Long Beach : Rancor Eases as Gay Service Agency Elects 9 to Board

The election this week of nine new members to the board of directors of One in Long Beach Inc., the city’s largest gay social service agency, seems to have at least temporarily put an end to the rancor that characterized the beleaguered agency’s recent past.

“The drama is over,” said Norm Reed, who was elected board chairman Sunday night. “We are proceeding in a thoughtful manner.”

Charges of fiscal mismanagement rocked the agency last year, resulting, among other things, in the cancellation of a major fund-raising event, layoff of an employee, reduction in operating hours and resignation of the agency’s executive director.

An internal audit found no evidence of mismanagement. But the argument quickly spilled over into philosophical areas, revealing deep divisions regarding the agency’s future, particularly on the issues of growth and fund-raising.

Sunday night’s annual membership meeting seems to have put an end to all that, Reed said. At the meeting, about 100 members of the gay community elected seven representatives to fill two-year terms on the 14-member board, as well as two representatives to fill the unexpired terms of board members who had not completed their terms.

The agency already has reinstated the hours of operation that were eliminated, Reed said. And one of the first items of business for the new board, he said, is to begin the search for a new executive director.