Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews will be the city’s next vice mayor after a majority of the council voted him into the position Tuesday night.
The 6-3 vote will put Andrews in charge of meetings when Mayor Robert Garcia is absent, but he will lack the ability to veto votes by the council. He would be next in line to lead the city if the mayor’s seat is vacated for any reason during the next two years.
Council members Roberto Uranga and Stacy Mungo were also nominated for the position but never saw their turn in the voting process as Andrews received the required votes in the first pass.
Andrews, the council’s oldest member, was nominated by Councilwoman Suzie Price. Price, who nominated Andrews in the 2016 vote that was ultimately won by Rex Richardson, was laudatory of Andrews, praising his service to the community.
“Having served as an educator, having served as a community advocate, having really shown what it means to turn your life around and do amazing positive things in your community … I think he has been an incredible member of this body,” Price said. “He serves this body well and is a legend for so many in our community who look to him as a source of inspiration.”
Price said that it was only right that as the senior member of the body he should be nominated by the council, and “show him the respect that we all have for him.” Councilmembers Lena Gonzalez, Jeannine Pearce and Uranga voted against Andrews.
Eighth District Councilman Al Austin said it was the “right thing to do” to honor Andrews’ seniority.
Andrews has represented most of Central Long Beach since 2007, when he defeated Austin in a special election. His term as vice mayor will end in July 2020. He is currently serving out his third term which he won as a write-in candidate in April 2016.
“I’d like to thank my colleagues for electing me to this position but I also want to thank the other individuals that were running because I know they could do just as well or even better than what I am planning on doing,” Andrews said.
Editors note: The vote total was 6-3. A previous version of this story said Vice Mayor Dee Andrews was selected by at 5-3 vote.