Hours after Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell said he was retiring from the state Legislature this year, Josh Lowenthal, son of longtime Congressman Alan Lowenthal, announced his bid for the Long Beach seat.
Lowenthal will be running for the newly established 69th Assembly District that includes most of Long Beach and parts of Carson. Lowenthal has a website established for his campaign, but it does yet include any elaboration of his platform.
“I want to thank Patrick for his service to our community and will try my best to live up to his example,” Lowenthal said in a tweet Wednesday.
— Josh Lowenthal (@JoshLowenthal) January 5, 2022
Lowenthal is a local business owner and was named president of FreeConferenceCall.com, a Long Beach-based videoconferencing company, in 2016 after serving as its chief operating officer.
If elected, he would follow in a long line of Lowenthals who’ve served in Long Beach politics.
His dad, Alan, has been a politician for 30 years, starting as a Long Beach City Council member, before serving in the state Assembly, Senate, and most recently in Congress, where he will finish his 10th year in 2022.
Congressman Lowenthal announced his retirement last month, which led to Mayor Robert Garcia announcing he would run to replace him.
Josh Lowenthal’s mother, Bonnie, also served on the Long Beach City Council and is now a Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioner. Suja Lowenthal, former wife of his brother, was a two-term Long Beach councilwoman before leaving to become the city manager of Hermosa Beach.
His brother, Daniel, is an elected Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge and currently presides over the felony courtroom in the Long Beach courthouse.
Lowenthal had previously run for a different Assembly seat in Orange County in 2018, leading in the primary but ultimately being edged out by Tyler Diep by about 5,000 votes. The seat is currently held by Republican Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen.
If Lowenthal is able to win this time he could represent a similar Assembly district that his father served in between 1998 and 2004.
Editors note: This story has been updated with information about Josh Lowenthal’s brother, Daniel, who is also an elected official
Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell announces retirement from state Legislature