Long Beach Elects First Openly Gay, Latino Mayor
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Robert Garcia will be Long Beach's first openly Latino and openly gay mayor. (Robert Garcia/Facebook)
Garcia, who immigrated to the United States from Peru when he was five, is also an adjunct professor at USC, where he teachers at the school's Price School of Public Policy. He was elected to the Long Beach City Council in 2009.
"I am incredibly grateful and honored to have been elected," Garcia said on Wednesday morning. "While I understand the historical implications of the win, I'm looking forward to being mayor for all of Long Beach."
Garcia narrowly defeated real estate developer Damon Dunn in the election, acheiving 52.1% of the total vote.
While Councilman, Garcia authored several prominant motions, including the groundbreaking Equal Benefits Ordanance, mandating that large businesses provide benefits for domestic partners, opened seven new parks, and initiated several open-government ordanances among other progressive policies.
