One of the most important, and likely overlooked, races on the ballot today is the contest to be Long Beach’s city attorney. Because there are only two people vying for the office, it will almost certainly be decided in the primary, circumventing the runoff most other races will need in November.

A rare poll in the race showed that the outsider, former City Councilmember and frequent City Hall critic Gerrie Schipske, actually had a lead over the institutional pick, Assistant City Attorney Dawn McIntosh, who has the backing of her outgoing boss and many of the city’s incumbents.

Assistant City Attorney Dawn McIntosh (left) and former City Councilmember Gerrie Schipske are both running for Long Beach City Attorney.

As the Post’s Kelly Puente reported last week, the poll has caused some consternation in City Hall.

To learn more about McIntosh and Schipske’s positions, see our Compare Your Candidates tool here and check out the debate we filmed with them here.

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.