2012 General Election Guide: Belmont Shore-Naples

As we look ahead to November’s general election, Belmont Shore-Naples Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about races in town. Here's our start on the candidates and issues we'll be covering as November draws near.

President Barack Obama has visited Southern California in the run-up to the election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has stopped in Newport Beach, and Patch bloggers and readers will be weighing in.

In the 47th U.S. Congressional District race, the two top vote-getters in the June primary will be facing off in the fall for this newly created federal seat. Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong, a Republican termed out in the Belmont Shore area district, and State Senator Alan Lowenthal, termed out Democrat from Long Beach, are vying to represent 700,000 residents of the district.

Both candidates are familiar with Belmont Shore and Naples areas, having represented Long Beach City Council. There is no open City Council seat on which to vote in the Shore area in November.

Lucky for voters, both candidates have been blogging for months at Belmont Shore-Naples Patch, as did another Republican candidate from Orange County, Steve Foley.

The district represents most of Long Beach, including Belmont Shore and Naples and parts of western Orange County, including Rossmoor and Los Alamitos.

Check out past coverage of the race, and if you don't find a link, search under election 2012.

In the newly carved 70th Assembly District race, former Long Beach City Council member Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) will face Martha Flores-Gibson, a Republican and substitute teacher.

Lowenthal worked as a family counselor before serving on the Long Beach Unified School District Board and Long Beach City Council. Flores-Gibson was a social worker for Long Beach Unified School District and works currently as a substitute teacher for LBUSD.

Where to find Long Beach City election info: http://www.longbeach.gov/cityclerk/elections/

Where you can register to vote: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/

Where to check candidates' campaign contributions: http://campaigndocs.longbeach.gov/CampaignDocs_Web_Public_Access/

Be sure to check out our past coverage of the candidates by clicking on their names and bookmark this page for updates on the races. Again, the best tag to search for is election 2012.