Chennai-born Indian American Suja Lowenthal has announced her bid to run for Mayor of Long Beach, which is the second largest city in Los Angeles County of California in US.
Currently serving her second term as City Council, Suja is pitted against five other candidates.
Suja Lowenthal holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from UCLA, a Master's in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from USC.
In 2001, she was elected to the Board of Education in the Long Beach Unified School District, serving as Board president for two years, during which time LBUSD earned recognition as the best urban school district in the nation by the Broad Foundation.
"The essence of effective government is balance which has been the hallmark of my years of service on the school board and city council" Suja said after announcing her decision.
"The challenge is to find the right balance promoting business and creating jobs that pay a decent wage," she said.
"The balance between strong law enforcement and keeping young people out of trouble and of course balancing what government provides with what we can afford," she said.
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster is not seeking a third term.
