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Carlos Ovalle
Carlos S. Ovalle ran for election to the Long Beach City Council to represent District 7 in California. He lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.
Ovalle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Carlos Ovalle was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1986. His career experience includes working in architecture.
Ovalle has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- Sierra Club , executive committee
- Sunrise Movement, member and mentor
- Long Beach Reform Coalition, founder
- Riverpark Coalition, founder and board member
- People of Long Beach, founder and board member
- Our Revolution, member
Elections
2022
See also: City elections in Long Beach, California (2022)
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Long Beach City Council District 7
Incumbent Roberto Uranga won election outright against Carlos S. Ovalle, Alejandro Cortez, and Raul V. Jallorina in the primary for Long Beach City Council District 7 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Roberto Uranga (Nonpartisan) | 57.9 | 3,351 |
Carlos S. Ovalle (Nonpartisan)  | 30.6 | 1,770 | ||
| Alejandro Cortez (Nonpartisan) | 9.4 | 543 | ||
| Raul V. Jallorina (Nonpartisan) | 2.2 | 128 | ||
| Total votes: 5,792 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Ovalle's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Carlos S. Ovalle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ovalle's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I've lived in my council district for about 50 years and with my wife raised my three children, an engineer, a teacher, and an accountant.
As an architect I've worked in architecture for the public good, including affordable and homeless housing, shelters for victims of domestic violence, schools, libraries, community medical clinics, and community centers.
As an environmentalist I'm on the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club, a founder and board member of Riverpark Coalition, a member-mentor to the youth-led Sunrise Movement Long Beach, and I support the work of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.
As a community advocate I'm a founder of the Long Beach Reform Coalition and the People of Long Beach. I've fought city hall against regressive taxation that burdens the lowest paid workers and those on fixed income, against authoritarian term limit extensions, and for transparency and accountability in government.
I have fought tirelessly against polluters, against career politicians who prioritize corporations and special interests, and for good government practices.
- I'm the only candidate with decades of experience in affordable housing and homelessness with a common-sense plan to deal with those issues immediately.
- I'm the only candidate with decades as an environmentalist and the support of the major environmentalist groups with a simple yet solid plan to address climate change and our local pollution problem.
- I'm the only candidate with the support of the Long Beach Reform Coalition and People of Long Beach, the major organizations fighting for government transparency and accountability.
Our city is a tale of two cities, east and west. On the western side of the city, where the 7th District is located, we have:
— Highest levels of ozone pollution in the nation
— Highest poverty and unemployment
— Highest COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality
— Highest density, unit overcrowding, gentrification and displacement, and unhoused population
— Lowest area of parks and open space by a factor of 14
— Lowest life expectancy by 5 to 15 years compared to the east side of the city
The career politicians currently in power, at best give lip service to these issues but not much else.
Citywide the politicians have sunk us into debt. We have the highest sales tax in the nation of any major city except Chicago. On paper we're $36 million in debt but that's not counting other liabilities including:
— The Queen Mary ($400 million to $500 million)
— Community Hospital ($30 million)
— Measure M embezzlement to be returned to water customers ($30 million)
And many others including an unfunded pension liability and the Civic Center Public Private Partnership.
He believed nothing was impossible. He grew up in a small town in the central highlands of Guatemala. His native language was Q'eqchi' and he didn't learn Spanish until he was about 10 years old. His formal education ended half way through elementary school but he continued learning on his own. An avid reader, he'd devour every book he could get his hands on.
He was a principled man. "The truth, always the truth, no matter how much it hurts" he would quote from something he read. He taught his children that there are two things that could never be taken from us, "education and principles." He taught us to love Mother Earth, a direct influence of his indigenous roots.
What I look for in my elected officials is, at a minimum, what I expect my constituents to expect of me.
Sacrifice for the benefit of the public good. Holding elected office is the most important trust placed upon elected officials and we must act accordingly. Public service through elected office should not be a job or a career, it's a calling.
Follow logic and science in our decision-making process.
Understand the importance of acting locally but never lose sight of the a global impact of our decisions.
A policy for preventing gentrification and displacement of our large renter population.
Achieving park equity or at least moving significantly in that direction and laying the groundwork for continued progress with measurable goals.
Significantly reducing ozone pollution in western Long Beach through electrification of the railways and an doubling the capacity of rail goods movement.
Instituting a living wage, or as close to it as practicable, and setting measurable goals for achieving that goal.
I was living in my native Guatemala at the time. I was playing when the news came that President Kennedy had been murdered. My family was very political and when my mom heard the news she started to cry as if a close relative had died. Immediately I tried to console her. Who is Kennedy? I asked her.
The current process is that the councilmembers vote unanimously in the direction the major wants. The mayor also appoints most of the commissioners, many of whom are personal connections, and some of those commissions are very powerful. Yet the councilmembers are very comfortable in that position.
The most important decisions Councilmembers make affect not just their district but the entire city, yet these decisions are based on how they are guided by staff —or the lobbyists— because it's a part-time position and a good portion of their time is spent on public events and presentations, with little time to fully study the depth and breadth of the complex issues they vote on.
The number one issue among candidates in most districts is housing affordability and homelessness. No one in city council and no one running for city council in any district has as much experience as I do on this subject.
The second most critical issue that is consistent among the candidates in western Long Beach is the issue of the environment. As with housing and homelessness, no one currently in city council and no one running for city council in any district has as extensive a background as I on the subject of environmentalism.
The third issue is transparency and accountability. Of the 35 candidates citywide only 5 of us were endorsed by the Long Beach Reform Coalition because of our efforts to promote good government.
Endorsements are not a measure of expertise unless there is a body of work to back it up.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 11, 2022
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