UH, AND THEN MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS NEW AD HOC ON THE ECONOMIC ECONOMIC STABILITY, UM, WITH FLORES MONTGOMERY AND BUTLER, UH, AS THE AD HOC MEMBERS. UH, AND THEN WE'LL REVISIT ADDITIONAL MEMBERS NEXT MONTH. PERFECT. UM, SO THAT CONCLUDES THAT. UH, AND THEN ONE FINAL PIECE IN TERMS OF AD HOC IS TO CREATE, UM, AN, A SMALL AD HOC TO WORK WITH THE RANK CHOICE VOTING COALITION, UH, AND COMMITTEE, UH, TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE COMMISSION TO, UH, REVIEW AND POSSIBLY APPROVE TO CITY COUNCIL. UM, IN TERMS OF WHO IS ON THE COMMISSION, I WILL SERVE ON IT. UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WHO IS INTERESTED IN SERVING ON, UM, THE AD HOC? I JUST NEED LIKE, MAYBE ONE OR TWO, I'LL CHECK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY HERE. BUT I BELIEVE YOUR, UH, BYLAWS REQUIRE, UH, RESTRICT YOU ALL TO MAYBE ONE AD HOC COMMITTEE AT A TIME. SO YOU, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE ABOUT FIVE ACTIVE AD HOC COMMITTEES. [01:45:01] WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE ONLY ACTIVE COMMITTEES. THREE, YEAH. OKAY. THE ENVIRONMENT. 'CAUSE WE DISSOLVED A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM LAST MONTH OR WHEN WE MET LAST TIME. SO WE ONLY CURRENTLY HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL, THE BIPOC, AND THE LISTENING SESSION. OKAY. OKAY. THEN, UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT, OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT CURRENTLY SERVING ON AN AD HOC COMMITTEE, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO SHOULD CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING FOR THE THESE NEWER ESTABLISHED ONES. AND THIS IS TO STAY WITHIN COMPLIANCE WITH THE BROWN ACT. COOL. IF YOU CAN'T BE ON TWO, YOU SHOULD NOT. WE, AS MUCH AS WE CAN AVOID THAT, WE SHOULD BE. AND OUR, UH, LISTENING SESSIONS RIGHT NOW DO CONTRADICT THAT. SO WITH THIS NEWER THING THAT IS BEYOND YOUR STATED PRIORITIES FROM YOUR RETREAT, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HAVING INACTIVE COMMISSIONERS SERVE ON THIS NEWER BODY. YEAH, THAT THAT'S CORRECT. UH, COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. AND I THINK THAT THE PREMISE IS, IS YOU TEND TO HAVE SOME BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS IF YOU HAVE TOO, YOU KNOW, TOO MANY COMMISSIONERS ON, TOO MANY DIFFERENT AD HOCS AT THE SAME TIME. UM, IT'S EASY TO MIX DIFFERENT, UH, COMMUNICATIONS. SO THAT'S WHY IT IS RECOMMENDED. JUST TO STICK WITH ONE, THE QUESTION. UM, SO IN THE PAST, UM, THE CHAIR HAS DISCRETION TO AGENDIZE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE, TO THE COMMISSION. UM, IF THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL FOLKS WHO ARE ABLE TO JOIN US AD HOC, COULD I THEN WORK WITH THE, UM, STEERING COMMITTEE AND THE COALITION TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS AND IZE IT AND BRING IT BACK AS, AS A CHAIR? WOULD YOU YOURSELF, LIKE BE INTENDING TO JOIN THE AD HOC OR JUST WORKING SORT OF IN TANDEM WITH THEM? OH, I WANTED TO JOIN THE AD HOC, BUT LIKE, IF NO ONE'S GONNA JOIN, THEN I'LL JUST DO IT MYSELF. SORT OF LIKE A, LIKE A 1 1, 1 PERSON AD HOC. YEAH. OR I MEAN, THERE'S, IN MY ROLE AS CHAIR, JUST WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY PARTNER TO BRING THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE YEAH, I, I, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING IMPROPER WITH THAT. OKAY. COOL QUESTION. AND I WAS, CAN I ASK A QUESTION CHAIR ALONG THOSE LINES? I WAS JUST GONNA ASK THIS IN THE PRIOR AGENDA ITEM, BUT I THINK THIS IS A, A BETTER OPPORTUNITY IF WE DO AN AD HOC FOR, TO LOOK AT THE RED CHOICE VOTING ISSUE. JUST BE, IT WOULD JUST BE AN AD HOC TO CREATE A RECOMMENDATION. RIGHT. NOT TO TO, FOR THE ISSUE OF IT. OKAY. OKAY. BECAUSE THIS, THE RESEARCH IS ALREADY THERE, HAVE THE RESEARCH IS ALREADY THERE, RECOMMENDATION. SO THEN THIS AD HOC, IF WE MOVE FORWARD, WOULD BE LOOKING AT AN ALREADY EXISTING RECOMMENDATION THAT ORIGINATE FROM THIS GROUP. YES. AND POTENTIALLY ADD TO IT IF NECESSARY. OKAY. AND THEN THE OTHER OPTION, WHICH WAS, UH, UH, WHICH WAS, I WAS THINKING AS WELL IF, IF SOMETHING ALREADY EXISTS, CAN WE BRING THIS UP AS THE CHAIR, YOU MAKE DECISION TO BRING THIS UP ON A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, AND THEN AS A BODY WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND EVALUATE IT. CORRECT. WOULD THAT BE THE POTENTIALLY QUICKER, QUICKER ROUTE? YES. AND THAT'S WHY I WAS GETTING CONFIRMATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY THAT I DO HAVE THAT POWER, UM, TO DO IT ALONE, BUT I WANTED TO DO IT AS AN AD HOC JUST TO HAVE SOME HELP, BUT MM-HMM . I'M TOTALLY DOWN WITH DOING IT AS WELL. UM, COMMISSIONER COLE, I WOULD BE WILLING TO SWITCH AD HOCS IN ORDER TO HELP YOU, BECAUSE THE ENVIRONMENTAL ONE HAS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE ON IT. I THINK IF LIKE FIVE PEOPLE AT THIS