Councilwoman Price

Susan (“Suzie”) Price moved to Long Beach in 1990. Driven by her devotion for justice and community service, Suzie has been working as a Deputy District Attorney for 19 years, currently serving in a management role, while also serving in numerous other capacities as a community leader.

Suzie graduated from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in 1994 with a B.A. in Political Science. While completing her undergraduate studies, Suzie was active in student government, serving as an Associate Justice, a student Senator and finally Student Body President.  Suzie also was a student teacher at the Isabelle Patterson Child Development Center from 1990-1992.  In 1996, Suzie earned her M.A. in Public Policy and Administration from CSULB.  She graduated with Distinction and was selected as CSULB’s “1996 Outstanding Graduate from the college of Health and Human Services”.

Suzie attended Santa Clara Law School from 1996 to 1999. During that time, she served as an adjunct professor at California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) where she also served as the project manager for a technology grant entitled “Information On-Ramps for Oakland”. This two-year project brought computer technology and education to community-based organizations in the City of Oakland.  Suzie supervised a team of college students who worked with these organizations to provide computer education and job search skills to underprivileged Oakland residents.  This program was a successful partnership between the public and private sector and exemplifies the benefits of collaboration for a common good.

Suzie graduated from Santa Clara University Law School in 1999 and began her work as a Deputy District Attorney in Ventura County.   Within her first two years there, Suzie began prosecuting homicide cases in the Major Crimes Division of the District Attorney’s Office.  During her time in Ventura County, Suzie prosecuted a variety of cases including gang related murders, sexual assault and domestic violence cases.

In 2003 Suzie moved back to Long Beach and worked in the private sector representing city governments as a Deputy City Attorney in a variety of matters, such as employment law, police officer defense, drafting legislation, and prosecuting violations of the municipal code. She represented management in labor contract negotiations and disciplinary hearings.  She also helped draft legislation to regulate massage parlors.

In 2005 Suzie began her service as a Deputy District Attorney in Orange County. Most recently, Suzie prosecuted cases as a member of the Homicide panel for the District Attorney throughout Orange County.  In 2008 Suzie was selected to head up the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Vehicular Homicide division where she aggressively prosecuted multiple DUI fatalities as second degree murder cases.  She was the prosecutor who brought to justice the man who killed Angel’s pitcher, Nick Adenhart, and his two friends, Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart, and wounded a fourth passenger, Jon Wilhite.  Suzie’s dedication to victims was recognized in 2009 when she received the Community Service Award from the statewide victim services program, Community Service Programs (CSP).

Fueled by her desire to reduce the number of DUI-related collisions and improve public safety on our streets and highways, Suzie was instrumental in obtaining grant funding to support the Orange County District Attorney’s Office efforts to reduce driving under the influence of prescription drugs and prescription drug abuse. She is currently serving as an Assistant Head of Court where she is in charge of statewide training of prosecutors and law enforcement officers on a variety of legal topics and issues.

Suzie received the Diligent Prosecutor Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2011, MADD recognized Suzie’s work with the prestigious “Heart of MADD” award.  In 2011, Suzie received the Victim Services Compassion Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of MADD.   In further recognition of her hard work and service, in 2011 Suzie was named one of the top 75 female lawyers in California by the Daily Journal newspaper.  In 2017 Suzie was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Aquatics Capital of America and named as s Distinguished Alumni from CSULB.

Suzie has served on the CSULB Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) Advisory Board and has served as a board member for the CSULB Lois J. Swanson Leadership Center. She has provided leadership workshops for CSULB students on such topics as making responsible choices and understanding the criminal justice system.  She is actively involved in the District Attorney’s Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (GRIP) and Orange Outreach, two community education programs designed to educate fourth, fifth and sixth graders in high risk communities about the dangers of gang membership and drugs.

On April 8, 2014, Suzie was elected to serve as the 3rd District council member.  Suzie competed against 4 other candidates for this position, and received over 55% of the vote, avoiding a runoff election. She was sworn into office on July 15, 2014. Councilwoman Price ran for re-election in April of this year where she received over 78% of the vote.  

As a Councilmember, Suzie serves as the Chair of the Public Safety Committee, the Vice Chair of the Economic Development and Finance and Tidelands committee of the City Council. She is the Chair of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority and Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority Committee.  She is an honorary board member for Musical Theatre West, the Women’s Shelter of Long Beach and an advisory member of the Ronald McDonald House.

Suzie and her husband, Mark, live in Alamitos Heights with their 14 year-old and 10 year-old sons who attend local Long Beach Unified Schools. Suzie and her family have the love and support of her mother who resides in the Marina Pacifica residential community.