LBC Council Candidates Seek Primary Votes March 5

By Dianne Anderson
Voters, young and old alike, will fill in the circles and send their ballots in early, drive down to their local Registrar of Voters polling places at lunchtime or after work, or some may show up the old-fashioned way to stand in line and get the I voted sticker on the back of their hand.
Judging by community interest at last week’s forum spotlighting local candidates, it seems that voters are paying attention, and getting energized to do their civic duty.
Colleen Bentley sees this year’s vote as critical, but voters should keep up with their local candidates, who, once elected and termed out, often seek higher offices. Getting to know them on the way up helps hold them accountable in the future.
“Those are the people you’re closest to when you live in a community, they represent you on large and small issues. To me it’s more important, maybe than some of the bigger elections,” said Bentley, who chaired the Leadership Long Beach Candidate Forum event last week.
Every day, city leaders make important decisions about resources and opportunities, including budgets for essential programs. She also sits on the Board of the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, where they set the budget for all 12 city libraries.
She said people who support libraries watch what the city council is doing and the vote impacts everyone.
“That’s the same with so many different organizations. We’re all impacted by the city budget as far as potholes, tree trimming and everything that goes along with living in a community. All voting is big in my opinion,” she said.
TUNUA THRASH-NTUK – Long Beach City Council District 8
Over the last two years, Thrash-Ntuk has heard her district’s concerns about homelessness and needed solutions, and some residents say they fear becoming homeless.
Economic hardship hits housing affordability the hardest, pushing people into homelessness, which also pressures other city systems.

Tunua Thrash-Ntuk
“From a social welfare standpoint to respond and support people, even with emergency services, we end up paying more in society to address those who might be unhoused,” she said. “If we had spent that time before they fell into homelessness, it would be a lot less expensive for society as a whole.”
As a nonprofit president and CEO, she focuses on making the community better. During the height of the pandemic, her big concern was keeping people housed with resources and job opportunities available.
“I helped Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City put together a $100 million fund distributed to small businesses and nonprofits. We had only six months in 2020 to get that done. I helped lead that during a very vulnerable time,” she said.
When she was called to chair the ‘Everyone In, Economic Inclusion Initiative,’ she said they listened and responded to residents on policy, drilling down on the data of what people were experiencing in the city.
“What we found is that Black women are the most rent burdened and families were struggling to get down payments for homeownership. I’m pleased to say the work was recognized by the American Planning Association, but the entire city council voted for the Everyone In Economic Initiative platform,” she said.
Hard work and brainstorming solutions on that platform enabled funding, which created all recovery programs as the city received resources from CARE and ARPA federal dollars. For the first time in many years, North Long Beach had a downpayment assistance program.
Throughout her career, she feels that engaging directly with the community yields results. Having an active set of neighborhood associations also helps residents understand how their city works. She plans to be an ambassador to navigate that territory.
“I want to make sure they know this is not a self-service system. I don’t want to just hand out phone numbers, to give such and such a call, but to work with them, to make sure they get the resolution that the community deserves.”
SHARIFA BATTS – Long Beach City Council District 8
A lack of quality business development is one of Dr. Sharifa Batts’ biggest economic concerns. Recently, she said in the Bixby Knolls Shopping Center, they lost both CVS and Rite Aid.
“A major retail developer also backed out, so there is a lot of work to do, including reversing the negative image of pollution and homelessness that is affecting our community in north Long Beach,” she said.

