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Stevie Merino, PSL candidate for mayor of Long Beach, CA.On Jan. 30, the Party for Socialism and Liberation successfully
kicked off the campaign of its candidate for mayor of Long Beach,
Calif., Stevie Merino. The event was held at a well-known local
establishment, Shades of Afrika.
The candidate was the featured speaker from a panel that included
candidate for governor of California Carlos Alvarez, representatives
from women and youth organizations, as well as the campaign coordinator
of the Stevie for Mayor campaign, Douglas Kauffman.
After a round of speakers and solidarity statements, the candidate
addressed a packed room full of activists, reporters and members of the
community.
“The message of our campaign is plain and simple: enough is enough!”
said the mayoral candidate. “Everyone has a right to a job, a right to
a home!”
She expressed her frustration with the city’s development and
construction of endless luxury condominiums, many of which to this day
remain vacant, but at the same time, there are more than 6,000 people
homeless in the city of Long Beach, 500 of them children.
The candidate explained how in the last four years of his tenure,
current Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster has done nothing but cut social
services while at the same time doubling the racist Long Beach Police
Department budget.
She called for slashing the Long Beach Police budget in half and community control of the police.
At the event the attendees addressed several questions to the
candidate and the other panelists. One person asked Merino, “How does
the campaign plan to get the message to the half a million people in
the city of Long Beach?”
The candidate explained how from the very start of this year, the
“Stevie Merino for Mayor campaign” has gone door to door and visited
campuses and Metro stations, all with the purpose of spreading the
message of the campaign.
At the conclusion of the event the candidate thanked all of the
attendees and encouraged every single one of them to join the campaign.
The mayoral election will take place April 13. The PSL campaign
plans to continue to reach out to the people of Long Beach, spreading
the messages of fight back and socialism.
The candidate said, “The city of Long Beach should be run to meet
people’s needs, not in the interest of the rich and wealthy of this
city. Our campaign will continue to fight for the poor and
working-class people of Long Beach.”
For more information and to join the campaign, visit VotePSL.org.
