The first African American mayor of Long Beach, California, Rex Richardson was born at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois on August 18, 1983. His parents divorced when Rex was a toddler. Over the next few years, Rex, his mother, and siblings moved numerous times from Illinois to Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Alabama. When Rex was 11, the family settled in Long Beach, California, where he attended local schools and graduated from Covina High School in 2001. He then attended Cal State University at Dominguez Hills where he served a term as student body president. Richardson left school before graduating to become a community organizer with a blue-collar union in south Los Angeles. In 2020 Richardson re-enrolled at Cal State Dominguez Hills and completed his bachelor’s degree via remote learning.
In 2010 Richardson was recruited to serve as the Chief of Staff for Long Beach City Council member Steve Neal. Richardson worked closely with Neal to bring neighborhood members, labor leaders, business people and religious leaders together to improve the economic conditions of Long Beach.
In 2014 Steve Neal resigned from his position on the city council and announced his candidacy for the California Assembly. Rex Richardson decided to run for Neal’s seat on the Long Beach City Council. He was elected, garnering 73% of the vote. At 31, he became the youngest person to serve on the Long Beach City Council. In the 2018 election he won with nearly 80% of the vote.
In 2022 Rex Richardson ran for mayor after his predecessor, Robert Garcia, decided to run for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. In the June primary election, Richardson and fellow councilor Suzie Price received the most votes, but since no candidate received a majority of the votes, the election advanced to a runoff. Richardson won the runoff election on November 8, 2022. He was sworn in on December 20, 2022 becoming the first Black mayor of Long Beach.
In Long Beach city government, the mayor is responsible for making many appointments within the city governing apparatus. A priority for the mayor has been that the appointments mirror the city’s population. As major he has appointed 32 commissioners, 53% are women and 59% are members of racial minority groups.
In 2023, Richardson launched the Long Beach Housing Project to create more affordable housing for city residents. He has also been a proponent of the Grow Long Beach Initiative which focuses on increasing tourism and expanding aviation and aerospace industry in the city. In November 2023 Richardson released a plan to address public safety issues in downtown Long Beach. The plan includes increased policing of the area, creation of a Neighborhood Safety Bike Team and a greater emphasis on mental health issues.
In 2024 Richardson proposed a ten-year investment plan for West Long Beach dubbed the West Side Promise. He hopes to encourage investment in the area, create additional open spaces and work to decrease pollution in West Long Beach. He also hopes to develop a new cultural center in this area which currently lacks banks, pharmacies, and full-service grocery stores.
Rex Richardson is married to Dr. Nina Richardson, and they are the parents of two daughters, Alina and Mila.
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“About Rex,” https://www.joinrexrichardson.com/about_rex; “Mayor Rex Richardson,” https://www.longbeach.gov/mayor/; “Meet Rex Richardson,” https://insidedistrict9.com/about/; “Rex Richardson – Long Beach Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire 2022,” https://forthe.org/richardson-questionnaire-2022/.
