Gerrie Schipske Announces Campaign for State Senate District 34

Former Long Beach City Councilmember and Community College Board Trustee Gerrie Schipske today announced her candidacy for the 34^th State Senate District. Schipske, a Democrat, is running to unseat Republican Janet Nguyen.
 
In her campaign announcement, Schipske released the following statement:

“We need leaders, now more than ever, who are committed to creating positive change. I am running for State Senate to fight for the working families in our communities, protect the character of our neighborhoods, nurture small business, support our public schools, and restore constructive leadership to California’s 34^th Senate District. I will bring all my experience - as an attorney, nurse, former city councilmember, and college board trustee - to bear on the challenges my constituents confront.”
 
Gerrie Schipske was born in Long Beach and raised in Orange County where she attended Fullerton and Golden West colleges as well as the University of California, Irvine. She represented Long Beach’s 5^th District, much of which overlaps Senate District 34, on the City Council for eight years. In 2013, President Barack Obama’s White House named her as one of seven "Champions of Change for Open Government.”
 
Schipske is a healthcare and ethics attorney, a registered nurse practitioner, and a faculty member at California State University Long Beach. She was elected to the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees, and she was the first registered nurse appointed by the Senate Rules Committee to the Medical Board of California, where she served nine years. Schipske was also one of the first members of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, and a member of the KCET public television community board. She also served as the assistant director of the Youth Development Program in Santa Ana and as the executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County.
 
About Senate District 34

State Senate District 34 includes all or portions of the cities of Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Orange, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, and Westminster. Democrats hold a nine percent advantage in voter registration over Republicans here, and Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in the district by a margin of over 20 percent last year.