PUBLISHED: April 10, 2023 at 2:02 p.m. | UPDATED: April 10, 2023 at 2:03 p.m.
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Herlinda Chico, who has served on the Long Beach Community College District’s Board of Trustees since 2020, will pursue a higher elected office next year— the City Council.
Chico announced her campaign for the Fourth Council District on Monday, April 10, and will try to unseat incumbent Daryl Supernaw.
Long Beach’s next municipal election is slated for March 5, 2024. The top-two finishers from that race — if there are more than two candidates — will face off during the November 2024 general election if no candidate secures a majority of the votes.
The district is home to Cal State Long Beach, El Dorado East and West Regional Parks, and Millikan High School on Long Beach’s east side.
Supernaw, who has represented the Fourth District since 2015, confirmed his plan to run for reelection in a Monday statement, but declined to comment about Chico’s campaign announcement.
Chico, meanwhile, was recently chosen by her peers to serve a one-year term as the Board of Trustees president. Before that, she also served as the LBCCD board’s vice president.
She won eletion to the board representing Trustee Area 4 — which includes East Long Beach, Signal Hill and Catalina Island — in 2020.
“As a homeowner and 23-year resident of Long Beach, I am running because my neighbors deserve a Councilmember who will actively advocate for our communities, tackle our neighborhoods’ unique challenges, and introduce legislation to protect our quality of life,” Chico said in a Monday statement. “I look forward to connecting with families and residents in every corner of the district to share my vision and plan for Long Beach’s 4th District.”
This isn’t the first bid Chico has made for the City Council — nor will next year’s election be her first time facing off against Supernaw for the Fourth District.
The pair also vied for the seat in 2015 after then-Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell vacated his spot on the panel to serve in the state Assembly. Long Beach held a special election in April that year to find a new representative for the Fourth District.
Supernaw won that special election with 51% of the vote, beating out Chico and Richard Lindemann, according to the city clerk’s office.
I know it’s a hot topic right now. And you were campaigning in my neighborhood last week at this time and we talked about the push for total electric vehicles in LB/LA Harbor. We talked about the dangers of the lithium batteries and what it could be and what could happen,with the example that is currently being set by what Going on right now today,yesterday, and probably tomorrow with a almost complete shut down of the harbor closure and of the Vincent Thomas Bridge due to the overturn and explosion of these dangerous batteries. Please reconsider the hard push for total electric trucks. Instead having a multiple fuel sources for trucks in the LB/LA harbor. natural gas is probably one…