8th District candidate Al Austin (right), here with Tonia Reyes-Uranga (left).

1:30pm | Recently, a coalition of Latino elected and community leaders announced support for Al Austin in his bid for the 8th District seat on the Long Beach City Council.

After the 2011 redistricting process, the 8th District has become one of the most diverse districts within the city of Long Beach, with Hispanic residents making up 45% of its population. Amongst Mr. Austin’s endorsers are Assemblymember Ricardo Lara, who is also a running candidate for the newly drawn 33rd Senate District which partially sits in Long Beach; Assemblymember Tony Mendoza; former Long Beach City Councilmember Tonia Reyes-Uranga; Federal Maritime Commissioner Mario Cordero; 8th District PTA Leader Janet Molina-Watt; and community leader Jessica Quintana.