Mayor Richardson crashes 4th District Community Meeting

Mayor Richardson crashes 4^th District Community Meeting

Mayor Rex Richardson showed up apparently unannounced at Councilman Supernaw’s 4^th District Council monthly meeting  on Tuesday night February 28, 2023.

The Mayor and one aide showed up just as Chris Garner the General Manager of the Long Beach Utilities was ending a long question and answer session  at the meeting room of the Los Altos Library.   As traditional with the Supernaw meetings, Garner as the guest speaker was first on the 3 item agenda. The Mayor was not on the agenda.

Just as Garner was finishing and leaving for the Signal Hill City Council meeting, Mayor Richardson appeared at the meeting room door.  Councilman Supernaw told the crowd “ We have a surprise guest, the Mayor!”

The Mayor came up to the podium and introduced himself with “I’m Rex” .  

He then gave a very brief biography of himself and his first few months as Mayor. When he talked about his family, he noted he as the first Long Beach “Mayor Dad” with small children.  He mentioned his children attend school at Bethany School in the 4^th District. 

In discussing the homeless issue, the Mayor briefly touched on his announcement earlier in the day that the city would not be pursuing a shelter at Silverado Park. He stated that wanting the shelter came from a “heart of service”.   Richardson said that the city is having success in reaching  people to move off the streets but capacity is full in the current shelters.

Earlier in the day in his announcement about the city would not be using the gym at Silverado Park for a homeless shelter, Richardson said he would be meeting with groups and leaders across Long Beach to discuss solutions.  His Los Altos visit however was clearly just informational about what the city is doing concerning the homeless and not a discussion on possible solutions.

Richardson took questions from the community members.  The questions included questions on the Port of Long Beach, taxes, the Basic Guaranteed Income program and home ownership. 

Richardson spoke personally  about his experience at buying a home at 25 years old. 

The Mayor was asked to work to help some Council members and members of the community stop vilifying homeowners and small mom and pop landlords. 

During the question and answer time, the Mayor said he wanted to be "the mayor who listens."