Patty López
Patty López (born January 15, 1968) is a Mexican-American politician and former member of the California State Assembly, representing the 39th district, encompassing parts of the San Fernando Valley.[1][2] She is a Democrat. Prior to being elected to the Assembly, she was a community representative for the North Valley Occupational Center-Aviation Center. After serving in the Assembly, she ran for a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, but did not make the run-off election.[3]
Patty López | |
|---|---|
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 39th district | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Raul Bocanegra |
| Succeeded by | Raul Bocanegra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1968 Michoacán, Mexico |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Juan (m. 1986) |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | San Fernando, California |
| Occupation | Politician |
Personal life edit
She arrived in the United States at the age of 12 from Michoacán, Mexico, speaking no English.[2] Her parents did not enroll her in public school.[2] Ultimately, she taught herself how to read and write in English and re-enrolled in adult night school at the age of 18 in order to earn her high school diploma.[2] Having worked since the age of 14, she held various jobs as a housekeeper, children's nanny, fast food worker, factory worker, and educational advocate.[2] Her experience of having to seek out education as an adult instilled a lifelong interest in public education for her.[2][4] She helped found the Padres Activos of the San Fernando Valley, an organization dedicated to helping immigrant parents secure their children's academic rights in public school.[5]
Career edit
2014 California State Assembly edit
In 2014, she ran for office for the first time and was elected to the California State Assembly, narrowly defeating the incumbent in an upset. She was immediately accused of numerous serious campaign finance violations by her opponents, including money laundering, purposefully hiding donors, and secretly arranging independent expenditures to benefit her.[6] She was subjected to an over year long investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.[7] The Commission ultimately exonerated her of all serious charges although they found some minor infractions in record-keeping and she was fined accordingly.[8] Her most serious campaign finance law violation was her failure to properly deposit approximately $800 in campaign funds raised from selling homemade pupusas and tamales on the side of a freeway off-ramp into her campaign bank account first before spending it on campaign t-shirts for her volunteers.[7]
Since joining the Assembly, Patty López has authored several pieces of legislation that have been successfully enacted into law. Her most important piece of legislation was the Right to Dry bill, which prohibits apartment complexes and multiple family residential dwellings from banning individuals who wish to dry their clothing on a clothes line.[9] She also authored legislation to require an independent film maker to sit as a board member on California's Filming Commission.[10] In 2016, she was honored by the National Women's Political Caucus as the recipient of their annual Leadership award.[11] She was also given the annual Green Leadership Award in 2016. She notably authored a bill to make prosecutorial misconduct a felony offense.[12][13] Although she was accused of being a secret Republican, Patty López earned a perfect score from the Courage Campaign in their review of her 2015 voting record. She also has led activist rallies in her community in defense of the rights of undocumented immigrants and the rights of transgender individuals.
Patty López has also been known to occasionally give remarks on the State Assembly floor in Spanish, which is her first language.[14] She was one of five Democrats in the State Assembly to vote against the mandatory vaccination bill, SB 277.[15] Additionally, she was a strong proponent of the minimum wage increase to $15 an hour in California, reflecting on the Assembly floor about her own experience as a minimum wage earner.[16]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Raul Bocanegra (incumbent) | 13,069 | 62.5 | |
| Democratic | Patty Lopez | 4,940 | 23.6 | |
| Democratic | Kevin J. Suscavage | 2,876 | 13.7 | |
| Republican | Michael B. Boyd (write-in) | 36 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 20,921 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Patty Lopez | 22,750 | 50.5 | |
| Democratic | Raul Bocanegra (incumbent) | 22,284 | 49.5 | |
| Total votes | 45,034 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2016 California State Assembly edit
She ran for reelection in 2016 and was successful in once again making the top two runoff in June 2016.[17]
