Candidate for
City Attorney; City of Long Beach

Bob Shannon has been the City Attorney of Long Beach since 1998, when he was first elected. He was reelected in 2002 and 2006. In his position, he is responsible for the management and leadership of an office staffed by 67 employees, including 22 attorneys.

Additionally, during this time he has personally provided legal advice to the Long Beach City Council at over 420 open meetings as well as more than 100 closed sessions. The nature of his advice at these meetings ranged from multi-million dollar litigation against the City, sensitive personnel matters, labor negotiations and complicated real estate transactions, among others.

In addition, he manages an office which provides the legal services to all of the committees and commissions of the City, including the Harbor, Water, and Planning Commissions. Also, he and his staff provide necessary day-to-day legal services to all the City's departments.

He personally provides legal advice to the City Manager and all department heads, including the Chiefs of Police and Fire. During his tenure as City Attorney, he has managed over 2,000 lawsuits, many involving disputes in excess of one million dollars. Of cases litigated to conclusion, his office has a success rate of over 75%. He also oversees the management of a highly successful workers compensation section, administering the claims of injured City employees.

Prior to his election, he served as a Prosecutor and Civil Litigator, as well as serving as the Assistant City Attorney of Long Beach from 1985 to 1998.

In addition, he has:

- as a civil litigator personally handled in excess of 1,000 cases in state and federal court and has tried to a conclusion over 70 matters, including 35 jury trials.
- appeared and personally argued in the California Supreme Court six separate matters.
- served as President of the City Attorney Section of the League of California Cities (2000) during which time he participated in the formulation of a series of seminars on municipal law for all City Attorneys in California
- successfully sued the Sempra and El Paso gas companies for the unlawful spike in gas rates, resulting in a recovery in excess of $10 million to the City and its ratepayers.
- worked closely with Port of Long Beach staff to develop and implement the Green Port Program, which will serve as a nationwide model of environmental stewardship.
- played a significant role in the Queen Mary bankruptcy litigation which resulted in a recovery of some $8.6 million owed to the City for back rent, interest, attorneys fees and other costs.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from UCLA in 1964 and his Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law in 1968. He has lived in Long Beach for 36 years, where he and his late wife Linda raised two daughters, Kathleen and Meghan.