In the upcoming April 13, 2010 election, the City of Long Beach, California will d
ecide between two mayoral candidates. The incumbent Mayor Bob Foster, and political activist Stevie Danielle Merino. As a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Merino is running a campaign revolving around social issues and workers’ rights.
Long Beach is a city rich in history and culture, but, like many cities in the U.S. has suffered from increased unemployment rates caused by the financial crisis of 2009. Stevie was gracious enough to take time out of her campaign to answer a few questions about Long Beach, the office of Mayor and the future of the political movement her and her campaign are working so hard to promote:
You are the only opponent of incumbent Mayor Bob Foster, outside of the very important practice of Democracy and giving the citizens of Long Beach a choice for their City’s chief legislative administer, why have you decided to run against Mayor Foster?
Merino: “To put forth the platform of this campaign which is people over corporate profits. That healthcare, a job, affordable housing, education, and the basic necessities to survive and thrive are a right. As well as to spread the word about Socialism, the party that I represent which is the Party for Socialism and Liberation and to build a people’s movement that will continue long after this campaign.”
What experience do you bring to the table that you think the City Government would benefit from?
Merino: “I am experienced in ways that professional politicians will never be. I have been a community organizer for years, gaining experience in the struggle for real change in this country. As an anti-war activist with the ANSWER Coalition, I have traveled to Washington D.C., marched up the steps of the Capitol, and helped put ten of thousands of people on the streets to protest the unjust, illegal wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year in Los Angeles, I helped lead demonstrations against the war that attracted thousands of people. For over four years, I have been on the front lines, organizing actions in support of immigrant rights, which brought tens of thousands, sometimes millions, to the streets to support legalization. This is something our city needs to embrace. My campaign calls for making Long Beach a sanctuary city. All people who contribute to society are welcome here. No one is illegal. I have also been a leader of the student movement against budget cuts and tuition hikes. I helped found a student organization called Students Fight Back, and I have led marches at Cal State Long Beach, occupied the library at Cal State Fullerton, and crashed the CSU Board of Trustees meeting with other students to make our demands heard. I have done these things, and my organization, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, has helped give leadership to these struggles. What I will bring to Long Beach through my experience is fighting in the interest of the poor and working people not of the big corporations, oil companies or politicians.”
With the Ports playing a substantial role in your City’s economy, and the current unemployment levels and economic climate remaining the same until national retail sales begin to pick up (according to Lisa Grober, co-auther of a Cal State Long Beach Economics Department study on the subject); how would you deliberate with the City Council to help stimulate your local economy?
Merino: “I demand that every public and private sector worker be guaranteed a job as a right, with union pay and benefits. I support the right of all workers to unionize, and I have already been on the picket lines with hotel workers in Long Beach. I also demand that the city’s minimum wage must be a real living wage. That means people must be able to survive and thrive on what they make at work. Poverty wages will be outlawed in this city. All people deserve good jobs. What Long Beach needs is a massive public works program to create jobs for youth and all the unemployed. Tens of thousands of jobs can be created: to improve streets and bridges in need of repair, and to improve public transportation, so people won’t have to drive their cars all the time and spend money on overpriced gas. We could also immediately create public jobs by making all port jobs public, by offering subsidized tutoring for students, and so many other things. I am committed to making this a reality. I will fund more affordable housing for the poor. We can create 1,000 new jobs by building 10,000 more affordable units for poor people and the homeless. If the city council is behind this, I will gladly work with them to make all of these things possible.”
Are there any ordinances, signed into law by the current Mayor during his term, that you would have used your veto power to send back to the City Council, or any that he Vetoed which you would have signed into law?
Merino: “I would use my veto ability to reverse or if hypothetically, stop all budget cuts to social services. Along with anything else that was/is not in the interests of the working class people of Long Beach.”
If the “Tax-Cannabis” proposition is passed in November by the People of California, granting counties and municipalities duties to regulate and tax legal-cannabis sales to adults over the age of 21, how would you suggest the City Council approach this subject? What sort of tax rate would be your recommendation? Where should it be permitted to sell and in what manner?
Merino: “I think first and foremost we should tax Big Oil, health insurance companies, and banks, and use that money to create jobs and pay for healthy living environments before we consider taxing anything else.”
If you are not elected Mayor of Long Beach, California in the April 13th election, how will you continue your efforts in the political and social arena?
Merino: “The difference between my campaign and others like Foster’s is that we aren’t going to disappear after the elections. The Party for Socialism and Liberation will continue to be organize in Long Beach and I will continue to be in the forefront of all these struggles. We will continue to address the issues that are affecting our communities, and we will fight until we win.”
Visit the official Party for Socialism and Liberation website for more information on Stevie Merino and other candidates running for office in California: http://www.pslweb.org
