Robert Foster (born January 1, 1947) is an American former businessman and politician who served as the mayor of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. He was elected in a runoff election in 2006. Prior to serving as mayor, Foster climbed the ranks of Southern California Edison, becoming president in 2002. Foster was appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees in 1998 by

Governor Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

. He had previously worked for the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

as a consultant on state

energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...

Early life

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster (2517992118)

Foster was born and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

for his undergraduate studies, majoring in public administration. During his college years, he operated a carpet-laying business. After graduating, he began working for the California State Senate while he began PhD coursework in political science at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. Later, Foster worked for the Senate Energy Committee, where he helped develop legislation that created statewide energy efficiency standards. He also taught for one semester as the "Leader-in-Residence" in the Department of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Election

Noting his experience working in the private and public sectors, Foster campaigned on a platform that called for an end to the city's mounting deficit. He also advocated adding 100 new police officers to the streets of Long Beach and reducing traffic and pollution permeating from the Port of Long Beach. Foster won the June 6, 2006, election with 57.2% of the vote.

Personal life

Foster and his wife, Nancy, are long-time residents of Long Beach. They have two grown sons, and three grandchildren.

References

External links

www.MayorBobFoster.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Bob Mayors of Long Beach, California San Jose State University alumni University of California, Davis alumni San Jose State University faculty Living people 1947 births California Democrats Politicians from Brooklyn