Ricardo Lara
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Ricardo Lara
For the American soccer player, see Kiki Lara.
| Ricardo Lara | |
|---|---|
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 50th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 6, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Hector De La Torre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 5, 1974 Commerce, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Bell Gardens, California |
| Alma mater | San Diego State University University of Southern California |
Ricardo Lara (born November 5, 1974[1]) is a politician from Los Angeles County, California who serves in the California State Assembly, where he represents the 50th district. The 50th district encompasses the southeast Los Angeles County cities of Bell, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Downey, Lynwood, South Gate, and the unincorporated communities of Florence-Graham and Walnut Park.
Lara is a candidate for the California Senate in 2012, seeking the 33rd district seat.[2] He is running unopposed.[3]
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Early life and career
A native of Commerce, California, Lara attended LAUSD schools and graduated from San Diego State University where he earned a Bachelor of Art degree and served as student body president.[4][5] He is currently pursuing a master's degree from the University of Southern California.
A longtime Assembly staffer, Lara worked as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh (D–South Gate) when Firebaugh served as Majority Leader. Lara later served as Fabian Nuñez's district director during Nuñez's time as Speaker. He then served as communications director for Assemblyman Kevin de León (D–Los Angeles).
In politics
2008 State Assembly campaign
Lara was a candidate for the Assembly in 2008, seeking the Democratic nomination in the Los Angeles-based 46th district. He faced a number of well-connected challengers, including John Pérez, the cousin of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Following a meeting at Getty House, Villaraigosa's official residence, Pérez became the consensus candidate and the other candidates, including Lara, dropped their campaigns.[5] Although the challengers' names remained on the ballot, Pérez won the primary comfortably and took the seat before being elected to the Speakership in late 2009.
Lara was subsequently appointed by Villaraigosa to the powerful Los Angeles Planning Commission, where he served until resigning to focus on his 2010 Assembly run in the 50th district. Running for the seat required Lara to move into the district, which does not include any part of the city of Los Angeles. Because LA planning commissioners are required to be residents of the city of Los Angeles, Lara therefore couldn't run for the 50th Assembly district whilst serving on the commission. He announced his candidacy for the seat in early 2009 and became a resident of Bell Gardens.[6]
2010 State Assembly campaign
Lara faced three primary challengers in his 2010 Assembly bid, two of whom had held elected office in the district. With the support of the state and local Democratic parties as well as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Lara prevailed handily.[7] He faced a Republican opponent in the general election and won overwhelmingly.
In the State Assembly
Lara was sworn in as an assemblymember on December 6, 2010 and was appointed the chairman of the joint legislative audit committee. He also serves on the following committees: appropriations; banking and finance; higher education; and water, parks, and wildlife. He also chairs the select committee on financial empowerment.
When Bell's entire city council was fired or resigned in disgrace, it left no majority in the city council to swear in the newly elected council in March 2011. Lara authored Assembly Bill 93, which was an emergency action empowering an appointed alternate to swear in the new council. On April 7, 2011, Lara swore in the entirely new city council.[8]
2012 State Senate campaign
On October 19, 2011, Lara announced plans to run for the California Senate in the newly-drawn 33rd district in 2012. The district, which has a Hispanic majority, includes many of the communities he currently represents in the Assembly as well as much of the city of Long Beach. Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D–Long Beach), wife of current senator Alan Lowenthal, had already announced her intention to run for the seat, setting off a high-profile contest between two Assembly Democrats.[2] Lara swiftly lined up a number of endorsements, including from Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, the California Nurses Association and the California Latino Legislative Caucus, the last of which declared the race their number one target seat.[9][10] An opinion poll also showed Lara favored to win the seat, giving him a 6-point lead over Lowenthal.[11] Two weeks after Lara's entry into the race, Lowenthal dropped her bid for the Senate and announced that she would instead seek re-election to the Assembly.[12] When the filing deadline passed in March 2012, Lara was the only candidate to have filed, ensuring his election.[3]
Personal
Lara is openly gay.[13] He is one of eight openly LGBT members of the California Legislature, alongside Speaker John Pérez (D–Los Angeles), Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano (D–San Francisco), Rich Gordon (D–Menlo Park), Cathleen Galgiani (D–Livingston) and Toni Atkins (D–San Diego), as well as Senators Christine Kehoe (D–San Diego) and Mark Leno (D–San Francisco). His 2010 and 2012 campaigns won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
References
- ^ Assembly Member Ricardo Lara of California
- ^ a b "Assemblyman Ricardo Lara announces run for state Senate". Sacramento Bee. October 19, 2011. http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/10/assemblyman-ricardo-lara-announces-run-for-state-senate.html.
- ^ a b "Four candidates are unopposed in June 5 primary election". Los Angeles Wave. March 15, 2012. http://wavenewspapers.com/news/local/east_edition/article_3710e0aa-6ed1-11e1-a713-0019bb30f31a.html. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ "Ricardo Lara for CA’s 50th Assembly District". Sierra Club, Los Angeles chapter. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/political/lara.asp. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ a b Gene Maddaus (June 3, 2010). "The Chosen One". LA Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/2010-06-03/news/the-chosen-one/. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ David Zahniser (April 10, 2010). "Legislative aide Ricardo Lara accused of straddling communities". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/10/local/me-lara10. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ Matthew S. Bajko (June 10, 2010). "Seven gay California Assembly candidates win primary races". Bay Area Reporter. http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4834. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ NBC Nightly News, April 7, 2011
- ^ "Senate Race: Lara Receives Endorsements from Rep. Sanchez, Nurses Association, Victory Fund". Long Beach Post. October 26, 2011. http://www.lbpost.com/news/staffreports/12640.
- ^ "Latino Legislative Caucus endorses Lara for Senate". California Majority Report. November 1, 2011. http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&aid=4737&ptid=9.
- ^ "Senate Race: Lara Stands by 6-Point Lead in Poll, Lowenthal Focuses on Money Raised". Long Beach Post. October 26, 2011. http://www.lbpost.com/news/staffreports/12642.
- ^ "Bonnie Lowenthal chooses Assembly re-election run over Senate seat bid". Press-Telegram. November 4, 2011. http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19267337.
- ^ Matthew S. Bajko (June 3, 2010). "Five gay Dems vie for Assembly". Bay Area Reporter. http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4821. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
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