Dr. Robert Garcia is an educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California’s 42nd congressional district since 2023. Garcia was previously the 28th Mayor of Long Beach. Mayor Garcia is focused on making the City of Long Beach a leader in education, economic development, and climate protection.
As Mayor, he has championed progressive environmental policies like banning polystyrene and plastic straws, supported workers by increasing the minimum wage and adopting model project labor agreements, expanded multimodal transit across the city, and fought to expand and protect rights for women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community.
Mayor Garcia immigrated to the United States at age 5 and was raised in Southern California. The Mayor, a college and university educator, holds an M.A. from the University of Southern California and an Ed.D. in Higher Education from Cal State Long Beach, where he also earned his B.A. in Communication.
Mayor Garcia currently serves as a Board Member on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) representing much of South East Los Angeles County.