A Cal State Long Beach poll released yesterday shows homelessness is far and away the most common issue at the top of voters’ mindsn. So what are local candidates pledging to do about it?

The poll found a majority of Long Beach voters (56%) thought "housing-first" policies, which lower the barrier to shelter and support services, were somewhat or very effective, but only 48.4% favored the idea of offering homeless people services "without any conditions such as therapy or counseling for substance abuse."

Voters also appeared concerned with people on the street. The poll found that 53.6% of them strongly favored or somewhat favored a ban on homeless people sleeping in public.

But what about the people running for office?

The Long Beach Post asked about homelessness in our Compare Your Candidates tool.

You can check out the proposed solutions from the candidates for mayor, city attorney, city prosecutor, and City Council District 1, District 3, District 5, District 7, and District 9.

Here's a summary of what the mayoral candidates had to say:

  • Councilmember Rex Richardson called on the city to do more to “deal with the root causes of homelessness, mental health and substance abuse and poverty” through the use of such recent reforms as Long Beach REACH Teams, which “focus on physical and mental health to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness.”
  • Raul Cedillo echoed this, saying city officials need to know more about why people are homeless, and provide more “outreach, understanding [of] their concerns, proper access to health care and mental care.”
  • Deb Mozer said people who wish to live on the streets shouldn’t be criminalized at all, and proposed starting “a street paper” that would provide jobs for unemployed and underemployed people.
  • Franklin Sims said the city’s Homeless Services office needs to do a better job of building relationships with homeless people, and pledged to audit Homeless Services.
  • The remaining two candidates said the emphasis should be on enforcing the city’s anti-camping ordinances.
  • Councilmember Suzie Price called homelessness “the most complex” problem officials face in Long Beach, but advocated a range of enforcement mechanisms, starting with CARE Court, should people refuse shelter because “Residents need to be able to use our parks, beaches and public restrooms.”
  • Joshua Rodriguez took a similar approach, saying the city needs to enforce its anti-camping ordinance, starting with citation, when people refuse to go into shelter.