Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assembly Member Ricardo Lara
7:50am | Saying he has emerged as one of California’s new leaders, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his support of Assembly Member Ricardo Lara for the newly drawn 33rd State Senate district.
“Ricardo has been a tireless champion for our local communities throughout his career in public service,” said Mayor Villaraigosa, who first worked with Ricardo when he served as Speaker of the Assembly from 1998 to 2000. “Over the years, we’ve worked together to help create jobs and open the doors of opportunity for all Californians. He’s emerged as one of our top new leaders on job creation and I look forward to working with Ricardo to continue our progress.”
Villaraigosa cited Ricardo’s success in getting 11 out of 12 of his bills signed into law by the Governor this year. These measures will expand access to education, protect consumers, boost government transparency and protect taxpayers through fair tax policies.
Ricardo was a leading member of an ad hoc group in the Assembly that worked to address the environmental and traffic concerns associated with the building of a new stadium in Los Angeles. The 78,000 seat stadium is projected to bring more than $1.3 billion dollars in private sector investments along with generating more than $600 million in total economic activity in the region, raising more than $40 million in city, county and state tax revenues.
Ricardo currently represents the 50th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood and South Gate along with portions of Downey, Walnut Park and Florence-Graham. In the State Assembly, Ricardo serves as Chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the Select Committee on Financial Empowerment and serves as a member of the Appropriations, Higher Education, Banking and Finance, and Water, Parks and Wildlife committees.
The newly drawn 33rd Senate District includes the cities of Vernon, Huntington Park, Maywood, Bell, Cudahy, Bell Gardens, South Gate, Lynwood, Paramount and Signal Hill along with portions of Lakewood, Long Beach and the unincorporated communities of Walnut Park and Florence-Graham.