Palacio Podcast
Shirley Huling is a Homeschooler, Educator, Farmer, and Candidate
Shirley Huling is the final candidate interviewed by PalacioMagazine.com in advance of the special election on November 5, 2020. The election is a winner-take-all bid to fill the vacant Long Beach City Council seat for the First District. There are eight candidates vying for that spot. Shirley Huling wonders aloud why anyone would run for office.
“I ask myself that every day.”
While she jokingly comments that “you must be halfway out of your mind,” she is moved by the problems she sees around her including homelessness.
Huling points to her history of activism as evidence that she is serious about tackling the many challenges that she sees every day as she bicycles around her First District neighborhood.
“I love my district…I just love it. I love the diversity. I love that we can walk everywhere. And then I thought ‘what if I could make some really good change?’”
PalacioMagazine.com interviewed Shirley Huling at Utopia Good Food and Fine Art Restaurant about her activism, the challenges facing the First District, and her prescriptions for them.
You can find out more about Shirley Huling and the other seven candidates for the First District special election on November 5th at the Long Beach City Clerk’s website HERE. Long Beach Post Reporter Stephanie Rivera also recently profiled Shirley Huling HERE.
More on Shirley Huling
“Somewhere between 3 and 5 years old, I asked my parents “why there was so much poverty in the world and a continued increase of wealth by a small population of people?”
I was born in New Mexico and raised in a farming community, Stockton California, where we honored Cesar Chavez’s ban on grapes and marched for World Peace regularly. My parents were/are strong advocates of Human Rights!
As Quakers, they were surprised by my plan to join the US Navy after graduating from high school. My vision was TRAVELING abroad and graduating from university debt-free! The experiences I gained living in Puerto Rico followed by Sicily were so valuable coupled with my graduation from CSUS with a BA in government and a focus on international relations. After finishing my internship with California Senate Pro-Tem David Roberti, I was offered the opportunity to work on a State Senate Election followed by other campaigns including working on Mayor Ernie Kell’s reelection in Long Beach.
Transforming my occupational journey into fashion, I was able to work with my sister and other amigos within the fashion community of Los Angeles. Anna Huling, a Rising Star Award Winner in the Fashion Industry, needed a sales representative. I created a showroom that represented primarily local designers. This experience also incorporated lots of travel and community building.
Moving back to Long Beach in 2005 was pivotal. We practiced living a more sustainable life, using only public transportation, and then our son Federico was born in 2006. Inspired by Federico, our priorities shifted to community-building activities like Storytime at the library, park programs, building gardens, MOLA, music, art activities, downtown farmer’s market, riding in the bike lanes and becoming a Freegan!
Transforming from a career woman to an active educator as Federico’s 1st teacher helped me change karma into my mission. Upon graduating from the Neighborhood Leadership Program City of Long Beach, my entire focus became Community Building or “Haciendo Communidad”. Let’s elevate, cultivate, and develop Long Beach, transforming it to a “Value Create Society” through education, culture and ultimately world peace!”
