Local businesses claim they felt pressured by Chris Pook’s fund-raising tactics
By Dave Wielenga

Chris Pook’s deployment of high-ranking Long Beach city officials to local businesses when pursuing financial support for Sea Festival sometimes creates the impression that a company’s response to the pitch could affect its chances of securing a city contract or permit, according to several business representatives who have been approached in that manner. One described the arrangement as “pay-to-play.”

“Signal Hill Petroleum feels it is a victim, as are other parties, of Chris Pook’s tactics,” said Diane Ripley, a Long Beach lobbyist and publicist, whose client list includes the local oil company. “Signal Hill Petroleum wants to be involved in the community and wants to do business with the city. But it won’t work under pay-to-play.”

Ripley’s comments came a day after she and Signal Hill Petroleum were mentioned in a District investigation of Pook’s management of the Sea Festival [Dave Wielenga’s “You’ve Been Pook’d,” May 9].

Pook founded the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1975, later sold his interest, and recently became executive director of the Sea Festival. City documents show that Pook was given city resources—including a $6,500 monthly salary-plus-expenses, office and staff—to run the not-for-profit Sea Festival Association that he created. Those documents also reveal that Pook used city administrators—sometimes bringing them with him, sometimes sending them alone—to seek financial sponsorships for Sea Festival events.

The article cited two e-mails from Pook regarding Signal Hill Petroleum, whose permit to conduct seismic testing had been revoked by the city’s Special Events Department in January 2006 after residents complained that the testing was damaging their houses.

On May 10, 2006, Pook ordered two city department heads—David Ashman of Special Events and Phil Hester of Parks & Recreation—to have Community Development Director Pat West “call Signal Hill Petroleum and get them to sponsor the Fourth of July Fireworks and Festival.” Pook sent a follow-up e-mail to Ashman and Hester on May 25, in which he wrote: “Re: Signal Hill Petroleum—it is important that we talk to [David] Slater directly and not through Diane [Ripley]! Remember the meeting in your conference room when she said they [sic] she did not want to go back to them unless she could deliver the seismic testing schedule they wanted!”

Ripley denies that she or Signal Hill Petroleum sought to tie Sea Festival sponsorship to any other relationship with the city.

“It’s simply not true,” Ripley insists. “I’m hurt and embarrassed. I grew up in Long Beach and I’ve spent my whole life building my reputation. People who know me know that I wouldn’t do that.”

Pook responded to Ripley’s comments with a May 11 e-mail: “To the contrary, a very clear discussion was had that stated to her that under no circumstances whatsoever could a Sea Festival agreement be tied to any delivery of a specific objective other than advertising, promotion and exclusive product or service category . . . Ms. Ripley was advised that technical matters regarding Signal Hill Petroleum and the City of Long Beach would be handled by a different department, the Department of Energy, and not by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.”

Presented with Pook’s e-mail, Ripley reacted with disgust.

“Consider the source—Chris Pook is the one soliciting sponsorships from companies doing business with the city,” she said. “Pook is the one out there finagling. I don’t need to. He’s the one who is failing.”

Ripley says Pook mischaracterized her to city officials because he was angry and trying to save face after she advised Signal Hill Petroleum against sponsoring Sea Festival events. “None of my clients have ever sponsored Pook-related events,” she said, “and this kind of thing is why.”

Ripley pointed out that Signal Hill Petroleum last year donated $25,000 to sponsor a summer “movies-in-the-park” program in Long Beach and Signal Hill that was not connected with Sea Festival. It will kick in another $25,000 this summer.

Meanwhile, Pook has struggled to secure the private-sector sponsorships he promised in 2005. City Manager Jerry Miller was so sure that Pook would be able to tap the international corporate relationships he developed with the Grand Prix that Miller gave him the assignment without opening the position to other candidates. Miller also ignored the unanimous order of the City Council by allowing Pook to run the festival without a contract in 2005 and 2006, thereby relieving Pook of the responsibility to pay the city $20,000 from Sea Festival income.

Instead, the Sea Festival has been mostly funded by some $100,000 from city-related departments and agencies—essentially, taxpayers and ratepayers—as well as man-hours compensated by incalculably more tax dollars through the city payroll.
It’s not that Pook isn’t trying. Bringing in high-ranking city officials ratchets up the pressure to contribute, say representatives from two other Long Beach businesses, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“There is the sense that rubbing elbows with city officials with a sponsorship now is going to help you if you need something later,” said one.

Resisting the sponsorship pitch, however, provokes a different reaction.

“There is a lot of arm-twisting—my arm still hurts,” said another representative, speaking euphemistically. “Pook has always been very aggressive, going back to his Long Beach Grand Prix days. It’s his method. It’s well-known. But it’s also the reason there has been so little corporate sponsorship of Sea Festival.”

Tags: Chris Pook