Eric Alegria is a former two-term city councilmember and mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes, a current Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified school board member and has more than 17 years of South Bay public service. He also brings a background as chief operating officer of a public health company. 

The most locally rooted candidate at the forum, Alegria called for regional cooperation among South Bay cities over top-down state mandates and said he opposed SB 79 for overriding local planning processes. 

“Our local leaders know best what’s right for their community,” Alegria said. 

On homelessness, he pointed to the work being done in Redondo Beach as a model, emphasizing that trust between service providers and unhoused residents is the central challenge. 

“Trust is the ultimate challenge,” he said. “Getting them to believe and trust in the system.”

On the state’s overall fiscal approach, he argued for economic development before new taxes. “Additional revenue means first prioritizing economic development,” he said. 

Alegria has secured endorsements from former state Treasurer John Chiang, former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Redondo Beach city Councilmember Kaluderovic.