State Sen. Alan Lowenthal
 
UPDATE 3:31pm | State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, told the Long Beach Post via telephone moments ago that his decision to campaign to represent the proposed new congressional district that would unify the city of Long Beach is rooted in his record of bipartisanship.

“I want to be a voice of reason” in Washington, Lowenthal told the Post. “We’re living in an extremely partisan time. … We need to break some of the partisan gridlock and come up with sustainable solutions.”

What’s more, the proposed new congressional district he aims to represent in Washington is nearly identical to the 27th State Senate District he currently represents in the California Legislature.

“It’s (the proposed new Long Beach congressional district) almost 99 percent of the 27th Senate District,” he said. “It’s the people I’ve represented for the last nine years” minus what he estimated to be about 30,000 residents in a sliver of Orange County that the proposed district encompasses.

Balancing the need to fuel growth within the international trade industry as well as that of protecting the community from air pollution is a message that he would drive home in Washington. 

He said that restoring the state of California to its former greatness will require much work in the areas of infrastructure and education.

“We really need to form a partnership with Washington to deal with that,” he said.

UPDATE 1:51pm | State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, released the following statement regarding his announcement less than an hour ago that he plans to run for a proposed new congressional seat:

Today State Senator Alan Lowenthal announced his intention to run for the newly drawn congressional seat encompassing Long Beach, Signal Hill, Paramount, Lakewood, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, La Palma, Rossmoor, Los Alamitos and Catalina.

“I live and work in this community, taught here, and served as the elected representative for much of this district,” said Lowenthal. “It would be my honor to represent my home and my community in Congress.”

Lowenthal is a former professor of psychology at California State University Long Beach, and has represented the area at almost every level of local government, from city council, to state assembly, and currently the state senate.

He is widely viewed as an effective advocate for job creation, education, and protection of the environment, authoring landmark bills to preserve critical port jobs while significantly reducing the impact of the port on the environment and health of surrounding communities. 

Lowenthal has not lost an election in the area since first running for Long Beach city council in 1992, and is considered one of the most popular and effective elected officials in the area. 

Lowenthal lives with his wife Debbie in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach. 

A map of the new district can be found here: http://c365736.r36.cf2.rackcdn.com/maps_20110610_q2_cd_la_lbprt.pdf.

1:25pm | State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, announced Friday that he plans to run for a proposed new congressional seat based on the first draft map released about a week ago by the Citizens Redistricting Commission, which features the addition of a new congressional district in Long Beach.

Additional information is forthcoming.