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California Assembly candidate Carolyn Essex explains why she’s challenging Josh Lowenthal and what she believes needs to change for Long Beach and the 69th District. We discuss infrastructure, government accountability and her vision for more accessible leadership.#CarolynEssex #LongBeach #CaliforniaPolitics #JackieRaeShow

Residents showed up. They signed petitions. They urged the Long Beach City Council not to limit public comment. The council moved forward anyway. In this episode, Jackie Rae breaks down the October 13 vote, highlights residents’ testimony, and challenges council members’ explanations for changing the public comment rules. From meeting length and accessibility to arguments over decorum, the debate raises a bigger question: Are these changes making City Hall more accessible—or making it harder for engaged residents to be heard? I also explain why I believe the council’s reasoning deserves more scrutiny, recognize Kristina Duggan, Megan Kerr, and Cindy Allen for opposing the changes, and spotlight the residents who continue showing up for their community. This is about accountability, public participation, and whose voices matter in Long Beach.

In a 6–3 vote, the Long Beach City Council approved an ordinance that reshapes how public participation works at City Hall. Despite vocal opposition from dozens of attendees—including residents who have attended council meetings for over three decades—public comment has now been consolidated into an early 90-minute block.In this video, we break down: • The 6–3 vote split: Who voted yes, and why Councilmembers Cindy Allen, Kristina Duggan, and Megan Kerr voted no.• The accessibility argument vs. the transparency debate.• Why residents say forcing comments before agenda discussions undermines the democratic process.• How State Senate Bill 707 played into the decision.📢 What do you think? Should residents be allowed to speak on specific items as they are debated, or is an early, consolidated comment block better for public access? Let’s talk in the comments.#LongBeach #LongBeachCityCouncil #politics

Want to contact Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal? You can do so here:https://lowenthal.asmdc.org/contact Or, Contact the Long Beach office at (562) 366-2769 Contact the Capitol Office (Sacramento) at (916) 319-2069 Have a question or story idea for Jackie Rae? Send an email to [email protected] California Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal joins The Jackie Rae Show for an in-depth conversation about the issues shaping Long Beach, California, and the country: AI regulation, children and social media, Flock surveillance cameras, criminal-justice reform, housing affordability, climate resilience, and the economic future of the region.Lowenthal explains why he believes California needs stronger guardrails around artificial intelligence and social-media platforms—especially when it comes to children, addictive design features, privacy, automation, and job loss. He also discusses AB 1709, now law, and the push to limit harmful and addictive social-media features for young people.We also talk about the debate over Flock cameras and public surveillance: Can law enforcement use technology to solve crimes without creating a system where everyone’s movements are tracked? Lowenthal makes the case for transparency, real data, privacy protections, and clear limits on how long surveillance data can be kept and how it can be used.

Civil rights attorney, former government official, and founder/executive director of ASU’s The Difference Engine, Ehsan Zaffar, joins The Jackie Rae Show for a powerful conversation about refugee survival, poverty, government accountability, and the power of speaking up.As a child forced to flee Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, Ehsan arrived in the United States with his family and quickly saw how difficult it was for refugees to rebuild. At just 8 years old, he wrote to then-Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley to challenge the city’s limited refugee assistance—and his advocacy helped bring attention to the issue and strengthen local protections.In this episode, we discuss:Ehsan’s journey from refugee camps to civil-rights lawWhy he believes communities should be assertive, not silentThe difference between being assertive and being aggressiveHow poverty, overworked parents, and under-resourced schools leave children behindWhy wealth concentration affects housing, education, health care, and public servicesWhat government owes the people it is supposed to serveHow everyday people can use their voices to push for real changeThis is a conversation about justice, dignity, policy, and refusing to accept that broken systems are simply “the way things are.”Subscribe to The Jackie Rae Show for honest conversations on politics, civil rights, culture, community, and the issues shaping our lives.Follow Ehsan Zaffar and learn more about The Difference Engine: The Difference Engine#TheJackieRaeShow #EhsanZaffar #CivilRights #Refugees #SocialJustice #Politics #GovernmentAccountability #EconomicInequality #CommunityAdvocacy #PodcastInterview

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. on Monday forcefully denied allegations that he inappropriately touched a 15-year-old girl during a recent city event, calling the accusations “baseless, unsourced, and completely false.”Butts used an emotional press conference outside Inglewood City Hall to reject the allegation and argue that he is facing what he described as a coordinated, racist attack on his leadership. Yet the event ended without questions from reporters or residents — leaving unresolved questions about the mayor’s assertion that political opponents and powerful interests connected to Hollywood Park are behind the campaign against him.The mayor did not take questions before leaving City Hall.#Inglewood #JamesTButts #InglewoodPolitics #LosAngelesNews #JackieRaeTV

Reparations were promised to Newley freed slaves in 1865. They were promised 400,000 acres confiscated Confederate land the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. That equated to 40 acres per family. Each family was also supposed to get one mule to help them work the farming land.  While they never received that, Black people in America have fought the effects of long standing white supremacy in the United States, while the country has failed to atone for its ongoing sins. Jesse Watters tried to back Senate hopeful l Dr. Abdul El-Sayed into a corner on the topic and failed.

