A spokesperson for Mayor Bob Foster does not deny that Long Beach’s chief executive may have declined to reappoint Jack C. Smith to the Housing Development board because of Foster’s suspicion that Smith made negative comments about the mayor’s relationship with well-connected developer Tom Dean. The story was reported first on LBReport.com

In a wide-ranging e-mail sent this morning at 11:32 a.m.—a request for a telephone interview with Foster was denied—spokesperson Stacey Ann Fong Toda acknowledged that Foster confronted Smith about the alleged comments when the two met in Foster’s office last week.

“The Mayor point blank asked Mr. Smith about statements that he allegedly made that were directed towards the Mayor during a recent community meeting—which Mr. Smith denied making and assured the Mayor anytime he had a disagreement he would call the Mayor or his staff directly,” wrote Toda.

But Toda’s e-mail brought up several other subjects, including the fact that Smith had expressed an interest in being appointed to the Parks and Recreation Department board, and that seventh district city council member Tonia Reyes Uranga had personally endorsed Smith for that post.

“It would be a bit odd to put forward the re-appointment for Mr. Smith if he, with what seemed to be the strong support of his councilperson, wanted to be appointed to a different commission,” Toda wrote.

Contacted by telephone this morning, Smith denied making any negative comments about Foster’s relationship with Dean.  Smith said he was caught off guard when Foster accused him of making the comments after summoning him to city hall last week.

“I was floored,” Smith said. “I have no recollection of saying anything about that. I told the mayor that I do not have any knowledge that he even knows Tom Dean.”

Dean’s financial contributions to Foster’s campaign and a subsequent series of sweetheart land deals with the City of Long Beach—most notably, a complicated swap of city property for land near the Los Cerritos Wetlands that public documents indicate was closely monitored by Foster—have been the subject of several investigative articles in The District Weekly.

Smith said that Foster apparently did not believe his denials.

“He told me that he has two sources that are reliable,” Smith said. “I said they are not telling the truth.”

Smith said he then told Foster—who appointed him to the Housing Development Company in 2007—that he’d noticed that his name was not on the list to be re-appointed.

“He told me, ‘That’s correct,’” said Smith.

“I asked, ‘Why?’

“He said, ‘Because of this.’”

Smith emphasized that he knows Foster is within his rights to appoint whoever he wants to the Housing Development board as well as many other posts.

“But I’m disappointed that he seems to be taking rumor and innuendo as fact over having a personal conversation with me to clear it up,” Smith said. “I’m also amazed he cares so much about what I have to say, one way or another. He is the mayor. I’m just this community activist.”

For now, anyway. When asked, Smith acknowledged that he is considering a run for the seventh district city council seat that Reyes Uranga will be vacating next year because of term limits. Smith said he informed Foster of his possible candidacy during their meeting.

Meanwhile, whatever opinions Smith may or may not hold regarding the Foster-Dean connection and whether or not he expressed them would seem to have little bearing on his work with the Long Beach Housing Development Company.

According to the organization’s website, (www.LBHDC.org) its mission is “to provide safe and livable neighborhoods in Long Beach by promoting, developing, and preserving decent, safe and affordable housing for the very low-, low- and moderate-income residents of Long Beach.”

It was “established by the City of Long Beach on July 25, 1989. The LBHDC is a California non-profit public benefit corporation governed by a board comprised of 14 members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The Board sets policy and provides direction to Housing Services staff in acquiring, rehabilitating, sponsoring, and constructing affordable housing. The City Council approves the LBHDC’s bylaws and changes thereto, and the City provides all staff and administrative support, including most of the LBHDC’s annual funding.”

Smith would appear to be well qualified for the job. He works as a line producer for Hollywood productions—that is, projecting and managing the budgets of movies and television shows—and in 1995 received an Academy Award for developing computer software that revolutionized the industry’s financial projection, management and accountability.

Come to think of it, such skills might come in handy on the Long Beach City Council, too.

“I’m not looking for a fight. I don’t want this to become some big brouhaha,” Smith said. “I respect the mayor and I hope we can work together down the road to make Long Beach better.”

Tags: city council, Housing Development board, Jack C. Smith, Long Beach, Mayor Bob Foster, Stacey Toda, sweetheart deal, The District Weekly, Tom Dean