9:01am | Amid the clamor of reactions to the City Council’s vote last week on a redistricting plan that, if approved in ordinance form, would redistrict Eighth District candidate Mike Kowal into the Seventh District, a second candidate quietly signed on to the race for the Eighth District.
Alvin Austin II, who in 2007 unsuccessfully ran with the mayor’s endorsement in a special election for the Sixth District seat, confirmed over the weekend that he is running for the Eighth District. He told the Long Beach Post on Saturday that he had not yet made an official announcement but has filed the necessary paperwork for his candidacy.
Austin is a business representative for AFSCME Council 36 and has also served as a political organization consultant. He was state Sen. Ken Murray’s top aide in the early 2000s.
Austin has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from the Univeristy of La Verne and a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach.
More to come …