What’s at stake in this race

The City Council is Long Beach’s main legislative body. Its nine members are among the most powerful people in the city, deciding how best to spend more than $3 billion each year on key services such as public health, streets and public infrastructure, law enforcement and the Fire Department.

City Council members have the power to change existing laws in the city and oversee the effectiveness of departments and specific programs. Through zoning and regulations, they directly influence housing and commercial development.

Individual councilmembers also act as advocates for the geographic area of the city they represent and have small individual budgets to support local festivals and nonprofits. Individual council offices are often residents' first and best point of contact when there’s a neighborhood problem that requires the city’s attention.

What do Long Beach City Council members do? 

• Influence and vote on the city budget that funds the Long Beach Police Department, major Public Works projects and more.
• Pass or repeal local laws, called ordinances, that can then be signed or vetoed by the mayor.
• Pass or adjust city fees and fines.
• Hire and fire the city’s top executive, the city manager.
• Set the city’s agenda and priorities through directions to the city manager.

You might know them from

City Council members’ decisions have a direct impact on residents' lives. In their most recent term, they have:

• Lowered speed limits on dozens of city streets and picked where to place automated speed cameras.
• Mandated minimum staffing for self-checkout lanes at grocery stores in Long Beach.
• Allowed cannabis sales at some special events.
• Allocated money for a deportation defense fund designed to protect immigrants.
• Voted to participate in a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to block roving immigration raids.
• Made decisions on how to spend tens of millions of dollars on homelessness programs — including abandoning a “tiny homes” project and switching to a new shelter provider after an audit raised concerns about the old contractors’ billing practices.

Here are some things Long Beach City Council members don’t do

City Council members don’t control the Long Beach Unified School District or directly influence the city’s independent municipal agencies, including the airport, port, utilities department or Long Beach Transit, which operates the local buses. Council members also have limited power on their own, needing a majority City Council vote to pass ordinances, approve budgets and set policy.

Outside their own small offices, council members cannot hire or fire staff other than the city manager and police oversight director, or direct individual staff members what to do.

Council members are elected to four-year terms and are limited to three terms. It’s a part-time position, and they are paid a little more than $50,000 a year.

The City Council cannot override state or federal law. Ordinances passed must not conflict with California or U.S. law, regardless of local preference. And the city charter — essentially our local constitution — cannot be amended without voter approval.

Fast facts about Long Beach City Council District 7 

• District 7 has one of the city’s longest-serving incumbents, Councilmember Roberto Uranga, who is now termed out.
• This council district is the most populated in the city, with a total of 54,847 residents, according to 2020 census data.
• It’s also one of the city’s most diverse districts. Of the more than 36,000 people eligible to vote, 15% were of Asian descent, 24% were Black and 39% were Latino.

What’s on the agenda for next term

Long Beach’s budget deficit, projected at over $60 million next year, will be a major topic for all councilmembers, who will have to decide on potential cuts.

Homelessness continues to be a major issue, with frequent discussion about encampments along the Los Angeles River, in Lincoln Park and around the Billie Jean King Main Library.

Olympic preparation, including several events in the downtown area, also will undoubtedly be on the agenda.

What it takes to win

Any candidate who earns more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 Primary wins outright. If not, the top two vote-getters advance to a general election Nov. 3.

The candidates for Long Beach City Council District 7

Dameon Gordon, homelessness case manager

Dameon Gordon has spent decades working in a variety of social service sectors. He’s currently working for the Catholic Charities of Los Angeles as a social worker for homeless individuals and families. Before that, he served as the director of Dungarvin, a facility for adults with developmental disabilities, and as an administrator for Olive Crest, a kids’ group home focused on child abuse prevention.

Gordon said he lives by a quote from educator Horace Mann: “You should be ashamed to die until you’ve won some victory for humanity."

In his own words

Gordon said if elected, he’ll serve as an extension of the community he represents — ensuring not just that constituent voices are heard, but also that they’re actually reflected in the decisions being made at City Hall.

“I think people are ready for leadership that’s rooted in community and not just shaped by the same systems we’ve seen for years,” Gordon said.

Housing stability is a central concern, he said, and it encompasses the need to address homelessness in a “real, effective way.” Gordon envisions a system of wraparound support that matches individual needs.

Another priority is fighting rising housing costs and the displacement it causes, he said. Rent increases, gentrification, property taxes and overall cost of living are pushing lifelong District 7 residents out of the area, he said. So Gordon supports promoting economic growth and development, but he said he wants to do so in a way that fosters small business, expands local job opportunities and prioritizes environmental concerns.