POINT. WELL, YOU'RE ONLY ON THAT ONE, RIGHT? I'M ONLY ON THAT ONE. YEAH. SO YOU COULD DO TWO. OH, I THOUGHT, NO. YEAH, IT'S NO MORE THAN TWO. OH, NO MORE THAN TWO. YEAH. UH, PER PURSUANT TO, PURSUANT TO THE CURRENT BYLAWS, IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED TO TO BE ON MORE THAN MORE THAN TWO. YEAH. UH, THAT YOU, YOU, YOU CAN, YOU COULD BE COMMISSIONER COLE, YOU COULD BE ON, YOU COULD SERVE ON TWO AT YOUR DISCRETION. UM, BUT YOU, AGAIN, IT WAS JUST, IT'S SORT OF A HELPFUL LIMIT LIMITATION TO HELP THE COMMISSIONERS. PERFECT. UM, SO WE HAVE A TAKER FROM COMMISSIONER COLE. YEAH. UM, SO THAT SOLVES, UM, MY NEED. SOUNDS LIKE THE PERFECT AD HOC FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T JOIN AD HOCS. ALL THE WORK IS ALREADY DONE. MAYBE YOU WANNA PUT THE CALL OUT AGAIN TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T BEEN ON WITHOUT NAMING NAMES, BUT NO, I'M NOT GONNA FORCE PEOPLE TO, TO JOIN AD HOCS IF YOU WANT TO. IT'S MORE THAN WELCOME. WELL, THIS IS THE ASK JUST THE MOMENT. UM, BUT YES, COMMISSIONER BUTLER. SO I'M, I'M, I'M TRYING TO RESPECT ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER, WHICH I REALLY DON'T KNOW THAT WELL, BUT I'M WORKING ON IT. SO I CURRENTLY, I'M, I'M ON TWO AD HOCS AND I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO STEP BACK AWAY FROM THE LISTENING SESSION AD HOC RIGHT NOW. I'M [01:50:01] GOING TO REMAIN ON THE BIPOC AD HOC, BUT I'M GOING TO RELINQUISH MY SEAT ON THE LISTENING SESSION AD HOC AS OF RIGHT NOW, UNLESS THEY REALLY, REALLY NEED ME. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THAT WORKS. AND IT'S SEPARATE FROM THIS, THIS PARTICULAR CONVERSATION. BUT, UM, IN TERMS, ARE YOU LIKE FINAL ON IT, ON THAT DECISION OF STEPPING OFF? UM, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT REALLY MY FINAL, FINAL ANSWER. THAT'S WHAT I SAID. UNLESS THEY REALLY, REALLY NEED ME. I, I WANNA FOCUS ON THE AD HOC THAT I'M ON CURRENTLY, THE BIPOC AND, AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT I DO IT JUSTICE. OKAY. AND IN LOOKING AT MY OTHER OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, I WANNA MAKE SURE I DO EVERYTHING JUSTICE. UM, AND SO WITH THAT THOUGHT IN MIND, I'M SAYING AT THIS TIME I'M GONNA STEP AWAY FROM THE LISTENING SESSION AD HOC, BUT IF THEY FIND THAT THEY REALLY NEED ANOTHER PERSON, THEY CAN CALL ON ME. OKAY. COOL. UM, SO FOR THE NOTES, UM, IN TERMS OF THE MOTION, CAN WE PLEASE REMOVE COMMISSIONER BUTLER, UH, FOR THE LISTENING SESSION AD HOC? AND THEN IF COMMISSIONER BUTLER OR OTHER COMMISSIONERS DECIDE TO JOIN AT NEXT MONTH'S COMMISSION MEETING, THEY CAN DO SO AT THAT TIME. OKAY, COOL. AND THEN IN REGARDS TO THE NEW MOTION, UH, FOR THE RANK CHOICE VOTING, IT'S GONNA BE COMMISSIONER COLE AND I. AND THEN I THINK THAT CONCLUDES STATEMENT, OR NO, THAT WAS FOR THE PREVIOUS. DOES IT FOR THE R RV, DOES IT PERTAIN TO THE IT'S JUST INFORMATION. OKAY. UM, WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF BRINGING IT BACK IN NEXT MONTH IN CASE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING, BUT THEY'RE ON LIKE THREE, SO. OKAY. SO NOW THAT WE'VE CONCLUDED ALL OF THE AMENDED MOTIONS, CAN WE HAVE CONFIRMATION FROM THE MOTION AND SECONDER THAT THEY AGREE WITH THIS FRIENDLY COMMISSIONER LARA AND COMMISSIONER COLE? UH, YES, I AGREE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS THE PRESENTATION COMPONENT. UH, ARE THERE ANY, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, AND PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. AND IF THERE'S ANY IN ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE NOW SEEING THEM. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE IN ZOOM. ALRIGHT, LET'S DO IT. BILL. HI COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS BILL SIVE, COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE. HEY BILL, I WANTED TO MENTION A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ, UM, A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A, UH, SYMPOSIUM ONLINE HOSTED BY UC IRVINE WITH FEMA. AND THE SPECIFIC TOPIC OF THAT SYMPOSIUM WAS L-G-B-T-Q AND DISASTER PLANNING. I'M GONNA FIND MY NOTES AND SEND THOSE TO YOU. UM, AND COMMISSIONER BUTLER REGARDING BIPOC, UM, I HOST A MOVIE NIGHT ONCE A MONTH AT THE UNITARIAN CHURCH. AND IN FEBRUARY, THE MOVIE WILL BE PROJECT GUILLO LA, WHICH WAS A 24 DOC, 24 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY THAT WAS FUNDED BY THE LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, L-G-B-T-Q-I TWO S PLUS SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE L-G-B-T-Q BLACK POPULATION IN LONG BEACH REGARDING, UM, DE-STIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH. IT'S A 24 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY ON RESILIENCE TRAUMA AND BEING BLACK IN L-G-B-T-Q IN LA COUNTY. AND I'LL SEND THAT INFORMATION TO YOU VIA TONY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BILL. THE AD HOC WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED