Long Beach Primary: Price And Richardson Fight For Mayor

Long Beach residents will choose a new mayor for the first time in eight years and pick new City Council representatives.

LONG BEACH, CA — Tuesday is the last day to vote in California’s primary, and the stakes couldn’t be higher in Long Beach, where voters will choose a new mayor for the first time in eight years and pick City Council representatives for Districts 3, 5 and 9.

Here's what you need to know:

Long Beach Mayoral Election 2022

Councilwoman Suzie Price and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson are running to be the Mayor of Long Beach after the seat was vacated by Robert Garcia who is running for Congress in the 42nd District.

Find out what's happening in Long Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here's a little bit about the candidates:

Suzie Price currently serves as the District 3 representative for the Long Beach City Council. She earned her Bachelor's degree in political science and her Master's of Public Administration at California State University, Long Beach and her Juris Doctor degree at Santa Clara Law School.

Find out what's happening in Long Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

READ MORE: Meet Suzie Price: Candidate for Long Beach Mayor

Rex Richardson is the Vice Mayor of Long Beach and currently represents District 9 in the City Council. He has received endorsements from multiple city officials like Mayor Robert Garcia and Vice President of Long Beach Unified School District Megan Kerr.

To learn more about Richardson, visit his campaign website here.

Long Beach City Council Election 2022

Here is a rundown of which candidates are running for which districts in the Nov. 8 election:

District 3:

Kailee Caruso has been employed in the social services field in Orange County and Los Angeles County for 10 years. Caruso is the only Democrat-endorsed candidate in this race and she said she values transparency, accountability and utilizing the city budget in a financially responsible manner.
Kristina Duggan is a Long Beach native and has almost 30 years of experience in running small businesses focused on education, real estate, recreational athletics and mental health counseling. She has received endorsements from prominent city officials such as former Mayor Bob Foster and the Long Beach Police Officers Association.

District 5

Megan Kerr is the current Vice President of the Long Beach Unified School District and has taken part in multiple community service experiences such as a breakfast for the homeless, the LB Community College Child Development Program and the Alexandria House for women and children who have experienced homelessness, domestic violence and human trafficking.
Ian Patton is a Bixby Knolls and Cal Heights native and is the co-founder of the Long Beach Reform Coalition. LBRC's mission is to build better resident responsiveness, transparency and accountability in City Hall. He supports lower taxation and regulations on small businesses.

District 9

Ginny Gonzales has 37 years of experience in accounting and auditing and said that the cost of living is the biggest problem facing Long Beach. She said she plans to address and improve the public trust between the residents and the Long Beach Police Department and reduce the homeless population in District 9 with additional homeless shelters.
Joni Ricks-Oddie has been actively engaged in civic leadership and currently serves as Chair of the Long Beach Planning Commission. Oddie plans to be a fierce advocate for the quality-of-life priorities that protect residents and help communities thrive.

In the Golden State, Oct. 10 was the deadline for counties to send out vote-by-mail ballots, which every registered voter will automatically receive, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

"We're urging all Californians to vote early this year,” said California Secretary Of State Shirley Weber. “ You don't have to wait until Election Day because voting-by-mail makes it easy as soon as you get your ballots. Every person who votes early will help keep lines shorter and reduce wait times at in-person voting locations on Election Day."

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 8, and ballots returned at a designated ballot drop box must be deposited by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

In most instances, Californians are not required to show identification to cast a ballot. However, those who did not provide a driver’s license number or a social security number while registering to vote may be asked to do so while voting for the first time in person.

Through Nov. 8, residents can vote at 48 sites in Long Beach. Find a complete list of sites and other election information here.

Countywide Races

Sheriff

There is a heated battle to take the helm at the nation’s largest sheriff’s department, and for just the second time in a century, the Los Angeles County’s incumbent sheriff could go down in defeat. With less than a week left in the race, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is behind in the polls, trailing challenger Robert Luna, retired Long Beach Police Department Chief.

In the June primary, Villanueva and Luna topped the nine-person field of candidates, leading to Tuesday’s runoff.

Over the past century, only one incumbent sheriff in the county has lost a re-election bid. That was four years ago, when Villanueva achieved a stunning upset of Sheriff Jim McDonnell, riding to an election victory with strong backing from reform-minded community groups and Democrats.

He has openly criticized "progressive" policies and politicians, most notably District Attorney George Gascón, and assailed movements to "defund" law enforcement agencies.

Luna argued during the campaign that the sheriff's department is being "mismanaged" by Villanueva and said he will work to restore trust in the agency. He also touted his position as an outsider with no connections to the sheriff's department.

