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Rita Gerace, the sole female candidate for the Hermosa Beach City Council, said she will bring diversity to the all-male city council while prioritizing public safety and optimizing city services. “We need diversity on the board,” said the 35-year-old candidate. “More than ever, women need to be at the table and making decisions.”
The Hermosa resident, 11, said she decided to run for office in June after learning that her two women in Congress, Mary Campbell and Stacey Armert, were giving up their seats. said. Her Supreme Court decision to overthrow Roe v. Wade also propelled her into her politics.
“Anytime a decision could be made that has this trajectory that could be really bad for people, it felt amazing,” she said.
Born and raised in San Pedro, her Gerace often visited Hermosa Beach in the summer. Her grandparents and her mother moved to San Pedro in search of her American dream.
“He had a 40-foot flagpole and hoisted the flag every day,” she said. “He built his own boat and called it ‘apple pie’.”
Her grandfather instilled in her her “incredible” work ethic and also taught her the importance of serving her community.
Gerace started working at his grandfather’s boat repair shop when he was eight years old and worked there every summer until he was seventeen. “It taught me the value of work,” Jereth said of his experience.
Growing up on the docks, she thought she would become a docker like many other San Pedro residents. Instead, she became her Compass broker. She currently serves on the board of the South Bay Real Estate Association.
The daughter of a police officer and a graduate of the city’s Community Police Academy, she has seen firsthand what police officers do to protect their communities. As a member of the council, she wants to improve police headquarters, which she describes as a “shabby basement”. She also wants to make more resources available to police, including: B. Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR), drones, and other cameras in high crime areas.
Another priority for her is creating a safety plan for e-bikes, not just for the Strand, but for the entire city. “We need to create a safe way to commute,” she said.
Gerace is against her Measure M, a cannabis industry initiative that allows marijuana stores in the city. “You can’t have a Catalyst [initiative signatory] come here and create a monopoly that frankly doesn’t deserve Hermosa,” she said. Gerace says she supports a 0.75% sales tax increase and that it’s important to ensure that income stays in her Hermosa Beach, rather than going into county or state coffers.