Administrative Aide Claudia Escobedo has had a long career with the City of Long Beach. Escobedo, who immigrated to the United States from Chile almost three decades ago, began working for the city’s housing authority in 2001 and went on to work for the office of former Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal until 2008, when she joined the Port of Long Beach. “You reach a point where you want to do something different,” Escobedo explained, noting that she felt drawn to governmental work because of the job security and benefits. As an administrative aide with the port’s maintenance department, Escobedo handles a variety of tasks that can be summarized by one overarching goal: making sure that operations at the port run smoothly and safely. Among other things, Escobedo is in charge of ensuring that water usage at port construction sites is monitored. Escobedo keeps an eye on the meter system to ensure that harmful pollutants are filtered out before water flows off the site. “Everything has to be environmentally safe; [tenants and contractors] have to make sure that they’re not going to damage our environment,” she explained. Her other tasks include working with the port’s financial department to secure reimbursement for damages on port property, and even fun tasks, like making sure the port’s floats are ready for appearances at events such as the recent Pride parade. “That’s why I love working for the maintenance division, because we do so much of everything,” Escobedo said.