WITH THAT INFORMATION AND DATA. UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE. ALL RIGHT. UH, MAYBE PLEASE HAVE A ROLL CALL VOTE ALL COMMISSIONER LIZETTE FLORES. YES, THANK YOU. MOTION IS CARRIED. YES. ALRIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE. UM, WE HAVE OUR ESTABLISHED NEW AD HOCS. UH, WE'VE HAD THE RESTRUCTURING OF AD HOCS, AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME AMAZING IMPORTANT MEETINGS, UH, COMING UP TO SOLIDIFY SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN, UM, IN THE WORKS. UM, [01:55:01] TONY, IN REGARDS TO THE LAST PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, BEFORE WE COMPLETELY MOVE AWAY, UM, HOW SHOULD, UM, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SUBMIT INFORMATION TO US? UM, SO THE, THE ITEM'S CLOSED, BUT JUST TO, TO ANSWER A QUESTION ABOUT RECEIVING INFORMATION FOR THE COMMISSION IN GENERAL, UM, THE PUBLIC IS ALWAYS ABLE TO SEND ME ANY INFORMATION THAT THEY WOULD LIKE ME TO RELAY TO YOU ALL, AND THEN I WILL FORWARD EMAILS TO YOU ALL. UM, PERFECT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, TONY. UM, AND IF, UM, ON ALL OF OUR AGENDAS, I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS ARE WATCHING ONLINE OR YOU CAN SEE ME, BUT, UM, AT, AT THE VERY TOP IT SAYS, MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAVE, UH, OPTION TO SUBMIT ONLINE PUBLIC COMMENTS, OR YOU CAN EMAIL TO TONY. UM, YOU CAN STILL EMAIL ANY INFORMATION OVER TO TONY IF, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, BUT PLEASE TRY TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT WHAT YOU SENT TO TONY SO THAT TONY'S EMAIL INBOX IS NOT FLOODED WITH INFORMATION. UH, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH ON THAT. OKAY. UM, NEXT WE'RE GONNA PAUSE FROM THE AGENDA ITEMS, UH, AND GO INTO, UH, AN ELECTION, UH, FOR VICE CHAIR. UM, SO, UM, AND ALSO I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE RANK CHOICE, UM, TEAM, UM, SO WE CAN GET THAT UP AND RUNNING. UM, OKAY. SO, UM, AS EVERYONE KNOWS, OUR BELOVED VICE CHAIR, DR. BASS, UH, HAS STEPPED AWAY FROM THE COMMISSION. UM, SO THAT LEAVES A VACANCY IN TERMS OF A VICE CHAIR ROLE. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING INTO, UH, AN ELECTION PROCESS, UM, FOR, UH, THE NEW VICE CHAIR. SO I HAVE, UM, SOME INFORMATION, UM, WILL WE BE ABLE TO FINISH THIS BY EIGHT 30? YEAH. 'CAUSE THE, WE SHOULD, IT SHOULD BE VERY FAST. UM, AND THEN THE, THE PRESENTATION IS ALSO FAST. I'M HOPING IT TAKES NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES. OKAY. UM, SO, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY [VICE CHAIR ELECTION] GONNA GO THROUGH A PROCESS TO ESTABLISH A NEW VICE CHAIR, UM, TO BE ELECTED TONIGHT. UM, SO I WANTED TO OPEN UP, UH, NOMINATIONS, UM, IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE AN INDIVIDUAL FOR VICE CHAIR OR, UM, SELF NOMINATE. UH, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SO. I HAVE A NOMINATION I'D LIKE TO PRESENT. OKAY. UM, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE JOHN SCHULTZ AS THE NEXT VICE CHAIR. AWESOME. MM-HMM . A SECOND. CONGRATULATIONS. JOHN SCHULTZ, DO YOU NEED A SECOND FOR THAT? ACCEPT. OKAY. SO FOR NOMINATIONS, WE DO NOT NEED A SECOND, SO THANK YOU. JUST NOMINATING FOLKS. UM, BUT BEFORE, UM, JOHN SCHULTZ, DO YOU ACCEPT THE NOMINATION? YEAH, I, I ACCEPT THE NOMINATION. THANK YOU. PERFECT. THANK YOU. AND IT SEEMS LIKE THERE WERE SOME OTHER FOLKS QUEUING UP TO NOMINATE YOU TWO. SO THE LOVE IS DEFINITELY THERE. UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UM, NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR? SEEING NONE. UM, SO LET SEE. LET'S DO RANK CHOICE VOTING RIGHT NOW. , THERE'S ONLY LET'S ADAPT IT. THERE'S ONLY ONE CANDIDATE. UM, SO THERE ARE NO OTHER NOMINATIONS. UH, I DECLARE THE NOMINATIONS CLOSED FOR VICE CHAIR. UH, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY, JOHN, TO SPEAK. UH, UM, SO FEEL FREE TO SHARE WHY, UH, YOU ACCEPTED THE NOMINATION AND YOUR INTEREST FOR VICE CHAIR. WELL, I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, THE CHAIR FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK MYSELF OUT OF, UH, BEING ELECTED VICE CHAIR . UM, I, UH, IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO SERVE ON THIS, UH, THIS COMMISSION. UM, UH, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR OVER FOUR YEARS NOW. I THINK LIZETTE, UH, IS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S BEEN HERE LONGER. COMMISSIONER FLORES AND I CAME ON, UH, WITH THE CLASS OF, UH, COVINGTON. AND, UH, IT'S JUST SUCH AN HONOR TO, TO TO, TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS. AND I'VE GOTTEN TO, TO KNOW, UH, UH, UH, MANY OF YOU PERSONALLY, I THINK WE'RE ALL FACEBOOK FRIENDS. UM, I'VE WATCHED US COME FROM, UH, A COMMISSION WHERE, UH, YOU, YOU WOULDN'T WANNA GO TO THE BATHROOM OR WE'D LOSE QUORUM IF WE HAD QUORUM. UH, [02:00:01] WE NEVER HAD THE CITY ATTORNEY HERE. UH, ONLY