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news
Golf coach shoots
for mayor
By Dwight Flenniken III
On-line Forty-Niner
It all happened
during a November mayoral debate at Cal State Long Beach.
As the potential mayors clamored on about their plans for
the city, Bob Livingstone, realized he wanted to be the mayor
of Long Beach.
"It was a dream of mine for years growing up," Livingstone
said regarding his recent divulgence into politics. "My
whole thing is you need to have a citywide vision."
He supports a police station in Scherer Park and wants to
see Long Beach Airport continue to grow. In the 1990s, he
supported a scrapped plan to build a sports complex in El
Dorado Park.
Livingstone, 38, graduated from CSULB in 1988 with a degree
in finance. For the past eight seasons he has been the head
coach of men's golf at CSULB. In the 2000 season he led the
golf team to its first NCAA appearance in 18 years. He has
also served as assistant to the athletic director.
In 2001, he was inducted into the Long Beach Golf Hall of
Fame, which recognizes individuals that support golf programs
in the city of Long Beach.
To deserve the honor, Livingstone wrote the Policy and Procedures
and Golf Operations manual being used by the city.
He was also the former city golf commissioner.
The election is scheduled to take place on April 9. According
to Livingstone much of his campaigning will be done by word
of mouth, and will not interfere with his duties this semester.
However, he will attend debates and other forums held for
possible candidates.
"None of them [candidates] got there and said, 'This
is what I feel for Long Beach.' If nothing else I will go
to debates to make sure these people [candidates] say something,"
he said.
This is not Livingstone's first try at politics. In 1988 he
ran for a spot on the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees.
Livingstone was the first to enter the mayoral race by turning
in the required petition of 20 voter's signatures. He is one
of seven candidates for mayor.
Sticking with his citywide vision Livingstone plans to implement
some changes to the current political structure.
Livingstone said it would be his duty as mayor to stand up
to the small activist groups, who he said have taken over
Long Beach.
In another change, he will not accept corporate donations
during his campaign. He expects to spend between $20,000 to
$30,000 on his campaign.
CSULB administration refused to comment on any aspect of the
mayor's race, including any comments regarding Livingstone.
A golf tournament is scheduled for the same day as the election,
leaving Livingstone to vote for himself by absentee ballot.
The Long Beach mayor's position is a full-time non-partisan
office. If elected this would force Livingstone to resign
his current post as head golf coach of CSULB in order to serve
out his term as mayor.
The other candidates are Vice Mayor Dan Baker, 7th district
Councilman Ray Grabinski, current Mayor Beverly O'Neill, Long
Beach resident John Stolpe, resident Norm Ryan and local businessman
David Wong.
Additional reporting Lyndsey Shinoda and Michael Watanabe.
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Bob Livingstone
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