DR. ROBERT GARCIA, born on this date, is an educator and the 28th Mayor of Long Beach. He was re-elected to a second term by almost 80% of the vote in 2018.

Garcia immigrated to the United States at age 5 and was raised in Southern California. He is a college and university educator, holds an M.A. from the University of Southern California and an Ed.D. in Higher Education from Cal State Long Beach, where he also earned his B.A. in Communication.

Mayor Garcia has focused on making the City of Long Beach a leader in education, economic development, and climate protection. As Mayor, he has championed progressive education policy, launched an aggressive climate plan, supported workers by increasing the minimum wage and fought to expand and protect rights for women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community.

He has proposed and passed ten ballot initiatives since 2014. They include measures to support safety and infrastructure, a cannabis tax, and reforms to strengthen the city auditor, set term limits, and create ethics and redistricting commissions. His signature initiative, Measure A, has launched the largest infrastructure repair program in a generation.

Mayor Garcia currently serves as a Board Member on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) representing much of South East Los Angeles County.

He is married to Matthew Mendez Garcia, a professor of political science at California State University, Long Beach