By Alumnus Jason Aula has leaped into the race for Long Beach’s First City Council District, and he’s no stranger to campaigning in Long Beach.
While at Cal State Long Beach, the former business finance major ran for Associated Students Inc. vice president in 2008 and ASI treasurer in 2010. He was also president of the Long Beach State College Republicans, previously called the Conservative Student Union. He left CSULB in spring 2011.
In running for the April election, the 28-year-old said he plans to bring a different approach to the council.
“I think the city hall just needs to be refreshed with some conservative business ideology,” Aula said. “I think that could change a lot of things. I’m not saying I’m going on a witch-hunt … I just want to redirect.”
Since leaving CSULB, Aula recently became the executive director of Long Beach’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which aims to legalize responsible marijuana use by shifting public opinion, according to its website.
He has also written and drafted the Long Beach Patients’ Access Act of 2013, a ballot measure proposal that aims to reform policies on medical marijuana use in the city.
Aula said that while his work with NORML may fall outside of the conservative realm, his beliefs sometimes land on both sides of the political fence.
“I think I have the ability to make a discretion on where to lean a little more conservative and where to be a little more liberal,” Aula said. “I’ve crossed party lines, and I have own my beliefs and stances.”
At CSULB, Aula is most known for his “Bring Back 49er Football” campaign that began in 2008 as an effort to resurrect the 49er football team after more than 20 years of its inexistence.
“I just want everyone to know I’m still working on bringing back the 49er football team with new students, and we’ve continued to try each year,” Aula said. “We’ve just been running into problems with ASI … trying to disrupt activities because I’m involved with it.”
During his time at CSULB, Aula found himself at the center of multiple controversies on campus, some of which were entangled with past ASI officials.
For example, Aula accused past ASI elected officials and others of conspiring to ensure former ASI President James Ahumada’s victory in 2010’s student government elections. At the time, other presidential candidates had dropped out of the race, leaving Ahumada as the only remaining candidate.
Aula also claimed on a 2009 scholarship application, which earned him a $2,500 Ronald Reagan College Leadership scholarship, that he was senator of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, but ASI elected officials of the time said that while Aula had been appointed by the college’s council, he had never been sworn into the position.
“I was under the assumption I was going to be sworn in,” Aula said.
ASI Vice President Jonathon Bolin confirmed that Aula has continued his yearly efforts to resurrect 49er football but said that Aula hasn’t gathered enough signatures to have the issue discussed.
“I’m excited that he’s running because at least he’s put some entertainment in the Long Beach City Council election,” Bolin said.
Aula said he knows his track record would alarm some voters, but he remains confident about the upcoming election because he believes people are going to like the fact that he stands his ground.
“[Attending CSULB] just taught me that a lot of people in Southern California aren’t fans of the Republican Party for various reasons,” Aula said. “At times, when people were throwing it down hard on me, it really made me question my beliefs, and during those times I researched more and reaffirmed my beliefs … I think what I’m saying is right, and I’m just going to stand by it.”
If elected to city council, Aula said one of his goals would be to never stop fighting municipal policy that aids and abets “illegal aliens.”
“People want to live their American dream, and if you look at the liberal politics in the city, the American Dream is under attack, and I’m here to try to do something about that,” he said.
Aula also wants to propose a ballot measure for a $145-million renovation for the Long Beach Arena in Downtown Long Beach. According to Aula’s website, the project would raise taxes on car rentals, hotel room occupancies, admission tickets to events held in the arena and parking in the facility.
“[We can add] 5,000 more seats, [which will make it] suitable to recruit a [professional] team … I think that will really put Long Beach on the map,” Aula said. “And there’s already infrastructure there: the hotels, the metro line goes by there, there’s already a lot of parking, and it really just seems like a smart thing to do.”
Despite the controversies Aula encountered during his time at CSULB, he said he is happy to have experienced them because they prepared him for real-life campaigning.
He said his former ASI colleagues, like Ahumada and former ASI Vice President Christopher Chavez, are now doing “big things,” and he is lucky to have competed with them.
“I know I might piss some people off with the way I say things, but I’m just trying to keep it real, be myself, [and] say what I think,” Aula said. “I want to be that problem solver … I think if people want change in their life, they really should try and change laws.”
Aula said his plans to finish college are currently on hold, but that he hopes to attend Pacific Coast University of Law. He said he never planned to be a career politician, but at the moment, he wants to be able to help change laws on the city level.
“I don’t think district needs another liberal in the office,” he said. “I think they need a conservative who knows how to manage money, create jobs, create revenue for the government, be business friendly, you know? That’s what I’m all about.”
