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Los Angeles County, CA April 11, 2006 Election
Smart Voter

Cleaning Up Long Beach's Environment

By Douglas "Doug" Drummond

Candidate for Mayor; City of Long Beach

This information is provided by the candidate
Long Beach's environment will be a top priority in my administration
I promise the environment will be a top priority. With Long Beach's critical issues of the budget, public safety, the airport, infrastructure and others, our local environment is often overlooked. That will not happen during my tenure as Mayor. My complete environmental plan is posted on my Web site at http://www.drummond4mayor.com. Some key points:

  • The establishment of a citywide Environmental Commission. The commission's mandate would be the protection and improvement of the quality of life for all Long Beach residents. The commission would work with regional agencies such as the Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the federal government's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set local environmental policies.

  • Elimination of diesel vehicles in publicly owned fleets (city, public buses, school equipment, and school buses), and transition into hybrid and other clean fuel vehicles by 2015.

  • Identify upriver cities that illegally dump trash that pollutes our beaches, and explore sanctions against offenders. Obtain additional cleanup funding from inland sources to remove their trash from Long Beach.

  • Aggressively pursue and prosecute persons illegally storing or dumping hazardous materials. Add "markers" to coke and sulfur stored in the harbor for shipment. Test Downtown Marina and apartment sites for the "marked" coke and sulfur dust.

The Port of Long Beach's impact on our city's environment must also be addressed. There is no question the Port of Long Beach has been a major economic engine for the City of Long Beach. The Port provides jobs and billions in revenue for the region. It also brings traffic and pollution. The difficulty has been encouraging the positive aspects of the Port while mitigating the negative. It has often been a contentious process of compromise, with Port officials determined to use the facility's resources for its continued expansion, apparently to the exclusion of the City's needs.

But we must remember that the Port has a responsibility to its host community to mitigate the problems it causes in the city and the region. I believe when problems are caused here, they must be mitigated here, not 20 miles down the coast. The Port cannot add to the economic well being of our region while at the same time detracting from our population's quality of life.

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ca/la Created from information supplied by the candidate: February 7, 2006 13:32
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