Recommendation to receive and file presentation, and present proclamation, honoring City Clerk Larry Herrera-Cabrera on the occasion of his retirement.
Communications firm Mayor Robert Garcia recommendation to receive an FA presentation and present proclamation honoring City Clerk Larry Herrera Cabrera on the occasion of his retirement. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. And today and we're going to begin a real great opportunity to to celebrate and to honor someone that has been a fixture of Long Beach. Certainly of our city council meetings, and has provided service him and his team to this entire body and multiple mayors and council members before us. In fact, Leroy Cabrera has been here at the city of Long Beach, now serving 25 city council members and three separate mayors. He's been with us here for 13 years and has provided really great leadership and made a lot of really important reforms with the city clerk's office and really hired also an all star team to support the city. We're going to have obviously some comments from a few folks. But before we do that, there is some some people that want to say a few words and honor, Larry. And so I'm going to have them come forward first. And they're representing different legislators that I'm going to present, Larry, with our official proclamation. And, of course, Mr. West and a few others also want an opportunity to to say some words. So to start us off. I'm going to invite Helene and so from Congressman Alan Lowenthal as office to say a few words. And I'm going to ask you also have Larry come up and stand up there the whole time so you can. Hear from him. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Mayor and city council members and Larry. I saw the picture. You know, I was just commenting that I've seen the before and after Larry picture. Have you seen that? Yeah. Anyway, I spoke to Congressman Lowenthal today. He's in Washington and he said to make sure to say how much he appreciated that you've always been approachable and he wanted to wish you the best in your retirement. And on behalf of Congressman Lowenthal, in appreciation for more than 12 years as city clerk for the city of Long Beach and working as the mayor said, 25 city council members and three mayors. That's amazing for your vision, integrity and commitment to innovation and transparency in elections and legislative systems. And really to be commended for 43 years of public service. That is amazing. And thank you for your commitment to our community. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you. And next, we have from State Senator Ricardo Lara's office. Korean. Mr. Mayor and members of the Council. Mr. HERRERA. We wanted to be here today. Also to thank you for your. Service. I had the pleasure of. Working with Larry when I worked for the council. I can tell you from experience, he is very. Knowledgeable, very. Approachable and just a great guy all around to work with. And so on behalf of Senator Ricardo, Lara and Senator Hall, we wanted to give you these certificates of recognition for your service to the city of Long Beach and wish you the best in your retirement. Congratulations. Thank you. And next up, we have from some member of Patrick O'Donnell's office. Marisol Barajas. Yes. Good evening, mayor and city council members. It's a pleasure to be here on behalf of Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell. As you know, he's in Sacramento today and he wanted to make sure we provide a certificate. Of recognition for Mr. Larry Herrera. Recognition of your years of. Dedicated service to the people of Long Beach has been a pleasure working with you to ensure accessibility and transparency. Also, I'd like to add, as someone who also has worked in the city of Long Beach for over ten years and advocated for the community and brought a lot of Spanish speakers to these meetings. I do want to say on behalf of many of the committee leaders, that it was. Nice. For them to see Larry Herrera at the council sitting here because they felt very comfortable having him here and he was very approachable. And so, once again, on behalf of Assembly. Member Patrick O'Donnell, he wants to wish you for the best in your retirement. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, we have some words from our city manager. Mr. West. Larry, congratulations. This is a big day for you. It's a big day for all of us speaking on behalf of the entire city management team. And again, you've served three city managers and worked with us and mentored us. But the entire city management team really relishes your leadership, specifically in all of the commissions that the city has, all the committees, and working with us to get those started. And one of the biggest things that you've done is transition us into register and getting us so much more transparency on the Web for the entire public and as well as the staff as well. So with that, I really, really congratulate you. Been a real pleasure to work with and I've learned a lot from you, Larry. So congratulations from the entire management team. Thank you very much. Thank you. I know that we also have some comments from your current city clerk staff and to say a few words on behalf of all of them, I'm going to turn it over to Daisy. Well, I want to take this time to share with you all what I really think about my boss. If I was asked about what my boss expected, I found a quote and I thought it was best stated by Doug Larson. Accomplishing the impossible means only that my boss, Larry, will add it to your regular duties. If asked, who am I bosses? Well, Theodore Roosevelt said it best. People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads and the boss drives. I was fortunate to have both Larry leads and he drives the person that Larry is to all of us in the city clerk office, I think expressed was expressed best by Flavia Wieden. Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same. Larry, thank you for always managing a way to inspire me to devote to excuse me, I'm so emotional because Larry has been such a big impact in all of our lives, but he has inspired me to deliver my best. And for that, I give you full credit. It was it will be difficult to fill the void created by your absence as an employee, a mentee, friend, family to me and my son. Ruel such an impact. You have been to us both. We love you all. We love you and your family very much. I speak on behalf of my son and myself, and I'm sure the entire office. We just enjoy everything you've done for us. Thank you, Larry. Thank you. That was very nice of you. Before I turn this over to the council, we'll say a few words. I'm going to open this up for public comment. If anyone wants to make a public comment, please come forward. And make sure you identify yourself for the record. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Laura Merrifield and I'm a second district resident and I'm representing building healthy communities and also the. Language Access Coalition of Long Beach. And we also just wanted to extend our gratitude for your work. Long before there was a language access policy, you were working very hard to ensure interpretation for a limited, English speaking. English proficient residents. And you've continued to do that work and really help. And your enthusiasm, I think, has carried this policy very far and shows your. Commitment to civic engagement for our government being open to everyone. And so we just want to thank you so much for your work. Thank you. Mr. Johnson. Honorable Mayor and Council Members. My name is James Johnson. My address is on file. And, you know, as some of you may know, I used to work for Larry Herrera Cabrera way back when. He was just Larry Herrera that long ago. So I wanted to come here tonight with a couple of secrets. Things you may not know, may not have made the presentation. First, secret that Larry is a recovering politician. You may not know this. Larry ran for office in Santa Barbara and to the great fortune of Long Beach. He did not win that race. And actually, it's a great story because it was that loss that allowed this incredible career here in the city of Long Beach. You may not also know that Larry had a lot of calls in here. City clerk, his had quite a reputation in the state of California, people trying to lure him other places. But Larry always said no. He said, you know, my work here is here in Long Beach. And I think we're all lucky that he he said that showed his commitment. But I also want to come down here, too, to thank you personally, Larry. I want to thank you for being a great mentor, not just to me, to many others, as you've heard. I remember when we worked together on Change the Elections Code to save the city from all those ballots. I remember that went went to waste that weren't going to be used. You taught me about the philosophy of continuous improvement of always striving to do better. I remember working with you to extend the agenda from 3 to 8 days, which, of course, we enjoy today. You taught me the value of transparency. How good process. Could create good policy. I want to thank you for being a great public servant. Always thinking about how to make our elections easier to participate in, particularly for the disabled and for those who didn't speak English as their native language. You heard that earlier tonight. But most of all, Larry, I want to thank you for being a true friend. Larry, Long Beach is lucky to have had your service, just as I'm lucky to have known you. I hope you're with your free time you have now. You'll be making some of your famous tamales. And if you do, you know where to find me. My wife or mine is last year said, why don't you put the all of it? Oh, Larry told me to put all of. I forgot. So some things I didn't learn from you, Larry. Sorry, but I want to congratulate you on your retirement and best wishes for the adventures to come. Thank you, James, for being here. Larry, good to see you. I do want to echo everything everybody has said. I'll take one. Little different approach. I would not accept his resignation. I would pay whatever was necessary to have him stay on until later this year when we have either the federal master overseeing the city or we have the new mayor and new city manager in place at that time. At that time. You will have earned it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.. Good to that that concludes public comment. Now to turn this back over to the city council and myself to say a few words and then going to let Larry kind of close us out. So start us off. Councilman Gonzalez. Larry, I want to thank you tremendously for your work here in Long Beach. I know I've only been here in the city for six years, but in those six years, you have been very approachable. I've learned so much. Just recently, being on the Elections Oversight Committee and working with you on election reform and all of all of the great things that had happened currently are happening. And soon to be will be happening. And so I'll certainly carry that with me as we go forward with elections oversight and just in general. So thank you for being an amazing public servant, not because you had to, but because you really want to. And I know that will carry you through with your your next endeavors. So thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilmember Rankin. Thank you, Mayor. And congratulations, Larry. I have a unique experience with you, obviously, because my predecessor in the seventh District, Tony Harris Wodonga, was in the committee that hired you and she says you were lucky bastard. Where? Wherever I applied for the job of getting selected. But she made she doesn't regret that that decision that all she she sends me right now right there congratulating you on your retirement and wishes you very well. And to my part, you were as people were saying you're a mentor