As the Los Angeles County Registrar & Recorders office nears completion of counting ballots from the March 3rd primary some Black incumbents have fell short of capturing the vote of residents despite years of representing them.
In an odd twist of fate, it appears that the Long Beach City Council will lose TWO black elected officials in one election. On the bright side, they will gain the first Black woman elected to the dais.
If you recall long-time 6th District Councilman Dee Andrews flip flopped on an affordable housing measure and Al Austin was slammed by women for his non support of installing panic buttons in city hotels. Many of the city’s newspapers ran op-ed’s, submitted by women, who denounced Austin’s leadership.
Political newcomer Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, whose husband, Uduak-Joe Ntuk is on the Board of Trustees for Long Beach Community College, appears to be in a great position to represent the residents of the 8th District. Women are looking for someone who represent their interests and Austin doesn’t.
The REAL headscratcher is how Asm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who has become accustomed to running unopposed, is trailing newcomer Efren Martinez?
Austin’s wife, Daysha, is on Jones-Sawyer’s staff, where insiders share with 2UrbanGirls that Reg is scared and is calling everyone in his rolodex for money. He ran a pitiful campaign commercial of him painting a picture and the residents didn’t see the vision.
Driving through the 59th Assembly district you wouldn’t know Jones-Sawyer was running due to the lack of visible signage from his campaign. Martinez banners can be seen on every major thoroughfare.
This is a lesson that you can’t get too comfortable in these seats and campaigns are year round, not just three months before the election.
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Having a strong “political education system” is essential to creating an informed electorate. Raise up a DEBATE TEAM in our community equal to sports teams (Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers,et al). https://youtu.be/dPM_qX6sbNU