The group's president, Adam Carillo, is Ms. Gonzalez's husband [source: Gonzalez campaign press release.]

The LBCREC's Facebook page stated on Dec. 15: "She's supported over $4 billion Commercial Real Estate Investment and Development in the Downtown. As the only privately employed City Councilmember and expertise in technology & finance, we are excited to learn more about her campaign positions that support business and CRE investment for the greater Long Beach area."

Gonzalez's candidacy announcement release (salient text below) struck a somewhat different tone for middle-class/working class voters in the SE L.A. County 33rd state Senate district (maps below) whose voters include roughly half of Long Beach (the largest city in the state Senate district.)

[Gonzalez campaign Dec. 14, 2018 release text]...[quote from candidate Gonzalez] "I am committed to a new vision for Long Beach & South East LA - tackling climate change, creating more opportunities for affordable housing and un-apologetically supporting working families. I look forward to sharing ideas with community members in Senate District 33."

Gonzalez has authored and co-authored over 150 agenda items and is one of the most active members of the City Council. She has championed issues such as creating a citywide Project Labor Agreement, banning Styrofoam containers and creating workplace protections for port truck drivers and hotel workers.

Additionally, she fought to add more park space and programming in underserved communities, created more options for small businesses to participate in city contracts and created the City's first Digital Inclusion Roadmap, to ensure every Long Beach family has access to the Internet...

Sponsor

Sponsor

LB Councilwoman Gonzalez isn't alone in the race. LB 8th district Councilman Al Austin (re-elected to a second term in 2016) began fundraising in the second half of 2017 for a run for the state Senate seat (due to automatically open in 2020 but with a speculated vacancy in 2019 with Lara's possible 2018 election.) Austin's state Senate committee reported roughly $14,000 cash on hand at the end of June 2018...but he raised that before LB Charter Amendment BBB (passed by LB voters in Nov. 2018) letting him seek a third Council term in 2020 without a write-in requirement. Austin is familiar with Sacramento officialdom as chair of the Council's State Legislation Committee (on which Gonzalez is also a member) and works for a public employee union (AFSCME) but angered other organized labor reps by voting against "Claudia's Law," a LB hotel workers ordinance that Gonzalez supported.

On December 6, 2018, 7th dist. Councilman Roberto Uranga (who has strong organized labor ties) filed candidate paperwork in the state Senate race. He's familiar with Sacramento politics as a state Senate Pro Tem appointed and re-appointed member of the CA Coastal Commission. A little over a week after Uranga filed, Councilwoman Gonzalez entered the race...with the endorsement of immediate past incumbent state Senator Ricardo Lara followed shortly thereafter by the endorsement of LB Mayor Robert Garcia. Uranga hasn't said publicly whether he plans to stay in the race.

Sponsor

Other declared candidates include Leticia Vasquez-Wilson (former Lynwood Mayor, now member of Central Basin Municipal Water District governing board), Ana Maria Quintana (Bell City Councilmember), Ali Saleh (Bell City Councilmember), Jose Solache (Lynwood City Councilmember.)

LB Councilwoman Gonzalez has thus far only faced voters in LB's 1st Council district in the 2014 election cycle (endorsed by then-exiting incumbent Vice Mayor/Councilman Garcia for whom she worked as his district office rep.) She didn't face a re-election challenge on her record in April 2018 although her northern downtown/WLB/Central Council district had a disproportionate number of shootings (and had the highest number of LB's homicides in 2018 -- 11 out of 30 citywide -- averaging nearly one a month in her district.

Maps below, produced by LBREPORT.com based on LBPD confirmed shootings/homicides) cover the period of Councilwoman Gonzalez's incumbency. The first map shows 2018 shootings/stabbings (fatal and non-fatal); the second shows the cumulated period Jan. 1, 2014-Dec. 31, 2017 (and includes the final six months of preceding Councilman Garcia.)

Jan 1, 2018 to date: Red Xs=homicides; Blue Xs= shootings, person wounded; Brown Xs=shots fired at victim(s), not hit; Purple Xs=shots at occupied residence/vehicle; Green Xs= shots at unoccupied vehicle/residence; Grey Xs=shots fired (no hit, no target identified); Orange X's=non-fatal stabbings; Blue * asterisk=victim hit, police unable to locate crime scene. Map is unofficial but based on LBPD confirmed information.. A separate map (not shown here) shows shootings in NLB.

Sponsor

Sponsor

In August 2016, Councilwoman Gonzalez tried to cover LBREPORT.com's camera lens when asked if she'd support restoring more than the eight citywide deployable police officers Mayor Garcia recommended for FY17 (out of 208 erased since 2009 under Councils that included then-Councilman Garcia.) Gonzalez voted for the eight recommended by Mayor Garcia and in early 2017 voted to restore 9 more citywide deployable officers stemming from an agendized request by Councilman Rex Richardson. [In Sept. 2018, the Council voted to restore five additional citywide deployable officers for FY19 (six Garcia-proposed bicycle-response officers less one citywide deployable officer re-directed to LB Airport duties.)]

On taking office as Mayor in mid-July 2014, Garcia chose Gonzalez to chair the Council's Elections Oversight Committee where she advanced a change in LB law that now lets LB's Mayor and Councilmembers triple the previous amounts they could annually collect in their "officeholder" [campaign contributor funded] accounts. Two years later, Gonzalez voted to approve an action advanced by Garcia's subsequently named Elections Oversight Committee chair Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce to change LB law to let LB's Mayor and Councilmembers use their "officeholder" accounts to support candidates running for other offices.

On December 11, 2018, Councilwoman Gonzalez seconded a motion by Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce that "received and filed" a downtown/Alamitos Beach parking study performed by a City Hall hired consultant and declined to seek additional data to address flaws/omissions cited by parking-impacted residents (TAPS) whose lawsuit settlement required the City to conduct the study. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.

The LB Commercial Real Estate Council website says its New Year Mixer with Councilwoman Gonzalez "is for everyone, members, non-members, guests...the more, the merrier!" on Jan. 3 from 4-8 p.m. at The Ordinaire, 210 The Promenade N. LBCREC's website asks attendees to register for free at this link.

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