WHEN WE STARTED GETTING INTO TROUBLE DID HE START SHOWING UP . UM, UH, UH, AND, AND HE KEEPS COMING. SO WE, WE MUST BE SPIKING DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. UM, NO, I, I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE NOMINATION. UH, UH, UH, UH, I WOULD HOPE THAT, UH, I'D HAVE, UH, UH, UH, AT LEAST SOME OF YOU VOTE FOR ME. UM, I, UH, I LOVE THE CITY. UM, I FORGOT TO, TO, TO BRING UP, UM, THAT I WANTED TO CLOSE THE MEETING IN HONOR OF, UH, OF, OF MAYOR FOSTER, UH, UH, WHO PASSED RECENTLY. BUT, UH, IT WAS IN THE 2000 SOMETHINGS WHEN HE PUT OUT A CALL FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO A MEETING SOMEWHERE DOWNTOWN, UH, UH, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BEING A COMMISSIONER IN THE CITY. AND, UH, I WENT TO THAT MEETING AND, UH, UH, I WAS GOING FOR AIRPORT COMMISSION. I MET WITH MARIO, THE, THE AIRPORT, UH, UH, UH, DIRECTOR AND I, I DIDN'T GET IN, BUT THAT KIND OF STARTED MY, UH, UH, MY INVOLVEMENT WITH, WITH POLITICS, UH, IN THE CITY. AND I FINALLY MADE, UH, COMMISSION, UH, GARCIA APPOINTED ME, UM, JUST OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, UH, WHICH IS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, FLEX. AND, UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW. I, I, I, I'M ALL FOR EQUITY. I, I HATE BULLIES. I'M, I'M FOR THE UNDERDOG. AND, UH, UH, AND, AND I'LL, AND I'LL SPEAK UP, UH, UH, FOR THEM IN EVERY INSTANCE. UH, AND, UM, NOT KNOWN FOR MY LACK OF BREVITY. SO I'M JUST GONNA STOP HERE WHILE THERE'S TIME ON THE CLOCK, , UH, UH, AND I, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE NOMINATION. AWESOME. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO IT MYSELF. SO I THOUGHT YOU ATE. I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE ROBBIE ALL, UH, ITS GETTING LATE. YOU DONE THERE WITH IT. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, JOHN, UM, FOR YOUR INTEREST, UM, AND YOUR DEDICATION TO EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS AND TO THIS COMMISSION AND TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA MAKE AN AMAZING VICE CHAIR, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, UM, AS WE NAVIGATE, UM, ALL OF OUR AMAZING PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD. UM, SO WITH THAT, WE'RE GOING TO CALL, UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO OTHER, UH, NOMINEES, UM, WE'RE GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE, UH, IN REGARDS TO THE VICE CHAIR. CAN LIZETTE FLORES? YES. OH, UNANIMOUS. CONGRATULATIONS. YAY. THAT'S AMAZING. CONGRATULATIONS. SO, AT THIS TIME, VICE CHAIR SCHULTZ, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? UH, THANK YOU. UH, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SERVING WITH, UH, AND SITTING WITH, UH, WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH CHAIR CHRIS THERE. UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN I, WHEN I SIGNED UP, I, I SIGNED UP, UH, I WAS TRYING TO GET ON THE PARKS AND REC COMMISSION 'CAUSE THAT WAS LIKE MY THING, BUILDING PLAYGROUNDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND, UH, UH, GARCIA GAVE ME HIS REASONS WHY HE WANTED ME ON THIS, THIS COMMISSION. AND, UH, I'M LIKE, OKAY, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING. I, I THINK SOMETIMES I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING. UH, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER AND, UH, AND KEEPING MOVING'S MEETING ALONG, I, I, I THINK I, I'M A, I'M A GOOD, UH, HELP WITH THAT. UM, AND I'M, I'M JUST, I'M, I'M PROUD TO, UH, TO, TO BE SITTING UP HERE. BE PROUD TO BE SERVING WITH YOU AND, AND, UM, PARTICIPATING A, A SMALL COG IN THE, IN THE, IN THE, THE WHEELS OF, UH, WHAT, UH, UH, WHAT IS THIS, THIS GREAT CITY OF, OF LONG BEACH. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. UM, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UH, WOULD LIKE TO SHARE SOME, UH, BRIEF WORDS. UM, BUT I SEE DR. LA ARE YOU QUEUED UP FOR THIS? IS THIS THE ITEM OR IS THIS FROM A DIFFERENT ITEM? IT'S FROM A DIFFERENT ITEM. OKAY. IT'S A DIFFERENT ITEM. I APOLOGIZE. UM, BUT ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WANNA SHARE A BRIEF CONGRATULATIONS. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER. SO THE TERM, WE, WE, WE ELECT, WE REELECT OFFICERS, UH, THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR EVERY YEAR. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. IN JUNE. OKAY. SO YOU WILL SERVE THROUGH JUNE AND THEN WE'LL, AND THEN WE'LL REDO IT AGAIN. YES. THEN YOU CAN GET RID OF ME. YES. UM, YES. THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS OKAY. I, I JUST, I, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. I JUST WANTED TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE. YEAH. AND, UM, FOR A CHAIR, THE TERM IS ONLY TWO YEARS. MM-HMM . UM, SO IN THIS UPCOMING JUNE, [02:05:01] UH, WE WILL NEED A NEW CHAIR. OH YEAH. SO EITHER JOHN OR WHOEVER IS INTERESTED OF, UH, RISING UP TO THE CHAIR AT THAT POINT, IF THAT WOULD BE THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO, SO, 'CAUSE I'M INELIGIBLE TO RUN AN ADDITIONAL TERM. THANK YOU. COOL. OKAY. UH, SO THAT CONCLUDES THIS ITEM. YAY. CELEBRATIONS. YAY. UM, WE'RE GONNA MOVE OVER TO THE OFFICE OF EQUITY. UM, AGENDA ITEM ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS A RECOMMENDATION [4. 