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By Eric Bradley

Gary DeLong is not your typical Republican congressional candidate.

For one thing, the Long Beach city councilman and businessman is pro-choice and supports gay marriage. And though he’s a staunch fiscal conservative, he isn’t convinced that President Obama’s heath care plan needs to be repealed.

In short, he’s one of the emerging group of independent-minded politicians who are looking past party lines for smart solutions to the country’s problems. For that reason, we strongly urge voters to send him to Washington, D.C. on Nov. 6.

This page endorsed DeLong for the 47th Congressional District in the June primary election, but noted that he had to improve his message and refine his platform before he received an endorsement for the general election. He has done exactly that, spending the summer listening to constituents and developing detailed positions and plans. He returned recently to the editorial board with some solid, original ideas that don’t hew to the usual Republican Party line.

“I’m not running as a member of a party,” he said. “I’m running for everybody.”

For example, DeLong said he has concluded that Medicare and the Affordable Care Act should be reformed rather than abolished or repealed. Not only were those much more specific plans, they show that DeLong has the kind of independence that we need to break through the partisan gridlock.

DeLong reiterated that his main reason for running for Congress is a desire to help fix the country’s economic woes. While DeLong said he would stand with Republicans on fiscal issues, he bucks the party’s stances on social issues and calls himself environmentally friendly.

As the only Republican serving on the Long Beach City Council, he has demonstrated an ability to compromise with his Democratic colleagues while helping to balance the city’s budget deficit this year.

“I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, a Republican, in the middle or decline-to-state, I think people are suffering fairly equitably across the board,” DeLong said. “The middle class is shrinking and we have to work together to fix this.”

Those beliefs will serve DeLong well in a district that takes in most of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and parts of cities in western Orange County.

“Clearly, I’m more socially liberal,” said DeLong, who handed the editorial board a campaign pamphlet that did not note his party affiliation.

DeLong is not only the best candidate in this race, where he faces Democratic state Sen. Alan Lowenthal. DeLong is one of the best running for Congress this year.

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