What’s at stake in this race

The mayor is Long Beach’s most visible public official. The mayor has enormous power to set the city’s agenda by presiding over City Council meetings and helping craft the annual budget.

The mayor does not vote on City Council items but can veto legislation the council passes. They greatly influence city priorities by introducing City Council items and using their public presence to build political support.

Whoever wins will represent the city on the world stage when the Olympics come to the L.A. area in 2028, including 11 events in Long Beach. Helping set priorities and building excitement for the lead-up to the Olympics will be a crucial part of the job.

In this year’s race, incumbent Rex Richardson is seeking reelection against five challengers.

What does the mayor of Long Beach do?

• The mayor makes budget recommendations and introduces legislation — those are then voted on by City Council members.
• The mayor does not cast a vote but presides over City Council meetings, giving them the ability to steer the discussion.
• The mayor can veto ordinances the City Council passes. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the nine-member council.
• The mayor is the public face of the city. You will see them at just about every event, ribbon-cutting, ground-breaking or meeting where Long Beach plays a role.
• The mayor is a key advocate for Long Beach, making the city’s case to the federal, state and county governments. In this way, they can influence legislation and help secure grant money for city projects.
• The mayor also nominates residents to serve on the city’s many commissions, which advise and make recommendations to the City Council.

You might know the mayor from

Even though the mayor does not directly make many of the day-to-day decisions in the city, Long Beach’s most recent two mayors (incumbent Richardson and Robert Garcia, who is now in Congress) have leaned into the public visibility of the job, increasingly using their bully pulpit to drive public opinion and shape perceptions of Long Beach.

A few examples of past mayoral actions making headlines:

• Giving the annual State of the City speech, where the mayor lays out an agenda for the City Council and makes the case for the city's priorities.
• Announcing Olympic events or new companies coming to Long Beach.
• Advocating for ICE agents to leave Long Beach.
• Announcing the results of Long Beach’s annual homelessness count.

Here are some things the mayor doesn’t do

The mayor does not hire, fire or direct city staffers except in their own office, which includes several deputy mayors currently dedicated to priorities such as building more housing or drawing new businesses to Long Beach.

The mayor doesn’t run the city on a day-to-day basis. That’s the city manager who is responsible for overseeing city operations. The mayor and city manager work closely together, but the mayor cannot unilaterally direct the city manager on what to do.

The mayor does not control Long Beach’s schools, port or bus system.

Fast facts about the mayor of Long Beach

Long Beach relies on a council-manager form of government, meaning the mayor and City Council form the city’s legislature. Together, they appoint the city clerk and the city manager, who is the top executive.

Unlike the City Council, being mayor is a full-time job. The position pays about $157,000 a year. Each term lasts four years.

It’s a tough race for outsiders. The city has not elected a mayor who hasn’t first sat on the City Council since Beverly O’Neil’s inaugural win in 1994.

What’s on the agenda for next term

Long Beach’s looming budget deficit, projected at over $60 million next year, will be a major topic for the mayor and City Council, who will have to decide on potential cuts.

Homelessness continues to be a major issue, and the mayor has often been the face of Long Beach’s response to the problem. Whether the city’s approach is working or whether it needs new ideas will undoubtedly be a topic of contention.

Olympic preparation, with the mayor being the city’s biggest booster, will also be a major factor.

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 mayor of Long Beach

Rex Richardson, incumbent

Rex Richardson

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Courtesy Rex Richardson

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Rex Richardson says he came to California on a Greyhound bus. His father was in the Air Force and his mother was a welder at General Motors. According to his website, Richardson was the first in his family to attend college, and after graduating, he worked as a community organizer with SEIU Local 721.

He’d go on to become chief of staff for a City Council member. Then he was elected to a City Council seat himself. In 2022, Richardson became the first African American to hold the office in the city's history.

In his own words

Richardson touts on his website some landmark goals during his current term in office. This includes launching the Grow Long Beach initiative, which aims to expand local industry such as aerospace and aviation to build on the city’s nickname as “Space Beach.” Richardson says he wants to foster economic development that will move the city away from its oil reliance. Richardson says Grow Long Beach has brought more than 4,100 high-paying jobs into the city, including major employers like Blue Shield of California and Ford Motor Company.

