Long Beach voters overwhelmingly approved Measure CCC on the November 2018 ballot, establishing an Ethics Commission for the City of Long Beach. Ethics Commissions provide valuable oversight over local campaign finance, ethics, and transparency laws, enhancing political accountability and promoting public trust in government.
The Ethics Commission’s responsibilities include monitoring, administering, and implementing provisions of the Charter, statute, and ordinance relating to campaign finance, lobbying, conflict of interest, and governmental ethics.
Eligibility requirements to serve on the Long Beach Ethics Commission are:
- No member of the Commission, during his or her term, shall currently hold elective office in the City of Long Beach, including the Long Beach Unified School District Board or the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees.
- No member of the Commission, during his or her term, may serve as an officer in any election campaign for or against a candidate for any current elected office in the City of Long Beach, Long Beach Unified School District or the Long Beach Community College District, or any City or District measure.
- No member of the Commission, during his or her term, may be an employee of the City.
- No member of the Commission, during his or her term, may employ or be employed as a person required to register as a lobbyist with the City of Long Beach.
Ethics Commissioners serve a four-year term and members can serve no more than two consecutive terms. The Mayor and the City Auditor appointed two commissioners each in June 2019, with the City Council confirming the appointments. Requirements for the Mayor’s appointments include being involved with local civic organizations with a demonstrated history of involvement in local governance. Requirements for the City Auditor’s two appointments include a background in public policy or public law, governmental ethics or open government matters, campaign finance, auditing of ethics laws and/or protection of whistleblowers. The remaining three members were appointed by the confirmed four Commissioners.