6:00am | In the First District, incumbent Robert Garcia received 70.9% of the vote over challenger Jana Shields to earn his first full term in office.
The Long Beach City College administrator served one year in office after winning a special election in April 2009 to replace Bonnie Lowenthal – who moved on to the State Assembly – and so Garcia ran his second City Council race in as many Aprils to receive his first four-year term on the Council.
Garcia’s tenure thus far has been marked by the renovation of a skate park largely used by at-risk youth, the implementation of an Equal Benefits Ordinance – requiring businesses that work with the City to offer equal benefits to their employees’ partners whether same-sex or opposite-sex – and leading the attempt to court Google’s ultra-speed internet system to test in Long Beach.
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