Stating that he wants to continue making a difference for Central Long Beach, Vice Mayor Dee Andrews announced his intention to run for Re-Election to Long Beach’s 6^th District City Council seat in next March’s municipal elections.

Andrews, known by many central Long Beach residents as the “Son of the Sixth” for his lifelong work on behalf of the local community, impressively won his last re-election three years ago as a write-in-candidate.

He rolled out a long list of notable endorsements from both the Long Beach Police and Fire Associations and 23 different state, county, and local elected officials, highlighting his continued broad base of community support.  Among others, the list includes former Mayor Bob Foster, County Supervisor Janice Hahn, former County Supervisor Don Knabe, State Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

“I have enjoyed my service to the community, the knowledge and experience it has provided, and my close connection to the residents,” said Vice Mayor Dee Andrews, who has passionately represented central Long Beach on the City Council for the last twelve years.

“Although we have been able to successfully create jobs for Sixth District residents; promote programming in our city parks for children, adults, and seniors; improve public safety; create much needed public infrastructure improvements; and improve communication with our residents, there is still much work to do,” continued Andrews.  “It is an exciting time in Long Beach.”

As Vice Mayor and a member of the Long Beach City Council, Andrews serves as Chair of both the City’s Housing and Neighborhoods Committee and its Personnel and Civil Service Committee.  He is also an active member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, where he has served as a strong advocate for its employees and the AFSCME union who represents them.  As an honorary member of the Bobbie Smith YMCA Community School Board of Directors, he has also worked to promote city services and resources with a local elementary school in the Sixth District.

Besides his work on the City Council, Andrews has served his community as a public school teacher, teaching both Black History and Government at both Long Beach Polytechnic High School and Wilson High School.  Today he continues his work at the Long Beach Unified School District, serving as a substitute teacher for various subjects, including special education courses in a local high school in one of the most urban and dense areas of Long Beach.

Dee Andrews has lived in central Long Beach since the age of 5.  He is a proud graduate of Roosevelt Elementary School, Franklin Middle School, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School where he was a standout All-American High School football player who helped lead the school to the CIF championship.  At Poly he was also an All-American Track & Field athlete who served as the first African-American Student Body President in the school’s history.

After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and Physical Education from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), where he starred in football and broke the World Record for 330 Intermediate Hurdles, Andrews played a short while in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys.

Among his many achievements, Dee Andrews has been inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame, the Long Beach Century Club Hall of Fame, and the Long Beach City College Hall of Fame for his athletic accomplishments and outstanding service to Long Beach.  The American Red Cross has also honored him as a “Hometown Hero” for leaping into action and helping to save an elderly woman from a burning building and for chasing down a flasher who was assaulting children at a local restaurant.  He is also prominently featured by well-known author Bishop Leroy in his recent book entitled “I Know Why the Caged Lion Roar.”

Vice Mayor Andrews is the proud father of four adult daughters and seven grandchildren.  He and his wife enjoy their home and neighborhood in central Long Beach, in the heart of the Sixth Council District.