Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Sydney Kai Kamlager-Dove (/ˌkæmlɑːɡər-ˈdʌv/ KAM-lah-gər-DUV; born July 20, 1972) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 37th congressional district since 2023. A Democrat, she previously served in the California State Senate, representing the 30th district. She has also served in the California State Assembly and as a trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.

Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Karen Bass
Member of the California Senate from the 30th district
In office March 11, 2021 – December 4, 2022
Preceded by	Holly Mitchell
Succeeded by	Bob Archuleta (redistricting)
Member of the California State Assembly from the 54th district
In office April 16, 2018 – March 11, 2021
Preceded by	Sebastian Ridley-Thomas
Succeeded by	Isaac Bryan
Personal details
Born	Sydney Kai Kamlager (1972-07-20) July 20, 1972 (age 51) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Austin Dove ​ (m. 2006)​
Relatives	Kerry James Marshall (stepfather)
Education	Compton College University of Southern California (BA) Carnegie Mellon University (MA)
Website	House website
Sydney Kamlager-Dove's voice Sydney Kamlager-Dove questions witnesses on the refugee application process following the Fall of Kabul Recorded March 8, 2023

Early life and education

Sydney Kamlager-Dove was born in Chicago, Illinois.^[1] She attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.^[2] She is a member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.^[3] She received her Master's in arts management from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University.^[3] Her mother is actress Cheryl Lynn Bruce and her stepfather is artist Kerry James Marshall.^[4][5]

Career

In 1996, Kamlager-Dove was the spokesperson for the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice, California.^[6] A year later, she was the organization's public art director during the restoration of the Venice graffiti pit.^[7][8] After leaving SPARC, Kamlager-Dove worked as an assistant to actor Delroy Lindo.^[9] She later worked as a public affairs director for the nonprofit child care corporation Crystal Stairs, headed at the time by Holly Mitchell.^[10]

In 2010, Kamlager-Dove worked on the campaign to elect Mitchell to the California State Assembly, becoming district director after Mitchell's victory.^[11][12] In 2015, she ran for Seat 3 of the board of trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District.^[13] She won with more than 52% of the vote among four candidates on March 3, 2015.^[14] Kamlager-Dove has sat on the board of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.^[15]

California State Assembly (2018–2021)

After Sebastian Ridley-Thomas announced his resignation from the State Assembly on December 27, 2017, Kamlager entered the race to serve the remainder of his term. She won the April 3, 2018, special election to represent California's 54th State Assembly district.^[16]

Kamlager was an advocate for racial equity, access and social justice in the California State Assembly. She was vocal about restoring voting rights to parolees, strengthening standards for police use of force, and stopping the NCAA from preventing student athletes from receiving payment in connection with the use of the student athlete's name, image or likeness.^{[17][18][19][20]} In 2019, she co-authored SB 188, the CROWN Act, which prohibits employers from enforcing policies surrounding "race-neutral" grooming or discriminating against people wearing natural or protective hairstyles.^[21]

During her tenure in the Assembly, Kamlager-Dove sat on the following standing committees: Public Safety, Arts and Entertainment, Communications and Conveyance, Insurance and the powerful Rules committee.^[22] She chaired the Select Committee on Incarcerated Women and led the legislature's Los Angeles County Delegation.^[23] In 2020, Kamlager-Dove was appointed by the Speaker of the California State Assembly to serve on the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code.

Legislation

Fiscal issues

Kamlager-Dove sponsored AB 987, legislation to build a new arena for the Los Angeles Clippers. The bill was signed into law.^[24]

Social issues

Kamlager-Dove sponsored two bills, AB 241 and AB 242, to mandate the incorporation of implicit bias training into continued education for healthcare professionals, lawyers, and judges.^[25] The bills were intended to reduce disparities in health care and the judicial system in California.

Kamlager-Dove sponsored California's first hunting ban in decades with AB 1254, which ends the trophy hunting of bobcats, except under specified circumstances, until January 1, 2025.^[26]

California State Senate (2021–2023)

On November 10, 2020, Kamlager-Dove announced her candidacy for the California State Senate to succeed Holly Mitchell, who was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.^[27] On March 2, 2021, Kamlager-Dove was elected to the California State Senate with 67.67% of the vote.^[28][29]

U.S. House of Representatives

2022 election

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 37

In November 2022, Kamlager-Dove was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 37th district, replacing Karen Bass, who successfully ran for mayor of Los Angeles.

Tenure

Kamlager-Dove was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.^[30]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[31]

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on Federal Lands

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Progressive Caucus^[32]
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment (vice-chair)^[33]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Year	Office	Party		Primary			General			Result	Swing		Ref.
				Total	%	P.	Total	%	P.
2018	State Assembly		Democratic	22,605	68.96%	1st	Does not appear			Won		Hold	^[34]^[a]
			Democratic	41,838	55.53%	1st	95,643	62.35%	1st	Won		Hold	^[35]
2020			Democratic	64,620	56.68%	1st	119,818	64.17%	1st	Won		Hold	^[36]
2021	State Senate		Democratic	48,483	68.70%	1st	Does not appear			Won		Hold	^[37]^[a]
2022	U.S. House		Democratic	42,628	43.72%	1st	84,338	63.95%	1st	Won		Hold	^[38]
Source: Secretary of State of California | Statewide Election Results

See also

• List of African-American United States representatives
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Notes

1. One candidate received a majority (over 50%) of the votes cast in the primary; therefore, no special general election was held.

