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Los Angeles County, CA April 8, 2014 Election
Smart Voter Political Philosophy for Rex A. Richardson

Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Long Beach; District 9

[photo]
This information is provided by the candidate

Revitalizing Our Neighborhoods

North Long Beach is experiencing a `renaissance.' Thanks to our collective efforts, we are creating new amenities that our community can be proud of, like the brand new Fire Station 12, the proposed Houghton Park community center, and the upcoming North Neighborhood Library.

We are restoring our parks, wetlands, and open space, and working to reinstate quality, much-needed, services that our families depend on, like Paramedic Rescue 12 and the creation of the Be SAFE Long Beach summer youth recreation program.

And we have finally found new solutions to address long-standing problems that have plagued our community for far too long, with policies such as our new Liquor Store Modernization Initiative, our successful foreclosure registry ordinance, and our comprehensive gun buy-back program, all of which have been models for policy city-wide and regionally.

As District 9 Chief-of-Staff, I was proud to push these initiatives forward. Investments and solutions like these will lead to a more vibrant community and a higher quality of life for our families. I am ready to continue the work of revitalizing our neighborhoods as Councilman. We can't turn back now.

Creating Job and Business Growth

As District 9 Chief-of-Staff, I helped push through several major initiatives for quality jobs and small businesses. We worked with local business and property owners to create the North Long Beach Business Alliance, which led to the formation of the Uptown Property and Business Improvement District + the first district of its kind in North Long Beach.

We advocated for local-hire and living wage on infrastructure development and brought together stakeholders, including business, labor, non-profits, and clergy, to address unemployment in our community, by hosting the annual "Getting Back to Work" regional jobs summit.

As Councilman, I am ready to build on the progress we have made and initiate more business development and job growth. I will push for greater infrastructure renewal and workforce investment to create family-sustaining jobs in our district.

Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe

Keeping our neighborhoods and families safe is a top priority. Crime is an indicator and accelerator of economic decline, and we cannot revitalize our community unless we adequately fund public safety staffing and provide opportunities for youth in our community. To that end, I am proud to not only have helped create the "Be SAFE Long Beach" recreation program for our youth to enjoy during the summer months, but to also have helped create the Long Beach's first gun buy-back program in decades.

As Chief of Staff, I helped successfully push through the completion of the new Fire Station 12 and am continuing to advocate for the restoration of Paramedic Rescue 12 to reduce emergency response times in our community. And we have funded back-to-back police academies to replenish the ranks of our Police Department patrol and investigative units due to years of cuts and attrition.

As Councilman, I will continue to work with neighborhood associations, clergy, and our sworn personnel to keep our neighborhoods safe for our families.

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: March 21, 2014 14:28
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