Richardson says during his term he’s also earmarked $5 million to help protect undocumented families who may be targets of federal immigration enforcement. The funding is for direct financial assistance, know-your-rights training and legal services to assist in eviction defense. The mayor says he also built the city’s first municipal homeless shelter, saw homelessness decline for the first time in 10 years and created Long Beach’s “first homelessness prevention strategy,” which provides financial assistance to vulnerable populations, in order to prevent them from losing their homes in the first place.

“It was a tent city downtown when we walked into the office,” Richardson said at his State of the City address. “The tents are gone. You don’t see visible tents anymore.”

Richardson says if reelected, he will continue to prepare Long Beach to host the 2028 Olympic games. He’s directing $1.1 billion to the Elevate ‘28 initiative, which includes a major upgrade to the convention center, restoration of wetlands and “the largest pavement-improvement effort in city history.” He says his priorities also include environmental progress, such as cutting port emissions, expanding the “urban canopy” and prepping for sea level rise.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://JoinRexRichardson.com
• Endorsements: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO)
• Full endorsements list here.

Go deeper: 

• Rex Richardson Represents (CSUDH Magazine)
• In optimistic State of the City, mayor promises growth as city confronts economic turmoil (Long Beach Post)

Oscar Cancio, school relations manager

Oscar Cancio

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Courtesy Oscar Cancio

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Oscar Cancio was born and raised in L.A.’s Koreatown. He moved to Long Beach in 2014. He has spent his career working in school admissions and management, where he has “helped educational institutions strengthen operations, improve access for students and manage complex budgets and organizational priorities.”

In his own words

Cancio has identified his top three priorities as public safety, the city’s budget deficit and addressing traffic accidents. He says that if elected, he will work to improve road safety through “practical, cost-effective solutions,” including roundabouts, improved lighting and stronger police enforcement against driving under the influence. Cancio says he also supports an emphasis on community policing — requiring more police officers to walk or ride bicycles on their beats. He says this street-level engagement will help reestablish trust between residents and law enforcement and encourage the community to report crimes and cooperate in potential investigations.

Cancio says by 2027, the city could be facing a $60 million to $80 million deficit. But before turning to higher taxes, he says there needs to be a thorough accounting of how money is currently being spent: Long Beach residents are already subject to a 10.5% sales tax, says Cancio, which is one of the highest in the region.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://Cancio4lbmayor.com

Lee Goldin, senior product manager

Lee Goldin

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Courtesy Lee Goldin

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Before settling in Long Beach, Lee Goldin worked for a solar energy company in San Francisco and a nonprofit in New York, according to his website.

As a kid, Goldin says he spent summers in Long Beach with his grandparents. Now he lives in the city full time with his wife and two kids. He works in the tech sector for apparel brand Fashion Nova and hosts a podcast called “Liberal Guilt Radio.”

In his own words

Goldin says immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration need to be met with resistance, and anything else is complicity. He says the Long Beach Police Department should arrest ICE agents as “domestic terrorists,” and any “non-local businesses” that provide goods or services to these agents should be hit with penalties and fines.

“When ICE and the National Guard came into town, I walked right up to the front lines and personally told them to high-tail it out of California while our current mayor did nothing,” Goldin says. “Like many others, I was tear-gassed, struck with batons and shot with less-lethal rounds while our city displayed ICE recruitment ads on public buses.”

Goldin says that after dark, no residents feel safe in Long Beach — unless they live in a wealthy neighborhood. But the current emphasis on police officer recruitment isn’t the answer, according to Goldin. He says those prospective salaries should instead go toward alternative service providers. Goldin says if Long Beach wants to see better public safety outcomes, the city needs to direct this funding toward mental health, housing subsidies, addiction treatment and other larger social issues.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://Goldinformayor.com

Terri Rivers, chief nonprofit executive

Terri Rivers

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Courtesy Terri Rivers

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Terri Rivers was raised in Long Beach, received a degree in early childhood education and at the age of 26 started her own childcare business. As part of Child Care Providers United, Rivers says she lobbied with her peers to form a union, and in 2019, the group joined SEIU Local 99 — opening the door to healthcare, pay raises and other benefits. Rivers says she’s also developed a nonprofit that provides “development tools, training, classes and other resources” to childcare providers and families and launched the Schools of Childcare app to streamline everyday business operations.

