About us

Meet Rex Richardson

Richardson, wife Nina, and daughters, Alina and Mila, are proud homeowners in the Collins neighborhood of North Long Beach.

Born on Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois, Richardson grew up in a working-class family. His mother worked on an assembly line as a union welder for General Motors and father is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He attended a number of public schools across the country, from Missouri to Alabama, before settling in California as a teenager.

A turning point in Rex’s life was the moment he received his college acceptance letter. He knew that he was given a chance to succeed and believes everyone, no matter their circumstance, deserves an opportunity to thrive.

After serving as student body president at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Rex became a community organizer with SEIU Local 721 in South Los Angeles County, and later joined the City of Long Beach as Chief of Staff to Long Beach’s 9th District Councilmember Steven Neal. In 2014, Richardson became the youngest in history to be elected to the Long Beach City Council. He represents the neighborhoods of North Long Beach in District 9, and serves as Chair of the Economic Development Committee and the Long Beach Housing Authority.

Continuing to break barriers, in 2016, he was elected to a two-year term as Long Beach Vice Mayor, also becoming the youngest in history. He was re-elected to Long Beach City Council in 2018.

Councilmember Richardson’s history in Long Beach is grounded in advocating for our most vulnerable residents and empowering communities to have a seat at the table and an opportunity to thrive. He works to change the culture of city hall to be smarter, more inclusive, and more responsive to the needs of our neighborhoods, businesses, and families.

His track record since joining the Long Beach City Council includes:

• Championing the creation of the Long Beach Office of Equity, to help address the economic and health disparities affecting Long Beach neighborhoods
• Spearheading a number of innovative initiatives that provide more opportunities to close the gap for our vulnerable populations, including the creation of the Long Beach My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, the Long Beach Veterans Commission, the North Long Beach Education Fund, and the PATH Young Adult Diversion program.
• Leading North Long Beach on a “Roadmap to its Renaissance” by placing a focus on economic and community revitalization, with major infrastructure investment, like the new Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, Houghton Park Community Center, new retail development, the Creative Corridor Mural Arts Project, and the Empower Uptown Participatory Budgeting process.
• Protecting and restoring vital public safety services with the restoration of Paramedic Rescue 12 and other key public safety resources, ensuring better response times in North Long Beach and across the city.
• Most recently, launching #EveryoneIn, an initiative designed to create a local economy that includes and benefits every local Long Beach resident and business, placing economic inclusion as the the central focus of our city’s economic prosperity.

Regionally, Richardson serves as a Regional Council member of Southern California Association of Governments and a Director on the Gateway Cities Council of Governments.