West Long Beach’s open District 7 City Council seat has turned into a full-on Westside power test, with candidates sprinting toward the June 2 primary and pitching starkly different ideas on homelessness and neighborhood investment. With incumbent Roberto Uranga termed out, a slate of community leaders, union-backed organizers and service providers is vying to represent an area many residents say has been left on the back burner for years. More than 36,000 eligible voters live in District 7, and whoever wins will help decide how next year’s money for streets, parks and shelter services gets carved up.
What's at stake
The City Council controls more than $3 billion in annual spending, and it is staring down a projected budget shortfall of about $60 million next year that will force tough choices on services and capital projects, according to the Long Beach Post. Homelessness sits right at the center of the District 7 fight, and the candidates diverge on whether the city should lean harder on outreach, build up shelter capacity or rely more on stricter enforcement. How the next councilmember votes on those tradeoffs will shape whether Westside neighborhoods see more social services on the ground or a stronger push for basic infrastructure fixes.
Who's on the ballot
Current councilmember Roberto Uranga has hit the city’s term limit and is not running again, according to the Signal Tribune. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s final list confirms which candidates made the District 7 ballot, along with the June 2, 2026, primary date. If no one clears 50 percent in that primary, the top two finishers move on to the Nov. 3 general election, as outlined in voter-guide coverage by LAist.
Vivian Malauulu
Vivian Malauulu, a Long Beach Community College District trustee and registered longshore worker, is running on a promise of targeted Westside investment and stronger workforce development. Her campaign materials note that she completed a doctorate while serving on the LBCCD board. Malauulu has picked up support from labor and party groups and appears on endorsement lists from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Voters can find her detailed priorities and biography on her campaign site at VivianforLongBeach.com.
Jamies Shuford
Jamies Shuford, founder of Skidrow Advocacy Group, leans heavily on his on-the-ground work in homeless services. He serves as a co-chair of the Long Beach Continuum of Care, a role documented in city records, and he has been involved in city homeless-services efforts that emphasize outreach and neighborhood cleanups. Community profiles credit him with helping run pandemic food-distribution programs that fed many families each week, drawing on the City of Long Beach Continuum of Care roster and local reporting. His platform combines calls for more programming on the Westside with demands for better follow-through from outreach teams once they are in the field.
Dameon Gordon
Dameon Gordon is a homelessness case manager with Catholic Charities, and his campaign messaging centers on housing stability and wraparound support services. Local voter guides and candidate directories describe him as a service-provider candidate focused on connecting residents to housing and the support systems that help keep them there. His background is detailed in the Catholic Charities newsletter and independent candidate directories.
How to vote and follow the race
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder posts the official candidate list and election materials ahead of the June 2 primary. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote in that primary, the top two will face off again in the Nov. 3 general election, according to local voter-guide coverage and county documents. The City Clerk and county registrar maintain online tools with sample ballots, voter registration information and vote-center locations, so residents can check where and how to cast a ballot.
City Council meetings, where the next District 7 representative will eventually take their seat, are typically held most Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the Bob Foster Civic Chambers at 411 W. Ocean Blvd., and residents can show up to offer public comment. Voters who want to dig into candidate statements can turn to the county’s ballot materials and a range of local voter guides to compare platforms and endorsement lists.
The Long Beach Post’s neighborhood voter guide for District 7 was assembled with partner reporting from LAist, and together those resources offer Q&As and background that help Westside voters size up the field before June 2.
