News

Bob Foster's Mayoral Candidacy Speech
9/12/2005

There are cities in California that are thriving, where people stroll their neighborhoods in safety, where children learn the skills they need to secure their future.

And then there are cities mired in distrust, debt and dysfunction, and all too often the difference stems from specific decisions made by elected officials. Policy has consequences. Leadership makes a difference.

My life has been dedicated to the idea that I have an obligation to use my skills to make a difference in the lives of our families. As a policy analyst for the State of California, I drafted the energy efficiency standards that made our state a pioneer in the field of conservation -- and those standards are still in effect thirty years later.

As a Trustee for the California State University system and the CSU Foundation Board I have worked to make sure that all students who earn it have an equal opportunity for quality higher education.

As an executive at Edison, I successfully worked to reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels and make Edison a national leader in renewable and alternative energy. I led the effort to beat back the attempt by Enron to seize control of Long Beach's energy future. I made decisions that created jobs and brought over $18 million in sales tax revenue to Long Beach, funds to hire police officers, build roads and repair parks.

And today, I am formally announcing that I am a candidate for Mayor for the city I most love. A city my family and I have called home for 11 years. I am running for Mayor of Long Beach.

Long Beach is fortunate indeed. We sit at the threshold of the future. We're the nation's preeminent port, the place where America links to the world. We have a remarkable and talented population, great institutions of higher learning, a strong diversified economy with burgeoning trade, health care and tourism sectors.

But it is not enough to be fortunate. Serendipity is no substitute for leadership.

As Mayor, I will provide the leadership to put our city's fiscal house in order. Right now, our fiances are precarious at best. We need to institute long-range budgeting that recognizes that we cannot make decisions today that will beggar our children tomorrow.

I will provide the leadership to find ways to increase the size of our police department so we can truly initiate neighborhood policing, to improve our emergency preparedness and to stiffen our resistance to terrorist attack.

I will provide the leadership to unite the city, and the public and private sectors of our school district to enhance educational opportunities and give our children a better future -- and to provide our economy with the skilled workforce we need in an increasingly competitive world.

I will provide the leadership to help revitalize our commercial corridors and strengthen our neighborhoods.

And I will provide leadership to return civility and a sense of common purpose to local government. The diversity of opinion in our city is a strength, not a weakness. It is the job of a leader to extract the common strain from the discordant chorus, to engender mutual respect and forge consensus.

I have had extensive experience in government and public policy. I've run a successful small business. I've been president of a large company. And I have served Long Beach as a civic leader and I'm ready to give this new challenge everything I've got.

I ask Long Beach residents to join me in the quest. Long Beach is a great city. Together we can make it an even better city...