What should the city do when confronted with homeless individuals who refuse to go into a shelter or temporary housing?
Decisions regarding housing and treatment for those living in the streets of our city must account for both the rights of the individual and the larger health interests of the public. In the short term, we must fully fund the deployment of emergency mental health and public safety responders so that solutions can be made on a professionally informed, case-by-case basis. In the long term, we must address the issue of why there are so many homeless people in our streets in the first place. I advocate declaring housing affordability and the mental health crisis as local emergencies and officially codifying housing and health care as human guaranteed rights to all in our city. This would serve as a public declaration that city government will aggressively enact policies to protect renters from evictions, enact rent control, provide free legal counsel as well as fully fund and staff local mental health and drug rehabilitation programs/institutions.
How would you address crime in the city?
Many studies have shown that the safest communities in the world are not those with the highest police budgets but those with the highest amounts of social and economic resources for its citizens. In order to get tough on crime we must invest in our neighborhoods by fully funding the development of free job training programs, mental health treatment as well as drug rehabilitation and a revamped police accountability commission, promoting safety and community transparency. Current leadership’s over-reliance on policing solutions to curb crime has not produced results. I propose a new path forward, prioritizing more economic opportunities for working people, that will lead to dramatic decreases in issues related to gang activity and street crime here in Long Beach, while also producing more jobs and wealth creation for local families.
The state is requiring Long Beach to make room for 26,502 new housing units by 2029. How should the 1st District be a part of that plan?
The state plan creates more urgency for our district to take the lead in creating a Collective Land Trust which will guarantee that whatever housing gets constructed here, is constructed with the guidance and will of our community members, not the profits of large real estate companies. Secondly, I advocate for a drastic rezoning plan that facilitates the construction of affordable multi-family and multi-purpose buildings in the 1st District. This change, along with the implementation of a fare free public transportation system, will revitalize the 1st District’s local economy, stimulate small business growth and create a sustainable job market for our residents to tap into.
What would you do about the high cost of housing in Long Beach?
It is time for the City Council to lower rents and put people ahead of the profits of big real estate. We will immediately halt all evictions in our city. We will establish a city ordinance, canceling the requirement to pay the backlog of rent accrued during the pandemic. We will enact rent control legislation, which will cap rising rent costs and ensure working families aren’t economically burdened into poverty. We will create a Rental Housing Division which will provide free legal assistance to renters. We will institute a vacancy property fee, which would primarily penalize large corporate interests for needlessly keeping units empty (a tactic used in order to keep rent artificially high for renters). Additionally, we will institute a corporate land tax (targeting real estate speculators, banks and corporations) that will help our city fund future affordable housing construction and keep residents from being economically pushed out of the city. I am the only candidate in the district with the plan to keep rent low and real estate money out of local politics.
There’s been a historical lack of investment in open space and recreational opportunities in your district. How would you secure more resources for open space?
The large corporate interests currently growing extremely rich on the east side of our city disproportionately benefit from the prime real estate Long Beach has to offer. I believe these corporations and large landowners should be made to help pay toward the redevelopment and reinvigoration of our poor communities here in West Long Beach. I propose a Land Value Tax (LVT), levied against wealthy corporations operating in the city, which will generate a massive source of revenue that would enormously benefit 1st District projects. This new revenue stream, along with a reallocation and reprioritization of funds available in the general revenue budget, should give us the monetary resources to fully fund new local programs.
Do you believe the city is doing enough to alleviate climate change and the effect it’s having on the city? If not, what additional actions should be taken?
No. Currently, Long Beach has a city government that does not prioritize the collective health and well-being of our communities. Firstly, we must remove the influence of big oil corporations in local politics. Big Oil, one of the foremost polluters in the world, has too much input in regards to our city’s environmental policies. Creating stricter limitations on lobbying efforts, as well increasing the transparency of local politicians, will serve to empower the average community member and promote a healthier and cleaner Long Beach. Secondly, we must invest in the development of clean waste removal facilities that use strategies like composting and anaerobic digestion rather than trash burning that can be potentially harmful to the environment. Additionally, I propose to form a city-funded Climate Corp program that will partner with local colleges and universities in order to provide much needed training, manpower and innovative solutions to the environmental issues our city faces today. Whether it be neighborhood and beach clean ups or the sorting of plastics and other pollutants, mobilizing communities will keep us healthier and our neighborhoods stronger.
Parking is a huge quality of life issue in the 1st District. What, if anything, would you do about parking?
The solution to the parking crisis isn’t building more parking lots; the solution is making Long Beach public transportation free to all citizens as well as upgrading all associated infrastructure for the creation of free, safe, reliable and fast transportation. Transitioning toward a free public transportation model will increase ridership, reduce the amount of cars on the road, generate new markets for small businesses, cut reliance on personal vehicles and the need for parking, cut down on emissions and subsequently create more open space for community projects. Other cities in America have recently transitioned towards a free public transportation model (Kansas City) and their residents have seen their quality of life, economic prospects and job opportunities expand as a result. We as leaders must be innovative and reimagine how local Long Beach residents are able to get from one place to the next.