26-57397 Recommendation to receive and file a monthly update from the Office of Equity.        Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] TO RECEIVE AND FILE A MONTHLY UPDATE FROM OFFICE OF EQUITY. OH, WAIT, QUESTION. UM, MADAM CLERK, UM, DID WE NEED TO DO PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE VICE CHAIR? NO. NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. IT'S NOT AN ITEM. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . CAN I HAVE A FIRST AND SECOND? OH, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COLE. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, OFFICE OF EQUITY. LET'S GO. AWESOME. ALRIGHT, SO JUST VERY QUICK UPDATES. UM, WE WANNA INVITE YOU ALL TO JOIN, UH, US AT THE 30TH ANNUAL, UM, MLK PARADE, UM, AND CELEBRATION TAKING PLACE THIS COMING SATURDAY, UH, JANUARY 17TH. UM, THE KICKOFF WILL BE AT 10:00 AM SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD WANT TO WALK ON THE PARADE WITH US. UM, ALSO THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMM UH, COMMISSION INVITES YOU TO JOIN THEM IN CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH OF THE DISABILITY DATA AND COMMUNITY SURVEY ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 15TH FROM FIVE TO 6:00 PM AND WE WILL RELY MORE INFORMATION, UH, AS THE, THE DETAILS. SO THAT WILL BE SENT IN AN EMAIL TO YOU ALL. ALSO, UM, THE LONG BEACH BUDGET PRIORITY SURVEY IS LIVE. SO PLEASE, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE, SUBMIT YOUR BUDGET SURVEYS, SURVEY PRIORITIES BY COMPLETING THE LONG BEACH BUDGET PRIORITY SURVEY. UH, THE SURVEY IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH KAMAI TAGAL, AND IS OPEN THROUGH FEBRUARY 6TH. AND, UM, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH IS INVITING MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CITY'S FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS BY SHARING THEIR SERVICE PRIORITIES AT ONE OF THE UPCOMING COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS. THE COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS WILL BE HELD IN PERSON AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT LONG BEACH, UM, AND ONE, UH, IN A VIRTUAL FORMAT. THE MEETINGS WILL BEGIN ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 22ND, AND WE'LL GO THROUGH THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH. THANK YOU SO MUCH, TONY, FOR THOSE UPDATES. UM, CITY ATTORNEY ATO, I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, SO THIS YEAR OUR, UM, COMMISSION APPROVED, UM, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE COMMISSION. I BELIEVE IT WAS SET FOR FY 26, UM, DURING THE, THAT PARTICULAR BUDGET. BUT WE HAD A SPECIFIC NUMBER IN MIND, UM, TO CARRY US OUT FOR THE YEAR. UH, WE DID GET ROLLOVER FUNDS, WHICH WE APPRECIATE AND WE THANK THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FOR APPROVING THAT. UM, IF COMMISSIONERS WANTED TO, IN THEIR CAPACITY AS A COMMISSIONER, UH, ADVOCATE FOR THOSE SAME FUNDS IN THOSE IN THE FY 27, UM, BUDGET, WHAT IS IT CALLED THAT THEY'RE DOING RIGHT NOW? THE PRIORITIES PROCESS? THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS. COMMUNITY MEETINGS. UM, COULD COMMISSIONERS STILL DO THAT SINCE OUR FULL ASK WASN'T MET? OR IS IT JUST BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY FOR THAT PARTICULAR BUDGET CYCLE? I BELIEVE YOU CAN STILL ASK. OKAY. BUT SO EVEN THOUGH THE, THE BUDGET WAS ALREADY PRE-APPROVED, YOU'RE ASKING CAN COMMISSIONERS STILL ADVOCATE FOR THE NEXT, THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE? YES. BECAUSE IT'S TIED TO THE LISTENING SESSIONS, UM, FOR LIKE MARKETING, UM, UH, OUTREACH, COMMUNICATION, STUFF LIKE THAT. YEAH. I, I I THINK THERE, THERE'S NOTHING LEGALLY PREVENTING ANY COMMISSIONERS FROM STILL ADVOCATING FOR THAT IN OUR OFFICIAL COMMISSIONER RAW. YES. IT STILL THOUGH IT BE, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE GOING TO STILL DO IT IN YOUR OFFICIAL COMMISSIONER ROLE, IT STILL NEEDS TO BE CONSENSUS FROM THE, FROM THE COMMISSION. SO IT STILL NEEDS THE COMMISSION AS A BODY STILL NEEDS TO BE IN AGREEMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC COMMISSIONERS CAN GO AND ADVOCATE FOR THAT. LIKE, IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT SHOULD NOT, IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED THAT THEY DO THAT ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE, THE BODY. OH. IT'S IN OUR BYLAWS THAT ALLOWS US, AND, AND THIS IS THE, THE, THE REASON FOR THE QUESTION. SO, UM, IN OUR BYLAWS, IT STATES ONCE AN ITEM IS APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION, ANY COMMISSIONER IN THEIR CAPACITY AS A COMMISSIONER CAN ADVOCATE FOR THAT PARTICULAR ITEM. SO LAST YEAR OR LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE ASKED FOR 22,000. WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO GET EIGHT BECAUSE IT'S ROLLOVER. UM, SO TO [02:10:01] ADVOCATE FOR THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THE MONEY IS SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR THE LISTENING SESSIONS THAT ROLL OVER IN DIFFERENT FISCAL YEARS. IS IT ALLOWABLE SINCE WE ALREADY APPROVED IT, UM, TO ALLOW COMMISSIONERS TO GO AND ADVOCATE FOR THE REMAINING FUNDS? YEAH. AS, AS FAR AS I, AS I KNOW THAT THERE, THERE'S, UH, PERMISSIBLE, JUST TO CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION, CHAIR, ARE YOU, IS THIS ADVOCACY HAPPENING AT COUNCIL OR ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THESE WINTER COMMUNITY BUDGET MEETINGS? 'CAUSE THAT'S A COMMUNITY MEETING, NOT A, LIKE A, A CIVIC FORUM IN WHICH YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A COMMISSIONER. OH. LIKE IT'S NOT CITY COUNCIL LEAD RUNNING THAT MEETING. THIS IS WITH CITY STAFF OR, UM, HEARING FROM COMMUNITY ABOUT THEIR BUDGET PRIORITIES. SO, OKAY, COOL. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ADVOCACY? UM, I JUST DON'T WANT THERE TO BE AN ISSUE IF, UM, SO I WANTED TO ASK ALL THIS BECAUSE I WANTED TO ENCOURAGE US TO GET IN ON EARLY, UM, IN THESE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND ADVOCATE FOR THE FUNDS, UM, BECAUSE MUCH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS DO THE SAME THING. YEAH. UM, TO ADVOCATE FOR THE FUNDS IN THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS SO THAT BY THE TIME WE GET INTO AUGUST OF NEXT YEAR, IT'S ALREADY LIKE THE TRACTION IS THERE. UM, SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR BASES ARE COVERED SO THAT THERE ISN'T ANY ISSUES OF LIKE, OH, I'M ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION IN THESE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A CITY MEETING. YEAH. I MEAN, THE WAY THE ENGAGEMENT IS DESIGNED, IT'S NOT, I DON'T SEE HOW THAT WOULD BE AN ISSUE. OKAY. THE, THAT GUIDANCE BASED OFF OF THE HANDBOOK BASED OFF OF THE BROWN ACT IS SPECIFIC TO ENGAGING THE CITY COUNCIL WHO YOU ARE AN ADVISORY BODY TO. AH, OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CLARIFICATION. SO I AM HAPPY TO ENCOURAGE US ALL TO SHOW UP TO THESE MEETINGS AND ADVOCATE FOR THE FUNDS THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO HAVE REALLY GREAT LISTENING SESSIONS. UM, SO THERE'S NOTHING HOLDING US BACK. UM, PLEASE DO ATTEND, UM, FILL OUT THE SURVEY, SHARE THE SURVEY, POST IT ON FACEBOOK. UM, THE ADVOCACY STARTS NOW SO THAT WE ARE PREPARED FOR WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, CITY COUNCIL IN AUGUST. A NUMBER. HUH? IS THERE A NUMBER THAT YOU WE NEED 22 ASKING FOR 22? YEAH. UM, AND I CAN FORWARD OVER THE, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM LAST TIME. OKAY, COOL. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, AND THE PRESENTATION, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS. I KNOW WE WENT INTO DISCUSSION, BUT THANK YOU. UH, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM NOW, AND IF THERE ARE ANY IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE. NOW SEEING, DONE BOTH IN PERSON AND ZOOM. THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM FOUR. ALRIGHT. ARE THERE ANY DISCUSSIONS ON, UH, ANY OF THE ITEMS THAT WAS LISTED? SEEING NONE, CAN WE GET A CALL FOR VOTE, PLEASE? YES. BEAUTIFUL. COMMISSIONER LIZETTE FLORES, I CAN TAKE A VERBAL YES. JUST STEP WHY MY MACHINE ISN'T WORKING. THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. MOTION IS CARRIED. YAY. UH, ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS [ANNOUNCEMENTS] FROM COMMISSIONERS? UH, WELL, I'M SORRY. WE'LL GO WITH BROWN. AND THEN BUTLER, JUST A REMINDER THAT THE STATE OF THE CITY IS NEXT TUESDAY AT FIVE O'CLOCK AND REX IS ASKING EVERYBODY TO BE THERE ON TIME. J JEFF SENT OUT A EMAIL TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS INVITING HIM TO GO AS WELL. RS VP? YES. RSVP. AND BECAUSE IT DOES, AND, AND I SAW THE COUNCIL MEETING LAST NIGHT AND I THINK REX IS GONNA HAVE A REALLY FUN TIME AT THIS, UH, STATE OF THE CITY EVERY YEAR. THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING POPPING OFF FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY, WHICH IS GOOD. UH, COMMISSIONER BUTLER? YES. OKAY. SO TONY MENTIONED THE PARADE EARLIER, AND I AM HIPPOPOTAMUS HAPPY AND PEACOCK PROUD. OH, YAY. TO TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT I RECEIVED FORMAL NOTIFICATION THAT I WAS SELECTED AS GRAND MARSHALL IN THE 2020 SIXL. CONGRATULATIONS. M ML JUNIOR PARADE. WOO HOO. . ONE OF OUR OWN. THAT WOULD BE ME. YOU MADE IT. I, AND I'VE BEEN PRACTICING MY WAY . HE TOLD ME TOO SHORT AND THEN TOO LONG. YEAH. OKAY, GOTCHA. NOLAN. SO IF YOU'RE NOT BUSY ON SATURDAY, UM, JANUARY 17TH AT 10 O'CLOCK, MEET US OVER THERE AT THE PARADE. OKAY. I'LL BE THE ONE IN THE CONVERTIBLE WITH THE WAVE . THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. COOL. