Democratic presidential candidate and former vice-president, Joe Biden, visited the Port of Long Beach on Thursday, Jan. 9 to receive a tour of the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project with Mayor Robert Garcia and Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach Mario Cordero.
“We’re very happy to have the vice-president here, he is ready to lead our country on day one, and we’re just grateful for his leadership here, and grateful to show him this amazing facility and this port, which is the second largest container port in the United States,” said Garcia during the tour.
Garcia praised Biden for providing the infrastructure funds that made the replacement project possible during his tenure as vice-president during the Barack Obama administration.
“We’re grateful to the leadership that the vice-president was about during the administration,” Garcia said.
The replacement-bridge project broke ground in 2013 and is estimated to have cost around $1.5 billion and created around 3,000 jobs.
“Something [Biden is] very proud of, which he worked to ensure, was that all of the work on the site would be built by labor and members of our construction units,” Garcia said.
The event came on the same day that Garcia announced his endorsement of Biden for President of the United States. Garcia had previously endorsed California Senator Kamala Harris before she exited the race in Dec. 2019. Reports also broke Thursday that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was also set to announce his own endorsement of Biden.
When asked about how he felt about Garcia’s endorsement, Biden said, “He’s one of the up-and-coming mayors in the country, he has a significant following, it means a lot to me that he endorsed me.”
As another reporter shouted, asking how he felt about Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s endorsement which was announced Thursday, Biden–– as he was being whisked away to his motorcade–– said, “Him as well.”
Local officials were also there to greet Biden including 33rd District State Senator Lena Gonzalez and 70th District Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell.
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