Mayor Rex Richardson was scheduled to appear on The Jackie Rae Show. After the interview was canceled, multiple requests to reschedule went unanswered. But this conversation is bigger than one interview. In this episode, we examines Mayor Richardson’s record and asks whether his administration has delivered on its promises to the people of Long Beach. From the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis and affordability challenges to questions surrounding the effectiveness of the Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative, this episode takes a closer look at the policies, outcomes, and accountability that matter most to residents. Has the city made meaningful progress under Richardson's leadership? Have the concerns of Long Beach's Black community been addressed? And is City Hall truly listening to the people it serves? Join the conversation as we examine the facts, the promises, and the results. Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jackieraetv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackieraetv/

Learn More About Lee Goldin here: https://www.goldinformayor.com/ Lee Goldin didn’t decide to run for mayor of Long Beach in a strategy meeting or at a donor luncheon. He decided while looking out his front window at a city‑owned lot in North Long Beach that everyone knew for the same reason: human suffering the city seemed willing to tolerate. For years, the lot functioned as a de facto encampment where people slept in cars, cooked meals, and tried to survive, even as others with worse intentions drifted in once it was clear no one in power really cared what happened there. When Goldin’s young children asked about the people living on the street, he and his wife made a deliberate choice in how they answered: “These are our neighbors.” That language became the foundation of his politics. Goldin made it a point to get to know people in the lot. He helped a former port worker who had lost his job and home get into housing, and watched the site pick up a new name: “Lee’s Lot.” For Goldin, those relationships cemented his belief that the city can’t “use the police to solve social problems” and that “the first human right is to be treated with dignity.” The breaking point came when he witnessed a young pregnant woman, born homeless and trapped in an abusive relationship, being beaten in that lot. He called police, and no one came. Months later, when she was eight months pregnant and defended herself, officers did respond—after her abuser called—and he watched them shove her into the back of a patrol car as agencies still failed to track where her child ended up. Goldin says he realized this wasn’t an oversight but a de facto policy: let people suffer and let the fallout “terrorize the neighborhood.” Shut out of city boards focused on homelessness and technology, Goldin adopted what he calls his “backup plan”: run for mayor on a simple message—“End homelessness”—even after learning it would cost nearly $8,000 just to print a ballot statement. Operating on a few hundred dollars from family and friends, he’s leaned instead on deep dives into the city budget and long, candid conversations with residents about homelessness, policing, ICE, Palestine, and the role of local military contractors. Goldin is unusually blunt about race and power for a white candidate. He describes his campaign as “a master class in white male privilege,” arguing that America functions as different countries depending on who you are, and that many non‑white politicians are punished as “angry” when they speak as plainly as he does. “I’m part of the problem here, essentially,” he says, “but I’m at least trying to take a step towards recognizing the problem and kind of unlocking some pathways to solving it.” In a race he believes is drifting toward “tough on crime” politics and greater surveillance, he’s asking Long Beach voters to judge him on whether they share his core conviction: that the city’s first obligation is to protect its neighbors’ dignity, not its own comfort.

LAPD officer and Long Beach mayoral candidate Joshua Rodriguez joins The Jackie Rae Show to explain why he’s willing to walk away from a 14-year pension to ‘fix’ Long Beach. We clash over policing, gangs, homelessness, immigration and bringing federal authorities into Black and brown communities — watch this before you vote in the Long Beach mayor’s race.Rodriguez website with his socials: https://www.josh4lbcmayor.com/For more Long Beach News visit: https://www.jackieraetv.com/Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackieraetv/Join me on my TikTok Live Monday - Friday at 11am PST:

Learn more about Oscar Cancio here: https://www.cancio4lbmayor.com/Long Beach mayoral candidate Oscar Cancio says the city’s biggest problems stem not from a lack of resources, but from a lack of execution.On this episode of The Jackie Rae Show, Cancio explains how long-standing issues around homelessness, public safety and infrastructure pushed him to run for mayor. Cancio, who has lived in Long Beach for 12 years and works in education, said his decision to run was fueled by what he sees as a growing disconnect between City Hall’s messaging and residents’ lived experiences.Follow Oscar on Instagram:   / cancio4lbmayor  Follow Jackie Rae on Instagram:   / jackieraetv

