Palacio Podcast
Ana Arce: Candidate for Long Beach City Council District 6
Ana Arce has a special connection to Long Beach City Council District 6. She was born and raised in the community. Arce knows what it’s like to be a child here; a teenager growing up in this neighborhood; a mother; a working-class resident.
“…to struggle in our community. As a child, I saw many families struggling as well. It was really hard for me and for my family.”
They grew up poor. Ana Arce recounts the lack of resources in the community. Friends left to seek their futures elsewhere because there were none here. That’s the reason, Arce says, why she’s running. She knows firsthand what families in the sixth district are going through.
“The struggles that they’re going through right now and it only keeps getting worse for our community.”
PalacioMagazine.com interviewed City Council candidates for Districts 2, 6, and 8. We asked each candidate the same three questions with follow-ups for clarification and more in-depth information.
- Why are you running?
- What is your vision for the District?
- Name and discuss two or three Policy issues
Ana Arce is one of five candidates who are challenging the incumbent, Vice-Mayor Dee Andrews, for his seat. They include Sharifah Hardie, Suely Saro, Josephine Villasenor, and Craig Ursuy. PalacioMagazine.com sat down with District 6 candidate Arce to get her answers to these questions.
More on Ana Arce
“Ana Arce was born and raised in Long Beach as the middle child of six siblings. Her parents, like many Latino families, immigrated to Long Beach in the mid-70s. When Ms. Arce turned four years old, she moved to Nayarit, Mexico with her parents until the age of seven. She returned to Long Beach at the end of second grade and finished the school year not knowing how to speak English
From a young age, school was challenging for her, not understanding the language and the culture. She went on to attend Franklin Middle School and graduated from Millikan High School in 2006. Her father always stressed the importance of family unity, however, two months before her senior graduation, her brother of 19 years old passed away from a tragic motorcycle accident. This devastated the entire family, and her teenage dreams about college were crushed. In her grief and state of depression, she believed college wasn’t for her and dropped out in her freshman year.
After conquering her grief and self-doubt, in 2014, Ms. Arce graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with the following disciplines: Political Science and a Minor in Business Administration. Ms. Arce was not only a student at USC, but she was also a young mother of two girls Natalie and Alice who fueled and motivated her to finish her degree. Additionally, while finishing her studies at USC, she worked two jobs. One as a manager at a restaurant in downtown Long Beach and her second job was a Program Assistant with the USC Community Partnerships. She was part of the founding class to start the Penny Harvest Chapter in collaboration with USC Civic Engagement, a long time service-learning program in New York that works towards building civically engaged K-12 students. The program empowers children to raise funds, identify issues in their communities, and meticulously stretches every dollar raised to take action towards solving these issues.
She currently serves in her daughters’ school as president of the School Site Council at Lincoln Elementary. As president, she oversees the school budget, school safety plan, and other activities. To ensure the safe drop off of the students, she led the efforts along with other board parents and administrators to create the Valet Drop Off Lane. She also coordinated a trip to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) field trip that exposed 200 fifth grade students to the 2020 Mars rover exploration mission. Ms. Arce is also a mentor of the Puente Project at El Camino College – a yearlong mentorship program sharing her experiences and encouragement to a current college student. As an agent with New York Life, she works in helping her clients with their financial needs and gives the community financial literacy presentations. In addition, Ms. Arce is the president of the Board of Latinos in Action CA, which is a local nonprofit organization that shares her vision of empowering mothers, shedding light on social justice issues, advocacy for women’s rights, children’s education, and immigration rights.” Source: Ana Arce Campaign
For more information on Ana Arce, visit her campaign Facebook page HERE and on Instagram HERE
More on the March 3, 2020 Election
- Feb 03, 2020-Feb 25, 2020: Vote by Mail — First and last day to apply. VBM Applications may be submitted between these dates (both dates inclusive). Applications received prior to the 29th day preceding the election will be kept and processed during this period.
- Feb 18, 2020: Last day to register to vote.
- Feb 22, 2020-Mar 03, 2020: Vote Centers Voting Period. Vote Centers open beginning 10 days prior to the election day.
- Mar 03, 2020: Election Day
Visit the Long Beach City Clerk website for more information on the candidates and ballot measures.