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK [02:15:01] YOU. UH, AND I HOPE THERE CAN BE SOME COORDINATION THAT MAYBE THE COMMISSION CAN WALK BEHIND YOU OR THE OFFICE OF EQUITY CAN WALK BEHIND YOU. OH, WOULDN, THAT'D BE AWESOME. I THINK THAT WOULD BE COOL. WE CARRY HER ON. WELL, YOU PROBABLY WANNA, YOU PROBABLY WANNA CONTACT, UM, COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX SIX. YEAH. SINCE IT'S IN THEIR DISTRICT. AND THE NOTIFICATION CAME FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SULI SORROWS, SO THEY'RE PROBABLY PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. SO THAT WOULD BE COOL IF I HAD ALL YOU GUYS THERE WITH ME. THAT WOULD BE WHOEVER'S AVAILABLE. AND GIVE US A SHOUT IF YOU GET THE MIC. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? OF COURSE I WILL. IT'S LIKE, THOSE ARE MY PEEPS RIGHT THERE BEHIND ME. I'M WITH THEM, THEY'RE WITH ME. THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT THANK YOU. VERY WELL DESERVED. THANK YOU. AND EARNED CONGRATULATIONS, COMMISSIONER BUTLER. OKAY. ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? ALL RIGHT. UM, PLEASE DO FOLLOW UP WITH TONY. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME LIKE HICCUPS LAST YEAR ABOUT PARTICIPATION. UH, WE ALL HAVE CONNECTIONS TO OTHER GROUPS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, UH, THE CONTINGENT FOR, UM, THE COMMISSION IS, IS SMALL. SOMETIMES ONE, SOMETIMES TWO, THREE. UM, SO JUST COMMUNICATE, UH, IF YOU'RE GONNA ATTEND, BE LIKE I'M ATTENDING BUT WITH A DIFFERENT GROUP OR I'M ATTENDING SOLELY WITH THE COMMISSION, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. I UNFORTUNATELY AM NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO ATTEND. UH, I WAS LAID OFF IN DECEMBER AND MY NEW JOB HIRED ME ON AND I HAVE MY FIRST TRAINING DAY THAT I'M GONNA BE CONTRIBUTING TO TRAINING OUR STUDENTS ON THAT SAME DAY. SO IN THE HONOR OF DR. MARTHA KING, I'LL BE DOING SOME LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WITH STUDENTS IN LOS ANGELES. SO, UM, I APOLOGIZE, I WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT. UM, ALRIGHT, SO WITH THAT, UH, THERE ARE NO MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND I OFFICIALLY YOU JOIN THE MEETING. BEFORE WE ADJOURN, CAN WE HAVE, UM, NON-AG AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE? OH, YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. IF THERE'S ANY, UH, MEMBERS [PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Equity and Human Relations Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.] OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE NON-AG AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT IN PERSON, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. AND IF ANY IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE. NOW I SEE ONE IN PERSON AND ONE IN THE ZOOM. WE CAN START IN PERSON. I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT THIS LONG FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. THAT'S OKAY. I MEAN, THANK YOU FOR SAYING I WAS EXPECTING TO WAIT TILL THE END, SO, OKAY. UM, SO, UM, I AM HERE WITH RANK CHOICE VOTING, BUT WHENEVER I COME I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL. OKAY. UM, SO I AM PART OF THE UCLA CAL KIDS INSTITUTE. CAL KIDS IS A, UM, IT'S A, IT'S A SCHOLARSHIP THAT GROWS WITH CHILDREN. IT IS MONEY INVESTED BY THE STATE INTO A 5 29 TAX ADVANTAGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR ALL NEWBORNS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. AND AN ADDITIONAL 500 BUCKS FOR LOW INCOME PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN. SO, UM, THAT MEANS IN LONG BEACH WE HAVE, IF I'M USING THE NUMBER, 64,000 STUDENTS IN L-B-U-S-D, THEY ESTIMATE THAT 60% OF ALL THE STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE ADDITIONAL $500. SO THAT'S ABOUT $20 MILLION WAITING FOR, UM, LONG BEACH STUDENTS TO, UM, CLAIM THE MONEY'S ALREADY THERE FOR THEM. AND THAT IS ABOUT, UM, I CAN'T 38,000 STUDENTS WHO HAVE THIS MONEY. SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO LONG BEACH. THERE IS, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET PEOPLE TO CLAIM THEIR ACCOUNTS. AND SO I AM TRYING TO BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMISSIONS, PARTICULARLY THE EQUITY COMMISSION BECAUSE THERE IS A MOVEMENT ACROSS THIS COUNTRY IN THESE, SETTING UP THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT ALL CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, HAVE A PATHWAY TOWARDS HIGHER EDUCATION OR POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION BECAUSE THE MONEY CAN ALSO BE USED FOR VOCATIONAL SCHOOL. UM, SO I'M TRYING TO KEEP IT IN FRONT AND CENTER IN LONG BEACH AMONG THE COMMISSIONS. UM, I'VE BEEN EMAILING THE CITY COUNSELORS, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH THEIR CONSTITUENTS. SO I'M JUST HERE TO, UM, I THINK IT REALLY IS A CAUSE THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE FOR THE EQUITY COMMISSION. 