[The following is a ballot recommendation by Keith Higginbotham, a freelance journalist who has provided communications for American Shipper, the Port of Long Beach, and the Long Beach Press-Telegram.]
Why would nearly the entire international trade community band together in unanimous opposition to something purported to be a minor issue regarding the relationship between City Hall and the port? Several reasons.
First, City Hall rushed the measure onto the ballot with almost zero vetting and with no analysis of the long-term impacts on the port.
Second, Measure D would shift significant portion of the port’s revenue to City Hall, threatening the financial security and competitiveness of the port.
Third, Measure D would inject the political whims of City Hall into the operation of the port as a business by the Harbor Department.
I encourage you to draw a line in the sand on Nov. 2 and vote “NO” on Measure D. Perhaps a rousing defeat at the ballot box will convince City Hall that it must clean its own house before plundering one of the few golden geese left in Long Beach.