After falling to current Vice Mayor Val Lerch in the 2006 race for the 9th District seat, non-profit executive director Steve Neal is gearing up for another run at the seat in next year’s election. With the termed-out Lerch mounting a write-in campaign of his own and former Lerch staffer Dan Pressburg throwing in his hat, Neal will have his work cut out for him. But he still sees the opportunity that inspired him to run the first time. When did he officially make the decision to run in 2010? Back in 2006.
“We ran a very successful campaign then,” Neal said in a phone interview today. “I see a new breed of progressive new leadership coming up and I feel like I’m a part of it. So we’re working to get involved in trying to make a difference for this community.”
That difference will revolve around creating jobs, fighting crime and uniting the community in the North Long Beach district, he said. Though originally from Compton, Neal has worked or lived in various areas of Long Beach for 35 years and feels he’ll be able to bring new ideas to the table thanks to his experience – both personal and professional.
“I consider myself a ‘bridge-builder.’ I bring a lot of relationships to the table – both from the state and national levels because of the level of offices I’ve had,” Neal says, speaking of his current role as Executive Director of Labor Community Services Food and Emergency Program, as well as past positions with the Los Angeles Community Financial Resource Center Corporate Board and others.
“I think we need more of a grassroots approach to challenges, and one of the things that I’m good at is organizing. One of the things I’ve tried to do is get more citizens involved in helping and assisting our law enforcement agencies. That’s something that’s going to take organizing and something that im committed to doing.”
Photo credit: steveneal.org