Long Beach Chamber Enters The Gary vs. Gerrie Feud

In the interest of transparency and speed, Patch is posting the online skirmish that continued late Tuesday night between the two Long Beach councilmembers that began with Gerrie Schipske attacking Gary DeLong for alleged rudeness to a business at last week's City Council meeting.

DeLong represents about 50,000 residents in Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples on up to the Cal State Long Beach neighborhoods. He is running against former Congressman Steve Kuykendall (Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar dropped out of the race last week) in the Republican Primary for the new 47th Congressional District. It includes Long Beach and parts of western Orange County including Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Garden Grove. The winner will face Democrat and State Sen. Alan Lowenthal in the fall general election to represent 700,000 people.

Gerrie Schipske represents the 5th District that encompasses about 50,000 residents of Eastside Long Beach neighborhoods farther inland.

Click here for last week's exchange.

Tonight, DeLong's campaign e-mailed the following note from the Greater Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, one of California's largest and influential. His campaign did e-mail the note on his City Council e-stationary, which campaign law may require be separate rather than taxpayer-connected:

"Long Beach Councilmember Gary DeLong is running for Congress, and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee has endorsed Councilmember DeLong for the newly created 47th Congressional District (Avalon, Cypress, Garden Grove, Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Signal Hill, Stanton, Rossmoor and Westminster.) DeLong has been recognized by local business leaders, elected officials and many other community leaders as the pro-business candidate for Congress for our region. 

"That is why the Chamber found it rather unsettling that in several blog posts by current 5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske, she is attacking DeLong's credibility as a pro-business leader. Matter of fact, DeLong is the only councilmember currently on the Council to own and operate a successful small business, making him an even more viable candidate to represent business for the 47th Congressional seat. DeLong also remains one of the true business friendly councilmembers for business in Long Beach. 

"Councilmember Schipske has routinely voted against business in our wonderful city. Schipske continues to be beholden to pro-labor union groups that aim to place business in Long Beach at an economic disadvantage. DeLong has time and time again stood against such groups and seeks ways to bring the business community's voice to the forefront."

There were a couple of paragraphs unrelated to Schipske about DeLong's decared 100 businesses in 100 days visits, and then 10 major endorsement quotes that included Belmont Shore resident and former Gov. George Deukmejian. Patch will do an endorsements roundup in the future. The Chamber's note concludes:

"....Schipske has a hard time siding with business in Long Beach. Like the anti-business legislators in Sacramento, Schipske doesn't understand how difficult it is to create and grow businesses in California. We need real people with real solutions to our economic issues and we need a business person, like DeLong, who knows how to sign the front of a paycheck, not just the back of a paycheck … and that's Strictly Business."

--Randy Gordon, President and CEO, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

Gerrie Schipske's Blog:

Note on LB Chamber of Commerce's Attack on Me -- You Got the Wrong Opponent

"I received a wonderful valentine in my email inbox while sitting in City Council, from Randy Gordon, Executive Director of the LB Chamber of Commerce.


"Randy, who lives in Huntington Beach because he loves Long Beach so much, wrote a long email missive about his love and admiration for Gary DeLong and claimed that Gary, unlike that big, bad woman in the 5th Council District Gerrie Schipske, is the only business person on the entire City Council and that Gary needed to be applauded for launching 100 visits to 100 businesses in 10 minutes or something like that. Oh, and Gary is strong and not pro labor like that working wench Schipske. (He missed the part where Gary is described as dapper and a Young Gun...)

"Note to Randy:  I know love can be blinding but you don't serve your membership well (including the Port of Long Beach which gave $30,000 to you as a member) when you don't tell the truth and you go after the wrong opponent for your endorsed candidate, DeLong. Gary isn't running against me for Congress. He is running against himself, Steve Kuykendal and State Senator Alan Lowenthal.

"Simple facts: Both Gary DeLong and I have business licenses because we both do consulting work. I ran a very successful law practice on Pine Avenue for several years. I now have a medical legal consulting business. Both DeLong and I file a form 700 so you can see how much or little income his business makes. So stop the nonsense about him being the only one with business experience.

"I voted against raising property taxes in Long Beach. DeLong voted to raise property taxes (Measure I parcel tax). I voted against imposing a fee on shoppers who want a paper bag and banning plastic bags. DeLong voted to impose the fee and the ban.

"Regarding labor: Both DeLong and I voted for the project labor agreements. Both of us voted for salary increases for our public safety unions. Glad to see you've endorsed the Gary as the prolabor council member in the 3rd.

"Randy, Randy. Does it mean so little to you that when the Chamber of Commerce lost many of its small business members because the Chamber wasn't doing much for them, that I formed a Small Business Advisory Committee in my district and that I reached out to you for Chamber support only to be rebuffed and ignored or that I have contacted every newly licensed business in my district and provided them information on who to call for service.

"Or that I have been working with the Lakewood Village businesses (yes, Randy, Lakewood Village is in Long Beach) to spruce up their business corridor or that I brought in marketing experts to see how we can attract retail to the district??? Or how about that my staff and I brought TEDXSOCAL to Long Beach which was not only successful in its own right, but resulted in bringing new convention business to the city because some attendees were so impressed that they decided to book their convention here? Or that the Council just approved my proposal to allow local Long Beach businesses to showcase themselves at a city council meeting each month so we have help support their efforts? (Bet you also didn't know that part of the proposal includes a suggestion that council members and the mayor actually go out and visit the businesses to show our support. Oops was that where Gary got his idea?)

"Wow, with that kind of track record and dedication maybe I should run against Gary DeLong for Congress afterall. Nah. But until I do, save your attacks for his real opponents, Randy.

Hugs and Happy Valentine's Day.
--Gerrie"