Brought to America by his mother, Robert immigrated to the United States when he was just 5 years old. He says becoming a citizen is his proudest moment, and it’s the reason he went into public service.
Robert is most widely known for his tenure as Long Beach mayor and his leadership of the city during the worst of the pandemic.
Our City is safer than it has been in years. Thanks to Measure A, we have made critical investments in Public Safety. Our police and fire services were expanded to improve service levels and response times across the city. Long Beach ended 2017 with the fewest murders in the city’s history and overall crime decreased by 7.9% from 2016. Long Beach also has a 4.8-minute response time—among the best in the country.
In the next four years, I will continue to support our Police and Fire Departments to make sure they have the resources they need to keep our communities safe. We will also continue to innovate through programs like the Long Beach Justice Lab. Our Innovation Team has been working with our City Prosecutor’s Office, and our Police, Fire, and Health Departments to develop new approaches and help people who frequently use the services these departments provide. Our plan includes launching a new city team to provide services to frequent justice system users and to create a data-sharing platform where departments will share information about services being provided. I will also continue to work to build partnerships with the community because we know policing alone does not make communities safer.