Small business owner and East Village Association President Joen Garnica announced her run for Long Beach City Council’s Second District seat Monday afternoon, joining candidates Eric Gray and Jeannine Pearce.

Joen GarnicaGarnica’s official launch party is slated to take place Monday, September 14 at 6:00PM at District Wine.

“During my [12] years as an active member of the second district community, I have seen the good things that can happen when neighbors come together and work hard,” said Garnica in a statement. “I have worked side by side with my neighbors to improve our city and bring a sense of community to our district.”

Garnica is a native of Long Beach and the owner of Garnica Interiors, Inc. in the Second District. She’s also a board member of the East Village Association, Downtown Long Beach Associates, the Downtown Residential Council, International City Theatre, Long Beach Day Nursery and the Long Beach City College Foundation, according to a release issued today. She attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and has worked for Long Beach Magazine and Visual Merchandising/Design. 

In a conversation with the Post, Garnica said she made her final decision to run for city council a “few weeks ago” after talking to family and community members.

“It’s not something I arrived at rather quickly,” said Garnica. “I wanted to make sure I had a really good understanding of what I was looking at. It’s certainly not something I take lightly.”

Garnica said her unique perspective as a small business owner, rotarian, mother and board member differentiates her from other candidates in the field.

“The second district is a microcosm of Long Beach,” Garnica said in a statement. “Balancing the wants and needs of second district constituents is not always easy, however I have been working with members of our community for a dozen years on bringing balance and progress to our neighborhoods.”

Specifically, Garnica has spearheaded the construction of a children’s playground at Promenade Square Park, to be completed this year.

“Far too often I had friends and neighbors moving out of our downtown due to inadequate child-­‐friendly park space,” said Garnica in a statement. “I began working with my neighbors to bring a park for small children to our downtown neighborhood. Now, as a mother of two small boys myself, I am happy to have helped lead that charge and bring facilities for the young families of Downtown Long Beach.”

Above, left: photo courtesy of Joen Garnica.