See our primer on the 1st District candidates here and voter guides for the other Long Beach races at LBPost.com/elections.
The six candidates vying for the 1st District seat on the City Council will discuss Long Beach’s financial situation, public safety and the future of downtown at a forum this Saturday sponsored by a group of neighborhood associations.
The Downtown Residential Council’s 90-minute forum at Shannon’s At the Top (105 W. Broadway) will have candidates answer a series of pre-written questions posed by a moderator.
Organizers say they expect to ask six to seven questions in total, dealing with issues central to the district: traffic congestion, property crimes, a high cost of living and frustrations with the local homeless population.
Each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer a question; the order of who answers first will rotate with each question. Questions will not be taken from the audience. Afterwards, there will be an informal meet and greet with candidates at Secret Island (209 Pine Ave.).
This comes as voters have less than a month remaining to cast their ballots in five of the city’s nine council districts up for election in the June 2 primary. Citywide positions, such as the Long Beach Mayor and the California 42nd Congressional Race, held by Rep. Robert Garcia, are also up for grabs.
Given its history of low turnout — some of the worst participation citywide — candidates have won the 1st District council office with a fraction of its 26,000 registered voters; Incumbent Mary Zendejas last won the seat in 2022 with less than 2,600 votes.
Zendejas is facing off against restaurant manager and activist Anthony Bryson, trucking business owner Brock Goleman, real estate agent Deb Kahookele, retired lab technician Lori Logan and nonprofit executive and entrepreneur Tamika Wagner-Osio.
Campaign finance records show that Zendejas holds a strong lead in fundraising, with more than $101,000 in contributions, compared to $26,305 raised by Kahookele, $9,000 by Goleman and $6,780 by Wagner-Osio. Logan has so far raised $4,000 and Bryson has collected $2,265.
The district they’re vying for includes the city’s downtown core, which runs from the Willmore neighborhood in the northwest to the harbor waterfront, has a population of some 30,000 people who are, on average, 36-years-old and make a typical salary of $84,000, more than half of whom do not have a college degree.
It’s an area, according to the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, where 93% of apartments are occupied, despite the average rent increasing every year since 2020. It’s also a place where homeless encampments in Lincoln Park and around the Billie Jean King Main Library frustrate business owners and inflate worries about public safety.
While free to attend, the event is limited to those living in the 1st District. Doors open at 3 p.m.; the event starts at 3:30 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, visit here.