Dems Called Out on Financial Disclosures

City Council Vice President Mona Goodman alleged that her fellow councilmembers, Democrats Len Torres and Michael Fagen, failed to file financial disclosure forms with the city and are in violation of their oath of office.

Goodman, a Republican who is running for reelection this year, raised this issue during a candidates forum at the Martin Luther King Center on Oct. 24, while answering a constituent’s question about a Civil Service commissioner who was removed from his post this year for violating his oath of office.

The Long Beach Herald reports on the exchange about this issue between Goodman and Torres, a Democrat who is also seeking reelection this year, at the forum; Torres' explanation that he submitted his form to city attorney Corey Klein; Goodman's charges of “hypocrisy" and "fabrication"; Fagen's reply that he visited Klein's office to fill out his form, and his contention that City Manager Charles Theofan told him to file a Freedom of Information request when he asked to review Goodman's financial disclosure.