He said he will work to "modernize" the sheriff's department and its jail system and improve the mental well-being of deputies and employees.

Ballot Measures

Almost as soon as he took office, Villanueva found himself battling with county leaders, rejecting oversight of deputy gangs as well as hiring and firing issues within the department.

After he defied subpoenas seeking his cooperation with the Civilian Oversight Commission and Inspect General’s investigations, the board pursued ways to oust the outspoken Sheriff. Their solution was Measure A.

Measure A would change the county’s charter to enable county supervisors to fire an elected sheriff with a supermajority vote. Four of the five-member board would have to vote that the sheriff is unfit for office.

It Reads:
“Shall the measure amending the County of Los Angeles Charter to grant the Board of Supervisors authority to remove an elected Sheriff from office for cause, including violation of law related to a Sheriff's duties, flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of funds, willful falsification of documents, or obstructing an investigation, by a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors, after written notice and an opportunity to be heard, be adopted?”

Measure C is the other countywide ballot measure. If approved it would impose a tax on cannabis businesses in unincorporated parts of the county, raising $10-$15 million annually. The money would go to the city’s general fund and an effort to promote equal opportunity in the cannabis industry

Statewide Races

Millions of Californians will be called back to the ballot boxes this year to decide who will occupy the governor’s seat as well as a slew of other important statewide positions.

Golden Staters will be asked to vote on candidates for:

Governor

Gov. Gavin Newsom is up for re-election in 2022, and he’s likely to sail to another victory with ease after surviving a recall election last year and managing and dominating in the primary election.

Nonetheless, he will face opponent state Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), whom he beat by nearly 40 points in the June primary.

Dahle’s campaign has raised just $2 million, while Newsom’s campaign has raised more than $23 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Newsom leads Dahle by a 27-point margin — 58 to 31 percent — among likely voters, according to a September Public Policy Institute of California survey.

The Democratic governor will debate the lesser-known Dahle on Oct. 23.

Attorney General

Attorney General Rob Bonta was appointed after Xavier Becerra became the first Latino to hold the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services seat.

Bonta, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, will face off against Republican Nathan Hochman, a former assistant U.S. attorney general and a criminal attorney. Hochman says the state needs a new attorney general who will combat rising crime.

Hochman got 18 percent of the vote in the June 7 primary, while Bonta won 54.8 percent.

Insurance Commissioner

Incumbent Democrat Ricardo Lara will run for a second term as insurance commissioner, a seat that is tasked with regulating the state insurance industry. Republican cybersecurity equipment manufacturer Robert Howell will challenge Lara in the general election.

He has described himself as a “Reagan Republican,” who says he’s committed to helping wildfire victims and insurance premiums that are “abusively inflated,” CalMatters reported.

Secretary of State

Incumbent Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, was appointed by Newsom after Alex Padilla ascended to his seat as a senator. She will face Republican Rob Bernosky, who describes himself as a “practical conservative.”

Bernosky, the chief financial officer of a tech company, is a longtime activist and former Hollister school board member. He previously ran for state Assembly in 2010 and in 2012 but was unsuccessful.

If reelected, Weber said she plans to change the state’s recall system after the attempted recall of Newsom last year. Democrats argue that the recall process was abused.

“Very little conversation occurred about: Does this man need to be recalled? Has he done something so egregious that we want to remove him from office?” Weber told CalMatters.

Controller

The race for controller in a California general election doesn't typically generate much interest, but June’s primary was among the most interesting races statewide. That’s because a Republican, Lanhee Chen, was able to advance. Chen opened the door for a Republican to have a shot at their first statewide office since 2006.

The state’s fiscal officer typically facilitates audits and serves on some 70 state boards and commissions.

In November, Chen will face Malia Cohen, a Democrat and member of the state Board of Equalization. Chen is a Stanford instructor and former top Republican adviser.

State Treasurer

Democratic incumbent Fiona Ma will face Republican Jack Guerrero in November. Guerrero is a certified public accountant serving on the Cudahy City Council in Los Angeles County.

If re-elected, Ma said her priority would be to meet Newsom’s goal of building 3.5 million homes by 2025, she told CalMatters.

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Angela Underwood Jacobs, a bank manager who has experience serving as a member of the Lancaster City Council.

Kounalakis is the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of California and said she wants to ensure a woman succeeds to the governor’s seat in 2026, hinting at a run herself.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Unlike the other statewide races, this competition is a nonpartisan one. In November, Lance Ray Christensen, an education policy executive, will try to unseat incumbent Tony Thurmond.

Propositions

Proposition 1

This measure would codify the rights to abortions and birth control within the California’s constitution.