Ward prepares for State Assembly primary

Former Hermosa Beach City Councilman Michael Keegan, Manhattan Beach Mayor Mitch Ward, Robin Eisenberg and Fresh Brothers Pizza owner Adam Goldberg enjoy refreshments at Four Daughters Kitchen Monday during a fundraiser for Ward’s State Assembly campaign. Photo

by Andrea Ruse

Mayor Mitch Ward’s campaign for the State Assembly received a hometown boost last week as supporters gathered at an event in North Manhattan Beach.

Ward is running for the 53rd District seat currently occupied by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, who is termed out. Ward is among eight candidates who will compete in the June 8 Democratic primary election. Republican, Green, and Libertarian candidates are running unopposed in the primary election.

“I’ve seen what it means to be responsible at the local level,” Ward said Monday. “I want to do more to help programs at the state level to fund schools and public safety, as well as create more jobs and protect local revenue.”

Approximately 45 guest attended a fundraising event in North Manhattan Beach Monday held jointly at Four Daughters Kitchen and North End Cafe, where Ward greeted constituents and held a silent auction with small items donated by local businesses. The previous Saturday, roughly 100 Ward supporters gathered at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in L.A. for a “Party Downtown” fundraiser.

Approximately $125,000 has been raised toward Ward’s campaign thus far, in addition to his personal contribution of the same amount.

“We’re trying to raise funds for the campaign and make sure we send out mailers before the absentee ballots are out,” Ward said. “We’re trying to raise another $20,000 in the next two weeks.”

Ward has been in public service since 1994, when he served on the city’s cultural arts commission. He then went on to serve on the city’s planning commission before being elected to City Council in 2003. In January 2009, he announced his intention to run for Assembly as a representative of the 53rd District, which includes Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Lomita, El Segundo, Marina del Rey and the Venice Beach portion of Los Angeles.

“I’m extremely dedicated to making sure the South Bay is locally represented at the Capitol,” Ward said.

“I’m hoping Mitch might support the beach cities,” said Michael Keegan, former Hermosa Beach City Councilman, who attended Monday’s fundraiser. “The last guy from the beach cities we had in the Assembly was Bob Beverly in the ‘90s.”

Ward said that he wants to find more reliable sources of education funding, including shifting money away from prisons and into schools.

“We need a dedicated source of funding so that teachers aren’t fired and class sizes are not increased,” he said.

At the top of Ward’s list, however, is creating more jobs.

“We have unemployment rates of 12.6 percent in certain parts of the district and 30 percent in other areas,” Ward said. “Jobs are my biggest issue and concern.”

Ward also supports incentivizing small local businesses — which he said will provide roughly 88 percent of new jobs as the economy recovers — especially in the entertainment industry.

“We need to maintain and retain the entertainment industry in the 53rd,” he said. “We want no runaway production companies going to Canada.

“Municipalities are strapped for cash,” he added. “We’re going to create more jobs in the district and get more money into local municipalities.”

For more information about upcoming elections, visit www.sos.ca.gov. ER

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