and you were also one of the things that hasn't been said. You were also president of Temple, the Latino managers of professional organizations. For many years. You established the many, many, many Peres Scholarship Fund that over the years, I think we gave around, what, $20,000 or so to desiring students in in the Long Beach Unified School District, along with City College and Long Beach State. So that's certainly a legacy that you will leave in regards to those individuals, and especially for having been part of their process and their educational professional development as you have been for your staff. And personally, I will always remember that day you took me to a Manny's at the park out there in Rosemead. That really wasn't a many step, but it's okay, I'll forgive you for that because the original is still there on Evergreen and and East Los Angeles. And also he went to Garfield High School, a school that I was enrolled to go to but never made it. But he always reminds me about some of my my fellow students who were there and graduate with me. And and I'm pretty sure that in your retirement, you're probably going to be making some music. So go out and make some music. Congratulations. Big a councilmember. Councilman Mongeau also is a member of the Elections Oversight Committee. It has been a pleasure to work with you on many of the initiatives that this Council has already really pushed through pretty quickly as compared to any previous council. And it wouldn't have been possible without your hard work. I know we asked for a lot of research, but it was really important to us to make sure that we were making the good decisions on behalf of the citizens. So thank you for your support and research and for leading a strong team of individuals in the city clerk's office. Because I think that being a city clerk is an important role and being a good boss is is an even more important role for this city. So thank you. Thank you. Council member Austin. Thank you. And I, too, like to join in the congratulations for Larry for his retirement. I'm envious. One of these days and it was mentioned that you you had a political ambitions once. You might want to do it. Council member. You didn't. Retiring. Didn't go into public service later on as an elected official. That's still an option for you. I want to thank you for your for your exemplary service to our city. And I can just just tell tell everybody. Upon getting elected in 2012, Larry was warm and welcoming and full of information. And, you know, I can tell you, for a new council member coming into this this forum, you know, it's great to have a very knowledgeable city clerk welcoming you to to to the building. So I want to say thank you for that. I've found you over the last several years, and 2012 was my first foray into politics here in City Hall. But from way back, you've always been a man of great honesty, integrity, knowledge, great consciousness, but also influence here in City Hall. He's been a quiet leader in this building. There's a lot of people who who owe their careers and a lot, too, to Larry Herrera. And so you're going to be sorely missed and you are truly well worthy of this special recognition here this evening. You work to improve our election processes. I can recall the circumstances in which you were hired. We are light years ahead of that. Our meetings are far more innovative. And when I look at the city clerk's office, I've developed and mentor professionals who are very well studied and understand the role very, very well. And so we're lucky for that. You not only mentored folks in the city clerk's office, you know, but like I said, he's been a quiet leader in this this in city hall. He's mentored people throughout this entire building, the city and community, for that matter. And so for that, you know, I recognize you as a as a real leader. And in retirement, sir, and your impact on this city will be be felt for many, many years after you're gone. And I wish you all the best in your retirement. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor Lowenthal. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And, Larry, I wanted to thank you for being open to a lot of our suggestions. You really are the expert and have your your finger on the pulse of what was going on in terms of technology for voting. And I know you always strive to be sure that the customer, which is the residents and those that are eligible to vote and decide to vote, you always made sure that they were your preeminent focus. And we looked at a lot of things because of you. You nudged the county to do more. But I wanted to also thank you for taking the time to review other, more challenging concepts such as instant runoff voting. If you remember that, that wasn't too painful, is it? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That was a little painful, but you always see how graceful you are. So we have definitely brought things for consideration that you probably knew was not the best for our city at the time. But certainly you were a believer that if it was going to get more people to vote and interested in voting, then certainly we should try it. So thank you for that. I think that's that's my most favorite memory of you, which is you never lost sight of our customers. Thank you. Councilmember Andrews. Yes, thank you, Mayor. You know, Larry, for everything everything. I want to thank you for your enthusiasm, for making our documents more transparent. It's been an inspiration that will long term impact on the city clerk office and how it is ran. I really appreciate your constant willingness to help. Your guidance and support throughout my years in office. And I truly appreciate that you've always been my top go to guy. You've done so much for all of us and the Long Beach community. You'll be truly missed but never, ever forgotten. Good luck, big guy. Thank you. And Councilwoman Price. Thank you. I want to echo what all of my colleagues have said and let you know that it's been a pleasure to get to know you. It's only been, what, ten months or so. But of course, I met you during the election process and for a first time participant in a political race. You are very patient and responsive and really a great source of comfort for someone who's going through something like that for the first time. So. On a personal note, I want to thank you for that. You are always a great person to go to with questions. And I know that you've served the city, the citizens of this city very well through your service. So I want to thank you, wish you the best of luck. And I hope that you enjoy every single day that you've worked so hard to earn. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to go last. So, Larry, I mean, you've been the clerk since I've been to City Hall, first as a staff member for a short while and then as a councilman winning my special election that very first time and then getting reelected. And then, of course, through our campaign for mayor. So I've got three election certifications all signed by you. They're all hanging up in my office wall for those three elections. And I want to just to say, if you know a few things and add to what my colleagues said, first, congratulations. And I think it's a very happy time for you and for your family. Also, just thank you for your leadership throughout the years. I mean, a lot of people, if you think about the accomplishments of the office and I know that you view the accomplishments like a team effort. Right. You have always put your team first. And I really appreciate that. But I think about the lobbying ordinance, which you helped spearhead and get us through the open government policy that the city has the EA commenting and kind of the that switch over to electronic services for the community. All the reforms you've made so that people with disabilities can actually vote in more and more private way or have more access to the ballot box. All very, very important. All the reform you did on campaign finance, on campaign transparency, the work you did on charter reform, I know that that James spoke a little bit earlier, but there was an incredible amount of work that happened when all the charter reform amendments and changes throughout the years came before the city. That was all really, really important work. Personally, I also think you did great work getting the Assembly bill through that allowed civil marriages at city halls for all for all California clerks. And I think that was a really special moment so that we were able to also have all civil marriage, including same sex marriages here at City Hall. So that was something I think that we're very proud of the work that you did. You know, in addition and then I think Councilmember Ringa mentioned that you're really the lead guy on the Latino manager's work and you pushed that for so many years. And I think it reminds those of us that as you're heading out, that it's really important for us to pick that back up and continue that. I know that's a very special organization for you, and I see our turn over there because, you know, you're going after you're going to make sure it happens. And so, you know, we got to ensure that the work that happened there continues. The amount of scholarships that you helped raise money for that that all continues. And I want to also say that one thing I'm always struck by is that your team at the city clerk's office is a complete reflection of the city of Long Beach. And if you know and you've had a chance to meet who works down at that office, but your entire you made a deliberate. Decision to ensure that the people that serve the community through its elections, records, management, all the work that happens in there also reflect kind of the beauty and diversity of the entire city of Long Beach. And I think that's something that is not always done by managers. It's hard. It's hard work. But you did a great job and you should be very proud. I think that you're leaving the city with a great team of managers and employees that love Long Beach and love the work that you all do. I also, you know, take this time to personally probably apologize for some of our conversations during election seasons because I've always been a very active on giving you a call during particularly this last election. And I do get very, you know, emotional when it comes to elections. And you have always were so good to me during the elections and just giving straight forward answers, being ethical, being honest, even when when when candidates and I'm not just including myself, but all of us that have been candidates get so passionate sometimes on the other end of that phone when there's an issue and you just took them all with stride and you listened and you know, there was a problem, you fixed it. And we really appreciate that because I think going through those elections and knowing that there was someone that was competent and incredibly organized on the other side, I think gave a lot of us the peace of mind because that is a very, very difficult process to go through. And you always did it well. And so if I ever you know, I was a little excited on the phone, I think for our on behalf of all of us former candidates, you know, we want to thank you for for that. And so before I turn over to you, I am going to read the proclamation, because I think it's fitting on on on your last, you know, meeting, I think officially because you this is your last meeting with us as a council. And then I know we're going to have a little nighttime celebration for you and your friends. I believe April 29th, I think is that is a date. And so that'll be that'll be fun. But I'm gonna read the proclamation to Larry Herrera. CABRERA And whereas Larry Herrera Cabrera served for 12 and a half years as a city of Long Beach, a city clerk working alongside 25 council members and three mayors. And. Whereas, in