“Statistically, we lead in the city in respiratory issues,” he said, noting the district’s proximity to the ports and freeways. “And the life expectancy is about 10 years shorter than every other district.”

More voter resources:

• Website: @Dameon_Gordon_Sr

Go deeper: 

• Who’s running in Long Beach’s elections? (Long Beach Post)
• Long Beach warns of ‘difficult year’ of budget cuts but promises the pain will be short-term (Long Beach Post)
• Lopsided fundraising in Long Beach mayor’s race: No challengers report bringing in any cash (LAist)

Vivian Malauulu, Long Beach Community College District Trustee, Area 2

Vivian Malauulu

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Courtesy Vivian Malauulu

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Vivian Malauulu, a longshore worker, has a master’s degree in educational administration. She has worked as a journalist and teacher and has lived in Long Beach since 2000. In 2021, Malauulu launched Beach Flea, an outdoor swap meet designed to help small businesses bounce back after COVID. Just this year, Malauulu received her doctorate in leadership and innovation, while serving on the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees.

“There’s a saying in Spanish, ‘El que no chilla, no mama’ and what that loosely translates is, ‘Squeaky wheel gets the oil’ and ‘Closed mouths don’t get fed,’” she said. “I have a lot of experience being a strong voice.”

In her own words

Malauulu said she wants to use that voice to advocate for her district — which she says has been overlooked. She said the city needs to make more investments in West Long Beach’s infrastructure — as evidenced by the “Westside Promise.”

“I don’t hear them say there’s an Eastside Promise,” she said. “Because they don’t need a promise. They’ve gotten the goods and services that they deserve.”

Homelessness is one of Long Beach’s biggest issues, Malauulu said, and it’s what, in academic terms, you’d call a “wicked problem.” This means that no matter what solution is used to address it, there will be additional problems created as a result. If you throw money at homelessness, it feeds into a budget deficit. If you try to build more shelters, that will affect traffic and housing density, she said.

It’s a systems problem that requires a systems solution. And that means, Malauulu said, that the city needs to work with the community to identify the root causes of homelessness — such as the high rents and costs of living in Long Beach. She says part of this effort would include bolstering workforce development through apprenticeship programs and stronger relationships with local industries.

“I’m not running to get the job. I’m running to do the job,” she said.

More voter resources:

• Website: VivianforLongBeach.com
• Endorsements: Los Angeles County Democratic Party and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla
• Full endorsements list here.

Go deeper: 

• Leading Women of Long Beach: Vivian Malauulu, First Latina Elected to the LBCC College Board (Long Beach Moms Blog)
• Getting to Know LBCCD Board of Trustees Candidates, Area 2: Vivian Malauulu (Long Beach Post)

Jamies Shuford, nonprofit chief executive

Jamies Shuford

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Courtesy Jamies Shuford

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Jamies Shuford is the founder and CEO of Skidrow Advocacy Group Inc., a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of homeless people and families. Shuford said he came up with the idea when he was unhoused himself — living on Skid Row in “the best cardboard condominium” on the block.

Shuford said he never intended to run for political office, but that’s just where he has been led.

“I just want people to really see [that] you can start from nothing and become something,” he said.

Shuford currently serves as president of the Long Beach Homeless Coalition and co-chair of the Long Beach Continuum of Care. He said he also helped establish a food pantry for homeless families in Long Beach, as well as one that was used during the pandemic to feed about 500 families per week.

In his own words

The unhoused are often used as scapegoats when residents are angry about other issues in their neighborhoods, Shuford said.

“The homeless get a bad rap. We get blamed — and I’m going to say ‘we’ [because] I still consider myself homeless,” he said.

Shuford said that to address homelessness in the short and long term, there has to be a balance of compassion and enforcement. Outreach teams must follow up with the unhoused people they meet and move away from “one-time contact.” There is also a direct connection between homeless encampments and environmental issues such as sanitation concerns and illegal dumping, Shuford said. So the city should target these areas for regular clean-ups and outreach, he said, to improve street conditions while also helping to get the unhoused into interim shelter.

Shuford said he doesn’t want to see District 7 neglected any longer. He wants to expand the Westside Promise so that this area receives “the same level of investment, coordination and urgency that we see in other parts of Long Beach.” To encourage accountability, he said he’d push for a public dashboard where residents can track in real time what issues are being funded and resolved.

More voter resources:

• Website: Jamies Shuford Facebook page

Go deeper: 

• Meet Jamies Shuford (Canvas Rebel)

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