Lori Lofstrom, Chairman of the Long Beach Chamber Board of
Directors; Joanne Davis, Chairman of the Long Beach Chamber
Government Affairs Council; and, Randy Gordon, President and CEO
of the Long Beach Chamber released the following joint statement
today announcing the position of the Long Beach Area Chamber of
Commerce on Measure T:
"At its October 22, 2009 meeting, the Board of Directors of the
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce voted to remain neutral on
the Classroom Teacher, Student Safety and Education Measure on
the November 3, 2009 ballot, commonly referred to as Measure T.
The Long Beach Chamber has a long-standing position of
supporting LBUSD and its endeavors. The Chamber is committed to
supporting education for our students today which leads to
innovation, economic development, and ultimately wealth creation
in the future. Fundamentally, an educated workforce is essential
to success in the business community.
Conversely, a primary concern to the Chamber is fairness: the
parcel tax would apply only to owner-occupied single-family
homes, not to renters and not to those over the age of
sixty-five. Thus, the tax base appears to be narrow compared to
those who would directly benefit, which in particular may
include many who rent their homes.
Another concern is that Long Beach voters recently approved
Measure K. This measure was a bond to fund the repair of schools
and classrooms that will result in a property tax assessment of
$60 per $100,000 in assessed value for the next 25 years. The
Chamber is concerned that there never seems to be an end to
requests for taxes to fund education. Instead, the LBUSD should
seek to reduce costs rather than increase revenue.
The Chamber does, however, recognize the extent to which LBUSD
has made dramatic recent budget cuts -- $100 million in the last
five years - and has reduced staff. District Superintendent
Chris Steinhauser has voluntarily accepted a 10 percent pay cut.
At the same time, the LBUSD has won once and been a finalist
five times for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, and has
improved the quality and impact of its programs so that
enrollment has actually increased.
However, in the end, the Board of Directors of the Long Beach
Area Chamber of Commerce did not come the conclusion that the
benefits of passing Measure T outweighs the costs, and vice
versa.
For these reasons, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will
remain neutral on Measure T."
August 7
,
2009
Long Beach Chamber Statement on the Resignation of LBUSD School
Board Member Michael Ellis Randy
Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Area Chamber of
Commerce released the following statement this morning regarding
the resignation of Long Beach Unified School District School
Board Member Michael Ellis: “It’s about time!”
School Board Member Michael Ellis Served With A Notice Of
Intention To Recall
Long
Beach Unified School District Board of Education Member Michael
Ellis was formally served this week with a notice of intention
to circulate a recall petition.
Click here to
read the Press
Telegram editorial
that states: we
are prepared to
defend the chamber's
right to participate
in the political
process.
Also, the Board of Education voted this week 3 to 2 in favor
of a motion calling for Mr. Ellis to resign, effective
immediately.
Board members Mary
Stanton, Jon Meyer and Felton Williams voted for the motion.
Board members David Barton and Ellis voted against.
Below is a collection of the
statement during the Board of Education meeting earlier this
week:
Video of Community Member Dede Rossi's Statement at the Board
Meeting
Video of Board Member Mary Stanton's Statement at the Board
Meeting
Video of Board Member Jon Meyer's Statement at the Board Meeting
Video of Long Beach Chamber President and CEO Randy Gordon's
Statement at the Board Meeting
The following is the text of the notice of intention to
circulate recall petition:
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE RECALL PETITION
TO THE HONORABLE Michael Ellis: Pursuant to Section 11020,
California Elections Code, the undersigned registered qualified
voters of the County of Los Angeles, in the state of California,
hereby give notice that we are the proponents of a recall
petition and that we intend to seek your recall and removal from
the office of the Third District of the Board of Education of
the Long Beach Unified School District, in California and to
demand election of a successor in that office.
The grounds for the recall are as follows:
Long Beach School
Board Member Michael Ellis should resign or be recalled from the
school board for the following unethical and illegal activities:
- Ellis has missed five of the last six closed sessions of this
board and been absent from the last two open session board
meetings.
- August 2, 2007 Ellis pleaded guilty to Drunk Driving in Orange
County with a blood alcohol level of .15, twice the state's
legal limit.
- On February 18, 2007 Ellis arrested for drunk driving when
Seal Beach police found him asleep at the wheel in his car in
the middle of an intersection. Ellis first pleaded not guilty
then later changed his plea to guilty.
- Just 9 days prior on February 9, Ellis was convicted in Los
Angeles being an unlicensed driver.
- On December 21, 2006, Ellis pleaded no contest to driving with
a suspended license after being involved in a hit and run
accident at 12:45am. Witnesses reported seeing Ellis running
away from the scene.
- On November 2, 1995, Ellis was convicted of driving with a
suspended license.
The pattern is clear! Michael Ellis is not fit to decide how our
children are educated – he must either resign or be recalled.
The following is a copy of the speech delivered by Randy
Gordon during public comment at the Board of Education meeting
last night:
My name is Randy Gordon and I am President and CEO of the Long
Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber is here tonight to support the motion calling for
Mr. Michael Ellis to resign.