Dr. Sharifa Batts
Dr. Batts wants to develop an economic revitalization plan that collaborates with local business owners, working with councilwoman Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie and Uptown Business Improvement District to address the red tape or quality of life issues.
A diverse, proactive group to pool resources is also needed to fund improvements, such as cleaner streets, landscape beautification, and public safety for the businesses along the Atlantic corridor, she added. In canvassing residents and business owners, public safety, quality of life and the environment, and housing, homelessness are on everyone’s minds.
“People deserve to feel safe in their community and we deserve access to a strong quality of life, which includes fixing the potholes in our streets, repairing sidewalks, and trimming trees. Based on our air quality, residents in the 8th District have a shorter life span on average compared to other zip codes in Long Beach,” she said.
Her expertise as Head of Environment & Sustainability at the nation’s largest stevedore company will benefit the community, she said, noting that she has taken the lead in developing an environmental initiative in District 8, including the “North Long Beach Clean Streets” program.
With chronic homelessness at a crisis level, she said the district needs a proactive plan, quick shelter and stabilization, as well as facilitating connections back to permanent housing with supportive services.
Direct services can get people off the street, away from schools and parks, but to include job placement and financial literacy within shelters. She wants investments in homeless prevention policies through drug counseling and mental health treatment programs for those who need it.
In her career, her most rewarding experience is the Dr. Sharifa Batts scholarship at Long Beach City College and Beta Pi Sigma Sorority-Tau Chapter to help students with a focus on STEAM, including student athletes.
“I brought together leaders from neighborhood associations within the 8th District to create the ‘North Long Beach Clean Streets’ program where we recruit volunteers within our community to keep neighborhoods clean, help the environment, and stop pollution and waste from proliferating our streets,” she said.
To help combat air pollution, she joins neighborhood leaders for tree planting events in the district. Of her education goals, she also served as Secretary to the Placement Collaborative of volunteers with LBUSD to recruit and retain students of color for Advanced Placement and Honors program.
“These students now have an opportunity to go to college and an opportunity to obtain scholarships as many are being recruited. The district received national recognition for this work,” she said.
Through her years of service, she finds that Neighborhood Associations are critical for residents who live and work in the district and deserve to have a voice and listening ears at city hall.
“As the only candidate in this race born and raised in Long Beach with four generations of my family living here, I’ve been deeply connected to north Long Beach,” she said. “We need leaders who understand the issues impacting working families like mine and my neighbors and will work tirelessly to stand with people, not the interests of political parties and corporations.”
CRISTINO PINTO – Long Beach City Council District 6
If elected, Cristino Pinto vows to fight for accessible affordable housing, which he feels requires a constant need in the city. To increase safe affordable community support and services, he plans to call on local policymakers, authorities, residents, community agencies including Federal, State, and County agencies to address the crisis of unhoused people in Long Beach.
Pinto, originally from Angola, stresses that inclusion and equality in the fight for advancing racial justice is his priority.
“In our community people living in conditions of poverty, unable to meet their basic needs, typically families living economically insecure. Lack of resources, opportunities, homelessness, parking, businesses, healthcare, environment and over-policing are the predators of high poverty rate in our community,” he said on his website.
Among other goals, he wants to push access for affordable quality healthcare and mental health resources, and support policies for qualified individuals in the community who need care, but without the threat of police intervention to escalate crisis situations.
In areas of education, he calls for better programs in public schools, including increased investments in K-12 education with better work environments for teachers.
Reproductive justice is a concern. He supports policies that prioritize education, affordable and accessible contraception, safe and legal abortion, and comprehensive healthcare for all, irrespective of socioeconomic status.
“It’s an important commitment to empower individuals to make informed choices about their reproductive health, fostering a society that respects diversity and community well-being for all despite of your origin, race, background or your status,” he said.
SUELY SARO – Incumbent Long Beach City Council District 6
Suely Saro said residents are facing issues of economic growth, healthy community, public safety, public health, and that sustaining a strong local economy is key. Investments to revitalize and activate business corridors are important, as well as supporting workers, expanding workforce development, enhancing job training and placement opportunities.
Childcare, after-school programs, accessibility, senior services, and other programming are priorities. She wants to partner with public safety to ensure residents and businesses feel safe and protected, and keep neighborhoods and business corridors clean and well lit.
One achievement she is proud of is the increased public investment in District 6 by securing $10.5 million in state funding by way of Senator Lena Gonzalez. That helped with improvements to MacArthur Park and a vision plan to renovate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. She also wants to improve city services such as fixing sidewalks, streets, tree trimmings, and beautification.
Her district has one of the highest poverty rates, she said, which is also a priority.
“There are a lot of lessons learned about communicating and engaging with residents and business and that remains my top priority to provide education, information, and opportunities for partnership,” she said.
To watch candidates at the recent Leadership Long Beach event, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S708oq675SE
Not clear on the easy way to vote? See the League of Women Voters Easy Voting Guide at
https://easyvoterguide.org/
To view your local ballot, see https://www.vote411.org/ballot
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