Chamber of Commerce President Randy Gordon and political scion Josh Lowenthal make for an odd couple. It’s weirder than you think

JOSH LOWENTHAL by KELLY FLOYD

The aggressively expanding influence of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce on local politics isn’t just worrisome anymore. Now it’s getting weird . . . as in the discovery that Chamber CEO and President Randy Gordon has spoken to Josh Lowenthal about running for a seat on the school board—a seat that may soon be open because of a recall campaign against incumbent Michael Shane Ellis that is being launched and paid for by the Chamber.

“We sat down with Josh,” confirms Gordon in a way-too-matter-of-fact tone of voice. “[Political Action Committee chairman] Dave Neary and I had a nice conversation with him. We think Josh Lowenthal might make a good school board member.”

Lowenthal has never held elected office, but that’s not the odd part—or a problem. He comes from the city’s most prominent political family. Josh Lowenthal is the son of divorced state Senator Alan Lowenthal and First District Councilmember Bonnie, the brother-in-law of Second District Councilmember Suja and the brother of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel.

What’s strange is that the traditional Lowenthal family values have a reputation for advocating government involvement in a wide variety of quality-of-life issues—positions that have frequently clashed with the intensely focused pro-business tactics the Chamber has utilized under Gordon’s leadership.

“The thing I like about Josh Lowenthal is that he is the only Lowenthal I know who has ever signed the front of a paycheck,” says Gordon, unable to resist a dig at the family legacy even as he praises its latest progeny. “We admire Josh for his entrepreneurial talent as a business guy.”

Gordon is referring to Lowenthal’s ownership of Sachi, a popular nightclub inside the Seaport Marina Hotel, which features live music, DJs and dancing by patrons and, sometimes, nearly naked professionals. The place is definitely a hotspot.

But owning a place like Sachi could be a liability in a school board race, especially under the special circumstances—the Chamber’s recall effort is based on a litany of complaints about how Ellis’ personal behavior has negatively affected his public service.

Lowenthal doesn’t only run a nightclub, however. He owns a couple of startup telecom firms, is a principal in two real estate investment partnerships, has taught in the LBUSD and helped found Children Today, a nonprofit that provides day care for homeless children.

If Josh Lowenthal ultimately were to fill the Third District seat that Ellis currently occupies—and he’d have to move a couple of blocks into that district to try—it would represent a sort of circularity. Ellis was elected when the previous incumbent decided to run for City Council. That incumbent was Suja Lowenthal.

For now, however, Lowenthal and Gordon maintain that their flirtation is innocent, Lowenthal insisting he has not decided whether he will run and Gordon emphasizing the Chamber has not decided whether it will endorse him. Of course, all new lovers do that.

“I was approached by the Chamber guys, they’ve been talking to me, and I’m definitely contemplating it,” Lowenthal says in an I’m-as-surprised-as-you-are tone of voice. “I’m not exactly a Chamber guy.”

“We initiated our conversation with Josh to explore,” Gordon persists. “If he walked away thinking we were going to endorse him, that’s wishful thinking on his part.”

What unites the men is their disdain for Ellis, whose most recent public humiliation was a Jan. 8 censure by his colleagues on the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education for failing to submit legally mandated statements of his financial interests. That followed the board’s Dec. 3 vote asking Ellis to resign for reasons including his guilty plea to a DUI charge, a hit-and-run accident and a terrible attendance record at meetings—during one stretch he missed two of four open sessions and five of eight closed sessions.

“Ellis is the worst school board member in Long Beach history,” charges Gordon—well re-charges, actually . . . he’s said that a lot lately.

“Ellis is a cancer,” chimes in Lowenthal. “He must be removed.”

However, Gordon is adamant that the recall of Ellis is not connected to the Chamber’s unprecedented decision to endorse school board candidates—that has more to do with keeping the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB) from stocking the panel with its allies.

“We have no alternative motive for recalling Ellis. We want to get rid of him because of his performance on the board,” says Gordon. “If we get the signatures to recall him, then Josh will have to make a decision.”

And so will the Chamber, but however that shakes out, Gordon isn’t worried about Lowenthal’s chances.

“Josh would be a strong candidate with or without our support,” he says. “Has a Lowenthal ever lost an election in Long Beach?”

Tags: chamber of commerce, Josh Lowenthal, Long Beach, Michael Ellis, randy gordon, school board