Working with members of our community, our role in this effort
is important and justified.
First, the business community plays an important role in our
school district by supporting our young people and their
transition into their careers.
Second, Long Beach businesses depend on the school district to
train our youth so they are ready to participate in the Long
Beach economy.
Third, when we believe change is needed we do not sit on the
sidelines and just let the cards fall where they may. Instead,
we serve our business community by playing an active role in
shaping the future of our community.
The future of our school district and its role with our business
community is dependent upon leaders such as all of you.
If we believe that future is at risk, we have the responsibility
to take action.
Mr. Ellis is a risk to the future of this school district.
His repeated missteps is an indication that he does not take
this role seriously and must step aside.
He is devastating the moral of school district staff, setting a
horrific example for our young people and more importantly doing
a disservice to the people that elected him a short time ago.
For the record, Mr. Ellis is, without a doubt, the worst school
board member in the history of the Long Beach Unified School
District.
Although some may attempt to excuse his deplorable record and
continue to be in denial, the facts are overwhelming.
I urge this school board to send a message to our entire
community that you have lost faith in Mr. Ellis’ ability to
serve and urge him to resign effective immediately.
If he does not step down voluntarily, he leaves us no choice but
to put the decision in the hands of the voters in a recall
election.
After the meeting tonight, Mr. Ellis will be served with a
Notice of Intention to circulate a recall petition. This notice
begins the process of gathering signatures for the recall
election.
It’s up to Mr. Ellis whether he will do the right thing and step
down, or whether this district must face a divisive election for
his seat.
Mr. President, thank you for your time and consideration.
Chamber Calls For Resignation of School Board Member Michael
Ellis
The
Chamber joins a large and growing group of people concerned
about the unethical conduct of Michael Ellis outlining reasons
for him to be disqualified to serve and the Chamber’s commitment
to lead a recall effort, if needed.
The following is a copy of the speech to be delivered by
Chairman Matt Kinley during public comment at the School Board
meeting tonight:
Good evening.
My name is Matt Kinley and I am Chairman of the Long Beach Area
Chamber of Commerce.
The business community plays an important role in our school
district by supporting our young people and their transition
into their careers. Long Beach enterprises also depend on the
school district to train our youth so they are ready to
participate in the Long Beach economy.
As a parent with children in our school system, a taxpayer and
as the managing partner of a local law firm I am proud of our
school district and applaud you for your work.
As chairman of the Chamber and as a leader in our business
community it is my responsibility to communicate a serious and
dire concern.
The Chamber joins a large and growing group of people who are
concerned about the unethical conduct of your colleague, Michael
Ellis.
It is a shame, given the facts, that Mr. Ellis continues to
serve as a member of this board.
Mr. Ellis is disqualified to serve on the school board for the
following reasons:
- Mr. Ellis has missed five of the last six closed sessions of
this board and been absent from the last two open session board
meetings.
- On August 2, Mr. Ellis pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle in
Orange County while having a blood alcohol level of .15, twice
the state's legal limit.
- On July 6, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
suspended Mr. Ellis’s teaching credential in an effort to
enforce his child support obligations.
- In April, Mr. Ellis pleaded not guilty to a drunk driving
charge stemming from an incident where Seal Beach police on
February 18 found him asleep at the wheel in his car while in
the middle of an intersection. Mr. Ellis later changed his plea
to guilty.
- On February 9, Mr. Ellis was convicted in the Los Angeles
Superior Court for a misdemeanor for being an unlicensed driver.
- On December 21, 2006, in a Torrance Superior Court, Mr. Ellis
pleaded no contest to driving with a suspended license after
being involved in a hit and run. The hit and run happened on
October 14, 2006 at 12:45am and Mr. Ellis was seen running away
from the scene.
- On November 2, 1995, Mr. Ellis was convicted in Los Angeles
Superior Court of a misdemeanor for driving with a suspended
license.
The Chamber believes this record shows serious lapses of
judgment.
Let me ask you an important question:
Would you trust Mr. Ellis with your children?
If not, how can we trust him with 88,000 of them?
Therefore, the Chamber respectfully requests the following:
- The Board of Education set for the agenda at its next meeting,
a call for a vote asking Mr. Ellis to resign, effective
immediately.
- Knowing that a vote of that kind is ceremonial and that you
have no authority to remove Mr. Ellis, the chamber asks that you
initiate the process of quo warranto to review the registration
requirements and determine if Mr. Ellis was legally eligible to
run for the School Board.
- Finally, Mr. President, if necessary, the Chamber will join
community partners and immediately initiate the process to
recall Mr. Ellis by a vote of the people.
Mr. President, thank you for your time and consideration.
Randy
Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Area Chamber of
Commerce released the following statement this morning regarding
the resignation of Long Beach Unified School District School
Board Member Michael Ellis:
December
7
Long
Beach Unified School District Board of Education Member Michael
Ellis was formally served this week with a notice of intention
to circulate a recall petition.