May of 2004, the City Clerk's Association of California recognized Larry Herrera Cabrera as City Clerk of the Year. And. Whereas, in January of 2007, the City of Long Beach became California's first non county jurisdiction to procure and operate a modern voting system with no state or federal subsidy. And. Whereas, during Larry Herrera, Cabrera's tenure, Long Beach became known for a pioneering record of transparency and technology initiatives related to legislative systems like video streaming election smartphone apps, campaign finance reporting and electronic electronic filing of statements of economic interest for elected and appointed officials. And. Whereas, Larry Herrera Cabrera was instrumental in the passage of AB 1525, which gave all California city clerks the authority to conduct civil marriage ceremonies. And. WHEREAS, Larry Herrera Cabrera served as president of the Latino Managers and Professionals Organization, an inclusive organization dedicated to professional development, good government and provision of scholarships to disadvantaged youth in Long Beach. Therefore, be it resolved that I, Mayor Robert Garcia and the Lombard City Council on behalf of the People City of Long Beach hereby proclaim our gratitude and appreciation to Larry Herrera Cabrera's years of devoted service and wish him continued success in all of his endeavors and his retirement. And so with that, Larry, I'm going to turn it over to you and then we're all going to go up and take a picture. I want to thank you all for those kind words from the city management team, city council, the congressman's office, the assembly man's office, and our community representatives. It's been an honor to serve the residents and the voters of the city of Long Beach for the last 12 years, as well as working with my coworkers, managers and other employees in every department. I just have to say this. 25 Council Members. Bonnie Lowenthal. Dan Baker. Frank Colonna. Dennis Carroll. Jackie Kelly. Laura Richardson. Tony. I rang Rob Web Alert Robert Garcia when he was on City Council. Susan Lowenthal. Garry DeLong. Patrick O'Donnell. Gerry Ships. Key D Andrews. James Johnson. Ray Gammage. Stephen Neil. Susie Price. Darrell. Super nice. Soon to be Stacy, Mango, Roberto Lunga, Al Austin and Rex Richardson. Mayor O'Neill. Mayor Foster. Mayor Garcia. City Manager Jerry Miller. City Manager Pat West. City attorney Bob Shannon. City attorney Charlie Parkin and the good guy over there, Mike May's go to guy. I want to thank you all for allowing me to work alongside you. I hope I've left you with a team that accepts responsibility, adapts to change, is innovative, believes in teamwork, and believes in continuous improvement and learning. A couple of the people who were here on day one when I first arrived on December 2nd, 22 are here tonight. Irma Heinrichs and Monique de la Garza. Alison Byrne My daisy got here a couple of years later and we have a couple of newbies that are here tonight. Pablo Rubio and Megan Winkleman, they are going to be an awesome team and I look forward to making a great selection, whoever the next city clerk might be. The highlight of my professional career. Took place in I think it was May 1968. When I met Robert Kennedy and shook his hand in San Gabriel, California, that's when I knew I wanted to work in public service. The second highlight of my professional career as I was driving on the trail, Grandy by Resurrection Cemetery next to the Manny's, that really wasn't Manny's. And I got the phone call from Eric Middleton, and he said, Larry, you got the job. I pulled over to the side of the road right in front of the cemetery because I was on my way to my my mother's house just to visit. It was one of the happiest days of my life. And coming to Longreach again has been it's been the best it's been the best job I've had since I was a playground director for the Los Angeles Unified School District in the early 1970s. And I tell you, I'll just leave you with these words. I'll quote from Robert Frost in his poem, Stepping into the Woods on a snowy evening. And he concludes the poem with this with this phrase. The words are lovely. Dark and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles and miles to go before I go to sleep. I wanted to thank you all for letting me be your city clerk. And I look forward to everything that there is to come. My brother Mario is here. He's up there in the garden while my wife Catherine is here. The grandson, Cruz, who if he didn't live in San Clemente, I'd probably be living in Long Beach. So I wanted to thank you all very much. Good night and God bless everybody. Thank you. I wanted to note that we. Actually put Larry on a timer, a special request from Charlie Perkins, city attorney. It was a very. Excuse me. You're my wife. Can you? Hold on. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. There you go. Maybe. Thank you, David. It was my fault. Yeah, I don't. He's got to get him out of college. Yes. So. Mr. City Clerk, I just wanted to share that you have a 26th member, Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, added to your list, but I know 20. She is the 25th. Okay. Thank you. Well, thank you again. And thanks again, Larry. We'll see you at what is it? I think it's Alegria on the 29th, that Wednesday night for a final farewell. And thanks, everyone, for participating. Let's give Larry and his family a round of applause again. And now now we come back to the regular agenda for our first hearing. And I believe there's no oath required. Madam Court hearing one. Forgive me, but we did not make a motion or a vote. Oh, we have the receiver. That's right. That's right. There's a motion in a second by Councilmember Bongo and Councilman Turanga to receive and file. I did already take public comment, though, before the motion. So we're good there. Please cast your votes. Motion carries seven zero. Great. Thank you. And now moving on to hearing one.