So in case you missed it last night, the City Council approved moving forward with consideration of an ordinance that will in some way regulate lobbying of city officials.


Oh, and you probably missed the part where the clouds opened, the chambers filled with snow white doves and gleaming sunshine, and unicorns filed in from the side doors. Problem solved. No longer will the evil lobbyists tempt the cherubic purity of city council officials.


Am I the only one that sees this all as backwards? The problem here is not the lobbyists–after all, influencing city officials is what they are supposed to do. That is their job.


The problem here is that a city official took the graft that was offered. I mean do we blame Satan for offering the apple or do we blame Eve for taking it? You can say it was ol’ Lucifer’s fault all you want, but tempting people is part of his sole reason for being.


So, at some point in the future, we are likely to have some type of ordinance that restricts or regulates lobbying.


And even if the new rules proposed apply directly to city officials, keep in mind that RDA chief Craig Beck broke the existing rules anyway in his vacation snafu. If someone is going to break the rules anyway, what difference does it make how many more you pass?


And yes, you read right. Existing rules.


You see, each and every city employee must sign an ethics oath when they are hired. This page-long oath is like the Ten Commandments (well seven, actually) that tell what thou shalt and shalt not do ethically as a city employee. And from what I can tell, Mr. Beck violated four, maybe five of the seven rules.
 Take a look:

Per the Long Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 2.07, prior to assuming office or employment, all City employees shall pledge, in writing, to follow these principles while acting in their official capacity:

• To place the best interests of the City above all other interests.
• To uphold all laws, regulations, and policies.
• To take no action for the purpose of benefiting the official or employee personally.
• To make every effort to avoid a conflict of interest.
• To avoid disclosure of confidential information obtained in the performance of their duties or in their official capacity.
• To exercise prudence and good judgment at all times.
• To be fair, impartial, and unbiased in the decision-making process.

We don’t need more rules. We need some good old fashioned punishment.


I mean, where did leadership go in this city? This situation with Mr. Beck doesn’t need a modern-day Warren Commission. The man broke the rules of his employment. Why will no one stand up and say what needs to be said? 


“You knew what the rules were, Mr. Beck. You broke the rules, Mr. Beck. You’re fired, Mr. Beck. Thanks for everything, but get out.”


The City Manager has instead placed Mr. Beck on administrative leave.


I remember my father telling me about working for Safeway. One day a clerk walked by the bins of loose candy and popped one in his mouth, all viewed by a manager. The clerk was fired on the spot. Not asked to go home for the day to think about what he had done. He was fired. Why? Because it’s s-t-e-a-l-i-n-g. A one cent candy from a bin or the payroll from the safe, it’s all the same. And no amount of spin will change that.


So, I don’t give a flying leap what Mr. Beck got for free. He broke the rules and he needs to be fired. Forthwith. Immediately. Pronto.


But in this up-is-down world we live in, that would require some leadership. Leadership that understands Mr. Beck’s violation of the public trust is actually very serious, no matter what the monetary amount of the gift.

But this is not what we see. We see instead a City Hall that is “concerned” about the “perception of impropriety” regarding Mr. Beck’s actions.


What we see are councilmembers saying Mr. Beck is still the right man for the job and he has always been such a professional. Or that he’s done such wonderful things for the city. Or we see City Hall managers saying Mr. Beck is a great guy and one of the great department heads.


Ask yourself this, if Mr. Beck moves on to another city and lists on his application under accomplishments that he “violated numerous ethics polices,” do you think he would be the right man for that job?


My biggest fear is that many of those at the top levels of City Hall just don’t see that what Mr. Beck did was all that wrong. I fear that, behind closed doors, what they really fault him for is simply getting caught. Or, perhaps, for bringing unwanted scrutiny to the way things have been done, with a sly wink-and-a-nod, in the past.


But what makes me really sad, though, is how clearly this whole situation points out the real culprits in creation of the mess that we call City Hall.


We are, fellow citizens. Each and every one of us.


Why?


Because as a whole we are apathetic and indifferent when confronted with the truly feckless nature of the leadership that rises to the upper floors at City Hall.


These are the candidates that are allowed to skate through the campaigns holding babies and shaking hands when they should be pummeled with hard questions from us. These are the officials that are allowed to get into office with a couple thousand votes because we can’t be bothered to show up at the voting booths. These are the officials that when they act against the will of the people are given a free ride by each of us, instead of a public lashing.


Take for example the sad little tale of Mr. Beck.


Here is an appointed official of our city, responsible for handling millions of dollars of taxpayer money, that has violated both his ethics oath to the city as well as the public trust.


But are the phones ringing off the hook at City Hall in outrage? Are the City Hall computers overflowing with e-mailed demands that he be fired? Do you think the City Hall mail room is struggling under the weight of all the angry letters?


Of course, not. Because we have all grown apathetic.


And instead of taking action, we make excuses. Typical politics, we say, and shrug out shoulders.


And it goes on, week after week. The budget. The wetlands. Lobbying.


We are the makers of this monster and if it is to be humbled to our will, we must be the diligent keepers of its leash.


We, all of us, need to do something–even something small.


Before that apathy dampens your spark of belief in our democracy one more bit, here are a few suggestions. Take five minutes and call City Hall. Leave a message telling them what you think. Click here for a list of City Hall numbers. 


Or follow the same list to the department you want and send them an email.


I can’t tell you what to say, but I do know that we as the citizens of Long Beach have to begin making our views known. We have to let City Hall know, as Paddy Chayefsky’s Howard Beale said in Network, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.”


So that’s it for the soapbox this week. Now I have to run to make my phone call.