References

1. Moore, Raquel. . No Strings Attached E-News. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
2. "Sydney Kamlager". Smartvoter.org. March 3, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
3. "Sydney Kamlager: About". Sydney Kamlager. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
4. "Cheryl Lynn Bruce and Kerry James Marshall Public Humanities Award, 2019". YouTube. June 6, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
5. "MOCA Exhibit Highlights Kerry James Marshall's Compelling Art". April 12, 2017.
6. "Nonprofit Agency Selected for Program on Self-Sufficiency". Los Angeles Times. October 22, 1996.
7. "Artists Put Color Back in Whitewashed Graffiti Pit". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 1997.
8. "Plans for Graffiti Pit Restoration to Be Discussed". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 1997.
9. "Full credits, Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) - Touchstone Pictures' and Spyglass Entertainment's". tripod.com.
10. "For Blacks who battle domestic violence, Rihanna case is no surp". Neighborhoodlink.com. March 2, 2009.
11. Editorial Board (November 5, 2018). "Editorial: Sydney Kamlager-Dove for state Assembly". Daily Bruin. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
12. The Times Editorial Board (February 3, 2015). "L.A. Times Endorsements for L.A. Community College District trustees - LA Times". Los Angeles Times.
13. "Kamlager Announces Community College District Candidacy - Culver City Crossroads". culvercitycrossroads.com.
14. Noonan, Ari (March 4, 2015). "Kamlager and Marqueece Score Clear Victories". The Front Page Online. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
15. "Joint Release: Reproductive Freedom Advocates Sound Alarm on Extremist Recall Attempt". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
16. Myers, John (April 17, 2018). "Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
17. "Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove Co-Authors Legislation to Restore the Right to Vote to People on Parole | Official Website - Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager Representing the 54th California Assembly District". A54.asmdc.org. February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
18. Angeles, Los (April 9, 2019). "CA Lawmakers Advance First-in-Nation Measure Restricting Use of Deadly Force by Police". KTLA. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
19. "Longtime NCAA reform advocate seeing promise and hope amid 'fair pay to play' push". Los Angeles Times. September 25, 2019.
20. "Bill Text - SB-188 Discrimination: hairstyles". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
21. "Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) seeks to end discrimination against hairstyles | Official Website - Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager Representing the 54th California Assembly District". A54.asmdc.org. June 27, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
22. "Committees | Official Website - Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager Representing the 54th California Assembly District". A54.asmdc.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
23. "Incarcerated Women: The New Face of California Inmates | Official Website - Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager Representing the 54th California Assembly District". A54.asmdc.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
24. "Governor Jerry Brown Signs AB 987". Sydney Kamlager (Press release). California State Assembly Democratic Caucus.
25. "Governor Newsom signs Assembly Bills 241 and 242 to address implicit bias in healthcare and the courts | Official Website - Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager Representing the 54th California Assembly District". A54.asmdc.org. October 2, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
26. "Breaking news: California leads the nation by banning fur sales, bobcat trophy hunting · A Humane World". Blog.humanesociety.org. October 12, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
27. Daniela Pardo (November 10, 2020). "Sydney Kamlager to Run for Holly Mitchell's Seat in CA State Senate". Spectrum News 1.
28. "Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager Easily Avoids Runoff in Race to Fill State Senate Seat". March 2, 2021.
29. [1]^{[dead link]}
30. Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
31. "Sydney Kamlager-Dove". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
32. "Progressive Caucus". Progressive Caucus. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
33. "Coalition of multiracial congresswomen launch ERA caucus to ratify 28th Amendment - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
34. "Statement of Vote: April 3, 2018, Special Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
35. Primary election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: June 5, 2018, Primary Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2018. p. 26. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
    General election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: November 6, 2018, General Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
36. Primary election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: March 3, 2020, Primary Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2020. p. 23. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
    General election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: November 3, 2020, General Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2020. p. 13. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
37. "Statement of Vote: March 2, 2021, Special Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
38. Primary election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: June 7, 2022, Primary Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2022. p. 20. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
    General election:
    
    • "Statement of Vote: November 8, 2022, General Election" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Sacramento: Secretary of State of California. 2022. p. 7. Retrieved April 14, 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney Kamlager.

• Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove official U.S. House website
• Sydney Kamlager for Congress campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

California Assembly
Preceded by Sebastian Ridley-Thomas	Member of the California State Assembly from the 54th district 2018–2021	Succeeded by Isaac Bryan
California Senate
Preceded by Holly Mitchell	Member of the California State Senate from the 30th district 2021–2023	Succeeded by Bob Archuleta
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Karen Bass	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th congressional district 2023–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by John James	United States representatives by seniority 391st	Succeeded by Thomas Kean Jr.