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.
Since I became Mayor, I have pushed to make Long Beach a leader in climate change by advancing a climate adaptation and action plan, developing more biking infrastructure, pushing for modification of the breakwater, signing the Paris Climate Agreement, and tasking Long Beach Transit to become a zero emission agency. As an LA Metro Board Member, I voted for Metro to do the same. And together with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, I pledged that our shared port complex would be a zero emissions facility by 2035, a first in the world.
In my next four years, I will continue to push our city departments to lead on climate. As a coastal city, Long Beach is vulnerable to sea level rise, and it’s up to us to do our part and model the best renewable practices. I want to expand green space in Long Beach, work toward cleaning up the LA River, and continue to find ways to build a green economy right here in our city.