Get a comprehensive look at the June 2 Primary Election in our voter guides at LBPost.com/elections. Dive deeper into this race by reading answers to our policy questionnaire from candidates Dameon Gordon, Vivian Malauulu and Jamies Shuford — or get a quick overview here.
West Long Beach will soon get a new City Council representative for the first time in more than a decade.
After 12 years in the job, 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga is termed out. That gives three candidates the rare chance to win an open Long Beach City Council seat. One of those contenders, however, has already amassed a powerful political coaltion that’s more commonly seen from incumbents.
Social worker Dameon Gordon and nonprofit CEO Jamies Shuford are both running grassroots campaigns. They’ve raised only a couple of thousand dollars each and turned to social media to get their message out. They’re both political newcomers who haven’t held office before.
By contrast, Vivian Malauulu is a current trustee on the Long Beach City College board. She’s amassed institutional political support and has an eye-poppingly well-funded campaign. As of Tuesday, Malauulu had raised more than $122,000. Large chunks of that money have come from people with interests at the Port of Long Beach, right next door to the Westside. About $23,000 is from people connected to the Pacific Maritime Association — which represents shippers — or members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. (Malauulu herself is a longshore worker and ILWU member.)
Courtesy photo
She’s already spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailers, consulting and campaign signs.
Malauulu has also benefitted from nearly $76,500 in outside spending, according to campaign finance records. Most of it is from the local ILWU chapter’s political action committee.
Her endorsements include many of the same Democratic politicians who backed Uranga last time he was up for re-election in 2022, including Congressman Robert Garcia, State Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal. She’s also got high-profile backers like U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Gordon does not have a campaign website, but has been pushing hard for months on Instagram to win over local voters.
His local roots run deep. He grew up in the Carmelitos housing project in North Long Beach and attended Cabrillo High School before buying a home and raising four children in West Long Beach. Now, he works with homeless individuals and families as a social worker for Catholic Charities of Los Angeles.
If elected, he promised to fight rising housing costs and invest in small businesses to boost the West Long Beach economy.
The issue of homelessness is also close to heart for Shuford, a former Skid Row resident who founded a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of homeless people.
Shuford also serves as president of the Long Beach Homeless Coalition and is a member of the Long Beach Continuum of Care, the city’s network of organizations working to end homelessness.
He vowed to expand the Westside Promise to ensure West Long Beach gets “the same level of investment, coordination and urgency that we see in other parts of Long Beach.”
Read more about all the candidates’ platforms in our voter guide. Looking for a different race? Check LBPost.com/elections.