California Assemblymember Matt Haney says he's focusing specifically on the revitalization of downtowns across the state.
Haney, a Democrat representing the eastern portion of San Francisco, is on a tour visiting various downtowns throughout the state. Long Beach is his fourth stop.
Tuesday morning, Haney met with Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and other local leaders to tour downtown Long Beach and discuss some of the things that have been working for them.
"We want to highlight and see the areas where we're seeing some hope and some optimism," Haney said. "Today we want to get the word out that there are exciting things happening in Long Beach."
Richardson says Long Beach has experienced an increase in office vacancies since the pandemic, but says the city has been focused on increasing foot traffic downtown, and it's been successful.
"I think if we hadn't made the investments into increasing the density over the past decade, we'd be in a worse position than we are today," Richardson said. "I think what the pandemic showed us is that when we think about resiliency for downtown, you have to diversify what the uses are."
Clare Le Bras works in downtown Long Beach and while she says she's seen some improvement, there's room for growth, specifically in regards to safety.
"We've seen some improvement," said Le Bras, general manager of The Ordinarie Tavern. "We were just talking about the homeless and I know it's a huge problem everywhere, but I feel that if we can get families back downtown and we show them that they're safe and they're secure, that will build neighborhood."
Haney will head to San Diego Wednesday and also plans to visit Fresno, Riverside and Los Angeles before concluding his tour. The goal is to gather as much information as possible and to come up with a plan for the entire state before the legislature reconvenes in January.