Ep #27: Fostering an "Uptown Renaissance" | Rex Richardson, Vice Mayor, Long Beach, CA

As we celebrate Black History Month (February 2021), CivitasLA is excited to be joined by Rex Richardson, Vice Mayor of the City of Long Beach, the second largest city in Los Angeles County, with an estimated population of just under 470,000 people. Join us as we discuss community service and civic engagement from his various perspectives as an organizer and his path to elected leadership. And how, as an elected leader, he's leveraged his role to help lead an "Uptown Renaissance" in North Long Beach.

Elected to represent the residents of the 9th District on the City Council in 2014, Richardson became the youngest councilmember to ever be elected in the City of Long Beach. In 2016, he became the youngest Vice Mayor in Long Beach history. Since then, Rex continues to expand on his leadership in Long Beach, and beyond, serving as President of the Southern California Association of Governments (the largest metropolitan planning organization in the country, representing the interests of 191 cities) and recently being elected to the Board of Directors of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board.

With a mission to make Uptown a great place to live, through effective communication and by empowering families and business to thrive, we discuss how community leadership and efforts to elevate civic knowledge and engagement have powered several critical initiatives. These include the Uptown Planning Land Use and Neighborhood Strategy (UPLAN) https://lbbusinessjournal.com/shattering-stereotypes-transforming-north-long-beach) and championing the Long Beach 'Everyone In' Economic Inclusion Initiative, amongst others. As noted by Richardson, "All of this together is really a case study of urban revitalization. It's all about economic inclusion, which is making sure every part of our town is economically viable and playing to the strengths of those communities." To learn more, we invite you to visit: www.insidedistrict9.com

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