The California State Assembly is half of the state’s Legislative Branch, which holds the lawmaking powers of the state. The State Assembly is also known as the Lower House of the California State Legislature (the Upper House being the Senate) and consists of 80 members that serve two-year terms. The primary elections for this office will take place on June 3 and the general elections will be held later this year on November 4. Here is a brief look at the candidates that are running for seats in nearby districts:
District 53
• Michael Aldapa (Democrat) – a former fitness instructor for the Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA and served in the United States Army working as a member of the U.S. Army Military Police Corps.
• Sandra Mendoza (Democrat) – serves as a current board member of the Monsignor Romero School in Pico Union, the Youth Policy Institute Schools, and the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners
• Miguel Santiago (Democrat) – was previously appointed to the Los Angeles Community College Board and currently serves as district director for Assembly Speaker Perez
• Michelle “Hope” Walker (Democrat) – a current speaker, evangelist, and comedian
District 54
• Sebastian Ridley Thomas (Democrat) – previously served as public policy director for State Senator Curren Price and legislative consultant to the Senate Select Committee on Procurement
• Glen Ratcliff (Republican) – current small business owner; CEO and founder of Event Staffing Professionals, Inc.
District 59
• Reggie Jones – Sawyer (Democrat) – served as the director of Asset Management for the City of Los Angeles, and served as chair of the Los Angeles County Small Business Commission
District 62
• Autumn Burke(Democrat) – currently serves as a committee member on Count Me In for Women and board member of the Yvonne Burke Education Foundation
• Simona A. Farrise (Democrat) – an attorney, small business owner, philanthropist, and community activist who is a board member of the Equal Rights Advocates and board chair of Park Day School
• Gloria Gray (Democrat) – West Basin Municipal Water Board district member and former Inglewood school trustee who also sat on the LAX advisory committee. Gray also served as president and vice president of the Inglewood Unified School District Board of Education and has a 36-year history with the Los Angeles County Department of Health and Human Services.
•Paul Kouri (Democrat) – an United States Army veteran, former public high school teacher, and businessman in the aerospace/defense sector
• Adam M. Plimpton (Democrat) – creator of the outreach group known as SoCal Initiative (SCI), which has helped Southern California communities with trash pickups and community beautification
• Mike Stevens – previously served on the Inglewood City Council and currently serves on the board of the Inglewood Redevelopment Successor Agency
•Ted J. Grose (Republican) – previously served as California Association of Mortgage Brokers president and board member of National Association of Mortgage Brokers
•Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik (Independent) – currently serves as male co-chair of the Socialist Party USA and state chair of the Socialist Party USA in California
District 64
• Micah Ali (Democrat) – current president of the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees and recognized as the regional leader in education
• Mike Gipson (Democrat) – currently serves as the district director to Chairman Jerome E. Horton and is chairman of the Board of Directors for Positive Imagery Foundation, Inc.
• Steve Neal (Democrat) – has previous experience on the Long Beach City Council and sits on the Board of Southern California Association of Governments
•Prophet La’omar Walker (Democrat) – a community leader and activist, he co-founded the “Watts United Weekend” and serves on the Board of Directors of InsideOUT Writers