'CAUSE THAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM AND PROGRAMS LIKE THESE. UM, ALSO, AND A BRIEF CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH THE MAYOR AT AN EVENT, UM, HE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN CHILD SAVINGS ACCOUNTS AND WANTING TO DO ONE IN LONG BEACH. AND THERE'S ACTUALLY A MECHANISM NOW THAT MAKES IT EASIER TO DO IT BECAUSE OUTSIDE ENTITIES, LIKE A CITY, LIKE AN ORGANIZATION LIKE COVERED CALIFORNIA, DID THIS. THERE'S A PROGRAM ALREADY CAN PUT MONEY INTO THE CAL KIDS ACCOUNTS FOR STUDENTS. SO NOW YOU NO LONGER AS A CITY WOULD HAVE TO SET UP AN ACCOUNT TO DO IT. YOU CAN JUST TAKE THE DEPOSITS AND PUT THEM DIRECTLY INTO THE ACCOUNTS THAT ALREADY EXIST FOR THE, THE, FOR THE STUDENTS. SO THAT'S DOWN THE ROAD, BUT AT LEAST, UM, MAYOR RICHARDSON EXPRESSED INTEREST IN IT. AND IN THE MEANTIME, [02:20:01] YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE, WE HAVE ABOUT $20 MILLION WE NEED TO GET CLAIMED IN LONG BEACH. SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, I WOULD LOVE TO DO A BIGGER PRESENTATION, UM, TO THE COMMISSION IF THERE'S INTEREST IN IT. BUT IF NOT, YOU'LL PROBABLY JUST HEAR FROM ME EVERY TIME WE SHOW UP AT YOUR MEETINGS. I'M LIKE, I'M ALREADY HERE. I MIGHT AS WELL SAY SOMETHING . SO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER. UH, AND THE, AND THE PRESENT, THE PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, SO ARE WE HAVE ANY ONLINE? YES, WE HAVE ONE IN THE ZOOM BILL, YOUR TIME STARTS NOW. UH, THANK YOU, UH, COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS BILL S AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU ALL KNOW IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE THAT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS LOOKING AT ITS AGING PLAN, THE CALIFORNIA MASTER PLAN ON AGING AND CHANGING A LOT OF POLICIES AND UPDATING THEM THAT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE SINCE THE 1980S. PART OF THEIR WEBINARS THAT THEY HAVE DONE IS TO PROVIDE EDUCATION ON HOW TO CREATE AN AREA AGENCY ON AGING. OUR OLDER POPULATION IN LONG BEACH WOULD LIKE TO GET AN AREA AGENCY ON AGING IN LONG BEACH. THE CITY OF LONG BEACH ALREADY PROVIDES MULTIPLE SERVICES THAT FIT THE CRITERIA FOR AN AGENCY ON AGING. AND SO MY GOAL IS TO GET ALL MY NOTES TOGETHER. I TRY HAD HOPED TO GET 'EM TONIGHT. UM, BUT I'LL GET MY NOTES TOGETHER AND GET THEM TO YOU AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I'D LIKE TO SEE THE COMMISSION ADVOCATE FOR THIS. IT MEANS EXTRA DOLLARS FOR THE CITY, FOR OUR OLDER POPULATION. UH, THEY DON'T, THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING EXTRA. THESE ARE FEDERAL DOLLARS, UM, THAT ARE WELL SPREAD OUT TO ALL OLDER GROUPS OR AREA AGENCY AGINGS THROUGHOUT THE, UH, COUNTRY. AND I THINK THERE ARE 33 OR 34 AREA AGENCIES ON AGING WITHIN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ALONE IN VARIOUS COUNTIES UP AND DOWN THE STATE. UM, ADDITIONALLY, UM, 2026 IS THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OR THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. AND, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO KINDLY REMIND THE COMMISSIONERS THAT LGBT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COM CONTRIBUTING THOSE 250 YEARS. AND THE MOVIE NIGHTS THAT I'LL BE SHOWING AT DEARY CHURCH FOCUS ON THESE 250 YEARS OF CONTRIBUTIONS, RESILIENCY, TRAUMA, AND THAT WE ARE STILL STILL HERE AND WE'RE NOT GONNA DISAPPEAR. AND LASTLY, THIS HAPPENED EARLIER THIS EVENING. I GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, THEIR STAKEHOLDER Q4 NEWSLETTER. I SUBMITTED A 500 WORD ESSAY TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT NEWSLETTER. THE NEWSLETTER CAME OUT AND MY ESSAY IS ON THE SECOND PAGE. UH, THE BOOST THE ESSAY IS ON L-G-B-T-Q AND MENTAL HEALTH IN LA COUNTY. AND MY REFLECTION ON IT, UM, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IT, UM, I COULD SEND IT TO YOU GUYS. UM, BUT I WAS JUST TICKLED PAIN TO SEE THAT THEY SELECTED MY, MY ESSAY TO BE INCLUDED. SO SHOWING UP FOR LONG BEACH WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH. THANK YOU ALL. CONGRATULATIONS BILL. THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR NON AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT. AWESOME. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE WHO PROVIDED A PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, AGAIN, IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION OR REQUESTS, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL THEM OVER, UH, AND THEN WE WILL EVALUATE THEM. UM, I OFFICIALLY [ADJOURNMENT] ADJOURNED THE MEETING AT 8 29. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.