Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, introducing Hillary Clinton at a presidential rally in June at Long Beach City College, will skip Friday’s inauguration of Donald Trump. Photo: Mayor Robert Garcia Facebook.
LONG BEACH – Mayor Robert Garcia — who is taking part in the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington D.C., — will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday. Garcia will be in Long Beach.
“Some of the mayors are staying after the conference ends for the inauguration, I will be coming home. There’s a lot of work to do in Long Beach,” Garcia said on his Facebook page.
Some people posted comments telling the mayor — the city’s first openly gay mayor — to stay and attend the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, but Garcia said, “Would love to attend, but have a full weekend of meetings and events.”
According to Garcia’s schedule, he has an 11:30 a.m. Friday meeting with senior advisor Sharon Weissman followed by four hours of additional meetings with an animal advocate, the city attorney, city manager and public works.
He has one event Saturday, a 9 a.m. neighborhood clean-up, and one event on Sunday, a 5 p.m. event with the Jewish Federation of Greater Long Beach and West Orange County, according to the schedule.
Q Voice News asked chief of staff Mark Taylor, via email, when the mayor’s schedule was finalized, and if Hillary Clinton had won the election, would the mayor — who campaigned for her — have missed the inauguration.
“The Mayor’s schedule is always a work in progress – it changes all the time depending on circumstances,” Taylor said in an email.
“He may have participated in the inauguration if Sec. Clinton won and his schedule allowed it,” Taylor said.