López had the endorsement of the California League of Conservation Voters,[18] SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, the California Teachers Association,[19] SEIU State Service Employees Council, SEIU Local 2015,[20] SEIU Local 99,[21] United Teachers of Los Angeles, the California Nurses Association,[22] Consumer Attorneys of California,[23] the Sierra Club,[24] the National Women's Political Caucus,[25] Democrats for Israel, the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, the Chicano Latino Immigrant Democratic Club of Los Angeles, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, the California Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus, and the California Legislative Latino Caucus. She also earned the endorsement of the Los Angeles Daily News.[26]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Raul Bocanegra | 30,119 | 44.4 | |
| Democratic | Patty López (incumbent) | 18,472 | 27.2 | |
| Democratic | Joel Fajardo | 6,831 | 10.1 | |
| Democratic | Joanne Fernandez | 4,538 | 6.7 | |
| Democratic | Mina Creswell | 4,418 | 6.5 | |
| Democratic | Kevin James Suscavage | 3,489 | 5.1 | |
| Total votes | 67,867 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Raul Bocanegra | 74,834 | 60.1 | |
| Democratic | Patty López (incumbent) | 49,649 | 39.9 | |
| Total votes | 124,483 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2017 Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education edit
A week after losing her Assembly seat, the Los Angeles Times reported that López had filed papers to run for an open seat representing Los Angeles Unified School District 6 after incumbent Mónica Ratliff vacated the seat to run for Los Angeles City Council District 7.[27] While López did not report any campaign financing or expenditures, relying on donated signs and volunteers,[28] the California Charter School Association Advocates Independent Expenditure Committee reported spending $89,255.57 in mailings opposing her candidacy, claiming that during her Assembly tenure she voted "with conservatives in Sacramento."[29] López lost the election by finishing in third place behind Kelly Gonez and Imelda Padilla.[3]
References edit
- ^ Rosenhall, Laurel (2015-10-28). "An outsider in an insider game". CalMatters. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
- ^ a b c d e f Mayol, Taylor (2016-04-29). . OZY. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09.
- ^ a b Gazzar, Brenda (2017-03-07). "LA Election Results: Gonez, Padilla leading in LAUSD's District 6 race". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ^ "Adult education is top priority for Asm. Patty López".
- ^ Aron, Hillel (15 June 2015). . LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14.
- ^ "A political novice who scored big upset finds herself on the defensive". Los Angeles Times. 14 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Patty López, Stanislaus County Republican Party hit with FPPC fines".
- ^ http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/documents/Stipulations/2016/March/06%20Patricia%20Lopez%20-%20Campaign%20Reporting-%20Mar-2016%20-%20Fine$7500.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15.
- ^ "Assemblywoman Patty López's Film Commission Bill Becomes Law - Assemblymember Patty Lopez Representing the 39th California Assembly District".
- ^ "Assemblywoman Patty López - Timeline - Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ Saavedra, Tony (2 October 2016). "Prosecutors face felonies if they cheat".
- ^ Ferner, Matt (1 October 2016). "Cheating California Prosecutors Face Prison Under New Law". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "La Asembleísta Lopez Habla de la Importancia de la Comisión Costera". 2 September 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ Meiners, David (25 June 2015). "CA SB277 - Asm Lopez (D) in Opposition - June 25 2015" – via YouTube.
- ^ "López Praises Passage of Landmark Minimum Wage Law". 4 April 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ Hatfield, Paul. "Patty 'Rocky' Lopez Advances, Stern Surprises … Leaving Some Question about the Value of Endorsements".
- ^ "Endorsements - California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV)".
- ^ "CTA Recommends".
- ^ Roth, Mike. "SEIU California Announces Legislative Endorsements for 2016 Primary".
- ^ "SEIU endorsements for the June 2016 primary elections".
- ^ "California Endorsements - National Nurses United". 22 March 2018.
- ^ "CAOC 2016 Election HQ".
- ^ "2016 Endorsements". 11 May 2015.
- ^ "National Women's Political Caucus Metro Los Angeles - Timeline - Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ "Patty Lopez in Assembly District 39: Endorsement". Los Angeles Daily News. 20 May 2016.
- ^ Mai-Duc, Christine (2016-11-18). "Essential Politics November archives". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
- ^ Stokes, Kyle (2017-03-06). "How to campaign in a wide-open, low-turnout LAUSD board race". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
- ^ "Los Angeles City Ethics Commission - Search Independent Expenditures & Communications". ethics.lacity.org. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
External links edit
- (Archived)
- Join California - Patty Lopez