Former Long Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske is running in the June 5 primary to represent the 34th State Senate District, an area that includes the city’s 5th District, which Schipske represented for eight years. Photo: Gerrie Schipske.
LONG BEACH — Former Long Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske is running in the June 5 primary to represent the 34th State Senate District, an area that includes the city’s 5th District, which Schipske represented for eight years.
While in office, Schipske was the first open lesbian to serve on the council.
Schipske filed campaign finance paperwork on September 27, according to the California Secretary of State website, and announced her candidacy on September 21 in a press release.
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The filing allows Schipske to raise campaign dollars, but does not qualify her for the ballot. The filing period to appear on the ballot is from February 12 to March 9.
Janet Nguyen, the incumbent Republican, also has filed campaign finance documents for the next year’s primary.
Schipske, who was born in Long Beach and raised in Orange County, was councilwoman for two consecutive terms until being termed out in 2014.
In 2013, President Barack Obama’s White House named her as one of seven “Champions of Change for Open Government.”
The 34th State Senate District includes an area of Long Beach and all or portions of several Orange County cities: Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Orange, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, and Westminster.
Schipske is a lecturer at Cal State Long Beach, a registered nurse practitioner, and healthcare and ethics attorney.
