Campaign Fraud

So how does this work? The special interests donate to the committee yes on A&B. Then the committee hires Cindy Allen’s company to push the measure. A resident of Cindy Allen’s condo where she lives stated that he never saw her at the building and she never attended any association meetings there.

Now we find out the Allen has conspired with a known criminal from Georgia in the purchase of her business. All of the executives on the Blum360 website cannot be found. Why is Garcia so bent on building his criminal enterprise at the expense of the taxpayers ... along with Adam Carrrillo, our state senator’s husband who got appointed to the transit board and takes contracts from the city for the ETA agency?

Michael Salemi

Stephen Downing, you deserve our many thanks and support for your knowledge, skill, hard work and persistence as an investigative reporter. Looks like more digging will locate the threads and other people that tie these unethical omissions and misrepresentations together. Mayor, police officers association and so many others know all of this and yet they pay $$$$ to try to convince us otherwise. Thank you on behalf of all of us who are opposed to corrupt democracy!

Linda Scholl

Carpetbagger – A politician who seeks public office in a locality where he or she has no real connections.

Frank W. Lloyd

I hope everyone who reads this article notice none of the other Long Beach media are running similar articles questioning Cindy Allen’s candidate credentials. It’s been several days since this article was published, which is more than enough time for other media to get on the bandwagon and either put together a similar or opposing story. Yet, all those other media, that more accurately act as a public relations arm for Long Beach, choose to ignore this very important story. They don’t even attempt to debunk the allegations. By not reporting on it, they simply hope no one will notice. This is a clear indicator of the bias of these other media.

I commend Beachcomber news for publishing this important story. The Beachcomber is repeatedly the only Long Beach medium willing to stick its neck out to report controversial news other media choose to ignore.

Cindy Allen followed in Mayor Robert Garcia’s footsteps by recently changing her political party from Republican to Democrat. Robert Garcia did the same thing just prior to running for elected office but avoids mentioning this at all costs.

In case you forgot, Garcia was a 2001 founding member of the Long Beach chapter of Young Republicans and twice served as their president as late as 2006. He also served as chief of staff for Republican Councilman Frank Colonna and ran Colonna’s unsuccessful 2006 mayoral campaign. Realizing he couldn’t win an election in Long Beach as a Republican, Garcia changed his political party from Republican to Democrat prior to his 2008 election campaign for City Council.

Mike Ruehle

Enough! It is time for us citizens to take action against this corrupt city government. We must demand both the withdrawal of Cindy Allen from the 2nd District council race and the resignation of Mayor Robert Garcia for his complicity in and support of this corruption of our city election.

The buck stops here!

Merry Colvin

Do I have this straight? Cindy Adele Allen, a candidate running to represent District 2, lives in Fountain Valley and operates two Airbnbs in a building that bans them in a city that, after three years of discussion, can collect $3.75 million in taxes on short term rentals but can’t pass a coherent ordinance legalizing them? If Measure B passes, that 12% bed tax will become 13%, while some large developers of boutique luxury hotels pay no TOT. The Breakers got a no-TOT, 9-year exemption valued at $13 million.

The ETA company sale with Photoshopped new owners is beyond incredulous. I guess if you are moneyed and city connected you believe you can attempt to do absolutely anything!

Mind your A, B, Cs voters – No on Measure A, No on Measure B and No to Cindy Allen.

Jean Young

Exceptional reporting. Balanced, fair, factual, without jumping to conclusions or a personal opinion. Many story lines are still open. Status of the business and its sale. Residency questions. State reporting issues. I am surprised someone registered Republican in Orange County for over 20 years and only recently becoming a Democrat would get the party endorsement.

Jeff Kellogg

Such intrigue! I have to wonder if the all the half truths amount to a strategy for Allen not to give up her company until she was sure she had clinched the council seat? Or did she intend to keep it and put up a smokescreen about ownership? Was Zachary Stroud/Blume Media being paid to sit on the nest egg (ETA) and funnel money back to her via a phony bill of sale? Clearly Blume media has no real executives if they were all Photoshopped in. So who was going to run this company?

Was Garcia/City of Long Beach prepared to continue funneling work/contracts/city dollars to a fake company? Have any of the neighbors in Fountain Valley been interviewed to answer who lives at that address? I can hardly wait for the next installment on “the story.” This is better than a soap opera!

Corliss Lee

It amazes me in this day and age, with the technology, that anyone would try to put one over on the public. Only the arrogant or ignorant. I wish I still lived in the 2nd District so I could vote for anyone but her.

Sharon Munsey Brown

Kudos to the Beachcomber for your research and tenacity in delving into this important subject. Informed voters in the 2nd District need this information in order to cast their ballot wisely. That’s why Robert Fox will get my vote.

Linda Spery

Not only does the Aqua CC&R not allow Airbnb, when she started renting it, it was also against Long Beach law.

Birgit De La Torre

To all residents of the 2nd District: I hope you will look into the relationship between Mayor Garcia and Cindy Allen. I was prepared to vote for her but then received a letter from Mayor Garcia promoting her. I thought this was inappropriate since I would like to have an independent council person, not one indebted to the mayor for their job.

Then I was sent an article from the Beachcomber and an article from the Post indicating that there may be issues with both her residency and her business relationship indicating that this has been a contrived plan to get her on the City Council as a Garcia lackey.

Please do your own research before voting for her.

Fred Magenheimer