Long Beach mayoral candidate Chris Sweeney says his campaign is rooted in lived experience, small business advocacy and a “boots on the ground” approach to city leadership.During a recent appearance on The Jackie Rae Show, Sweeney discussed his journey from Long Beach State track athlete to entrepreneur, detailing years of financial hardship before launching Right Mealz, a Long Beach-based meal prep company that now works with major sports organizations, including FIFA, AEG and professional sports teams.“I’ve always been a person of service,” Sweeney said while reflecting on donating meals during the COVID-19 pandemic and organizing wildfire relief efforts earlier this year.Sweeney said public safety, homelessness and support for small businesses are among his top priorities. He criticized what he described as a difficult and overly bureaucratic permitting process for business owners and said the city should streamline approvals to help fill vacant storefronts across Long Beach.On homelessness, Sweeney called for more accountability and transparency within the city’s shelter system, including improved tracking of available shelter beds and expanded reformative programs focused on addiction treatment and long-term stability.Sweeney also emphasized increasing engagement between city leadership and residents, saying elected officials should be more visible in neighborhoods and more responsive to community concerns.“This city built who I am today,” Sweeney said. “I failed in this city. I’ve gotten back up in this city. … I’m you.”#LongBeach #LongBeachMayor #ChrisSweeney #JackieRaeShow #LongBeachPolitics #Election2026 #CaliforniaPolitics #LongBeachNews #LocalPolitics #CommunityLeadership #MayorRace #LongBeachCalifornia

To learn more about Anthony Bryson, visit brysonforlongbeach.org or follow him on social media at @BrysonForLBC.Meet him in person on Saturday May 9th at 3pm at Shannon's on Pine located at 209 Pine in downtown Long Beach.__________________________Anthony Bryson is no stranger to Long Beach politics. As an activist and community organizer, he has built a reputation for amplifying residents’ voices and pushing for change.During an interview on The Jackie Rae Show, Bryson shared that his journey into activism began with a moment he still reflects on today. While riding Long Beach Transit, he witnessed a homeless woman being verbally harassed—and like everyone else on the bus, he said nothing.“I told myself, ‘I’m going to defend the next person,’” Bryson said. “And since then I haven’t stopped.”Bryson, who has lived in the city’s 1st District for about a decade, describes himself as a “concerned citizen” rather than a traditional activist. He says his background in the hospitality industry, along with years of grassroots organizing, has shaped his perspective on housing, homelessness, and community building.Now stepping further into the political arena, Bryson is centering his campaign on housing affordability, public safety, and transportation—including ongoing parking concerns as Long Beach prepares for the 2028 Olympics. He supports stronger rent control policies and has criticized what he calls insufficient affordable housing requirements in new downtown developments.“We do need growth in the city,” Bryson said. “But it’s key that in the growth of our city, we’re not pushing out lower-income people and that we’re keeping families.”Bryson is also advocating for a more community-driven approach to addressing homelessness, including expanded shelter options, workforce development programs, and what he describes as “meeting people where they are.”At the core of his platform is a focus on coalition building across racial, economic, and social lines. He argues that many of the challenges facing Long Beach are interconnected—and require collective solutions.“A win for you is a win for me,” he said. “Understanding solidarity is truly understanding that all our struggles are interconnected.”Bryson hopes his experience as an organizer will help boost civic engagement in District 1 and encourage more residents to take part in local elections.

Follow Terri Rivers or donate at: https://terririvers.com/ Long Beach mayoral candidate Terri Rivers is positioning her campaign around a simple but expansive idea: invest in children to solve the city’s most persistent problems. In a one-on-one interview on The Jackie Rae Show, Rivers, a longtime child care provider and union member, said her approach to public policy is rooted in early childhood development and prevention. “If we really do give them the options that they need, it will reduce crime, it will reduce homelessness,” Rivers said. “Those kids become us. So why not spend all that energy toward the children?” Rivers, who was born in Chicago and raised in Long Beach, has spent more than two decades working in child care. She also founded a nonprofit focused on training child care providers and created a digital platform to help families find care more easily. Her entry into politics, was driven by frustration with what she describes as a lack of meaningful progress on key issues such as homelessness, public safety and housing. “I can’t even stay in my lane because my house is getting broken into, we’re having deaths on the street, and there’s more homelessness on the block,” Rivers said. “I decided to run so I could make those changes.” Learn more about Rivers, and her policies on this episode of The Jackie Rae Show.

ne person is dead and two others were wounded during a shooting Sunday in Downtown Long Beach near the grand opening celebration for Marathon Burger on Pine Avenue. Just after 3:30 p.m., police responded to the restaurant at 245 Pine Ave. following reports of a shooting with “multiple victims,” according to the Long Beach Police Department. LBPD officers aided three victims, until Long Beach Fire Department personnel took over and took them to a local hospital, one in critical and two in stable condition, according to a department spokesperson. One of the victims later died at the hospital, according to the LBPD. The victim's identity is being withheld while authorities notify the next of kin, police said. Police described the other two gunshot victims as men in their late teens to early 20s. Their wounds were not considered life-threatening, according to authorities.Read the full story here: https://lbwatchdog.com/marathon-burger-grand-opening-interrupted-by-nearby-gunfire-1-dead/