In her own words

According to Rivers’ website, violence prevention and community policing would be two of her central approaches to building safer neighborhoods. She says she would use cadets ages 18 to 24 as a supplemental presence on the streets and focus on proactive crime reduction measures such as partnering with local groups to create “robust neighborhood watches.”

Rivers says homelessness would be another priority — but that it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” problem. Instead, Rivers says she would address the issue by first separating individuals into categories such as families with children, youth and veterans. Then, with the help of local communities, neighborhood-based initiatives and stronger partnerships with faith groups and local businesses, the city can move forward with “scalable” housing solutions and comprehensive wraparound services.

In an email, Rivers said she would also assess public works projects needed to improve community safety such as “speed bumps and other traffic-calming and safety measures to prevent reckless driving.”

More voter resources:

• Website: http://TerriRivers.com

Go deeper: 

• Childcare advocate Terri Rivers enters Long Beach Mayor’s race (Los Angeles County Politics)

Joshua Rodriguez, police officer/father

Joshua Rodriguez

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Courtesy Joshua Rodriguez

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Joshua Rodriguez is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador. After graduating high school, Rodriguez served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the California National Guard and eventually becoming a police officer in Los Angeles.

He is currently featured for his mayoral candidacy on Make California Gold Again, a website, “designed for the Californian, the patriot, who wants to take a stand for God & freedom and connect with others who believe the same!”

Rodriguez has been outspoken about his support of President Donald Trump and his disapproval of COVID vaccine mandates.

In his own words

Rodriguez says on his website that he has “seen firsthand what ‘soft on crime’ does to a community,” and that’s why, if elected, he will prioritize public safety through adding streetlights, increasing police patrols and working to reduce recidivism rates among released offenders. He says he’ll also be tougher on traffic crimes to help lower fatalities and install solar lighting citywide.

Overall, Rodriguez says he plans to also adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for homeless individuals who refuse shelter and services but continue to engage in criminal behavior. To further bolster Long Beach’s homeless response, Rodriguez says he would also declare a state of emergency, requesting aid from the county, state and federal government to assist in creating emergency housing for the unhoused population.

In a 2022 interview with Long Beach grassroots publication ForThe, Rodriguez says he does not believe housing is a human right and does not think the city should open a safe-consumption site for narcotics, but he does support the opening of cannabis-consumption lounges, as long as they’re held to bar-like rules and standards.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://Josh4lbcmayor.com

Go deeper: 

• Joshua Rodriguez: Mayoral Candidate (My Belmont Heights)
• Joshua Rodriguez – Long Beach Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire 2022 (For The)

Chris Sweeney, business owner

Christopher Sweeney

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Courtesy Christopher Sweeney

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Chris Sweeney has lived in Long Beach for nearly 20 years. He was a Division I athlete in college, and in 2015, he started health-focused meal prep service and local restaurant RightMealz. Sweeney says they partner with local sports brands to put on community wellness events and that during the recent wildfires, RightMealz turned into a donation center and delivered 6,000 sandwiches to first responders.

In his own words

If elected, Sweeney will enact the “First 120 Days” plan he’s outlined on his website. It includes ordering a comprehensive audit of city spending and operations, developing a digital platform called “One Long Beach,” where residents can access city services online, and putting together a task force to ensure the city is making the most of the economic opportunity presented by the Olympics.

Sweeney said that when Long Beach neighborhoods are run down, vandalized and neglected, it affects not just the everyday life of residents but also the area’s potential to grow. If elected, he says he will improve response times for services such as graffiti removal, promote better upkeep of parks and public spaces, bolster neighborhood maintenance plans and prioritize pothole and sidewalk repairs.

More voter resources:

• Website: http://Sweeneyforlb.com

Go deeper: 

• It's A Long Beach Thing: An interview Long Beach Mayor Candidate Chris Sweeney
• From Rock Bottom to Mayoral Run. Chris Sweeney’s Story of Grit, Recovery & Long Beach Leadership (Football Is Sexy)

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