BizFed Connects with LA County Freshman Legislators

With this year's unprecedented turnover in LA County's state legislative delegation (13 Assembly and 2 Senate), BizFed held its first-ever special breakfast reception Feb. 22 for freshman state legislators to connect them with active business leaders from their districts and throughout the region.

The event drew more than 100 people, and legislators and business leaders had the opportunity to discuss legislative priorities and how to work together to strengthen communities throughout our region and to build a better California for the future.

•    Four freshman legislators attended (see their bios and information below).

•    The event was sponsored by  Union Bank, Mercury Air, Gateway to LA, VONS, the South Bay Association of Realtors, and included partners Westin LAX and PSAV Presentation Services.

More about the legislators who attended:

Assemblymember Richard Bloom, 50th District
New Member - Elected Nov. 2012
Committees:
•    Chair, Budget Sub-Committee on Resources and Transportation
•    Budget
•    Arts & Entertainment
•    Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
•    Higher Education

Assemblymember Richard Bloom was elected in November 2012 to represent California’s 50th Assembly District.  The district is comprised of Agoura Hills, Malibu, Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and parts of West Los Angeles and Hollywood.  

In the Assembly, Bloom plans to focus on good government and job creation, improving public school funding and outcomes, providing services for seniors and the disabled, ending homelessness, and protecting California’s environment, causes he has championed during his tenure as Mayor of Santa Monica.

First elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1999, Bloom just ended his third, non-consecutive, term as Mayor.  He has also served two terms as Mayor pro Tem during his 13 years on the City Council.

Bloom served as Chair of the 30-member Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission that is charged with facilitating and overseeing plans to restore the health of the 266 square mile Santa Monica Bay and its 400 square mile watershed.

He also served as Chair of the Westside Cities Council of Governments, a regional policy agency consisting of Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City and the City & County of Los Angeles. The agency coordinates policy and advocacy on issues of regional significance, particularly homelessness, social services, sustainability and public transportation.

In 2009, Bloom was appointed to the California Coastal Commission whose mission is to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human-based resources of the 1,100-mile California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations.

In the private sector, Bloom has nearly 30 years of experience practicing family law, and has also worked in the non-profit world assisting low-income clients and the homeless.  He has served as a volunteer Judge Pro Tem and mediator for the Los Angeles Superior Courts and on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section.

Born in Philadelphia, Bloom grew up in Altadena and West Los Angeles. He attended Fairfax High School, the University of California (Los Angeles and Berkeley) and Loyola School of Law. He holds a B.A. in Communication and Public Policy as well as a Juris Doctor degree.

He is married to Robbie Black, a healthcare professional and administrator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Assemblymember Bloom has two young adult children, Zac and Emmett.

Assemblymember Chris Holden, 41st District
New Member - Elected Nov. 2012
Committees:
•    Appropriations
•    Legislative Ethics
•    Business, Professions and Consumer Protection
•    Labor and Employment
•    Transportation

Chris Holden is a longtime San Gabriel Valley Democratic leader who brings to Sacramento decades of experience in public service and business. He was elected to the State Assembly in November 2012 with an overwhelming 62% of the vote and was soon appointed Majority Whip. Throughout his years of public service he has been a champion in creating jobs, preserving vital services and strengthening the economic vitality of the San Gabriel Valley.

Assemblymember Holden represents the new 41st Assembly District that covers two counties and includes the communities of Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Monrovia, La Verne, San Dimas, Claremont, San Antonio Heights, Alta Loma and Upland.

In addition to being Majority Whip, Holden will also serve on the Appropriations Committee; Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee; Labor and Employment Committee. He also sits on the Transportation Committee where he will continue his efforts in promoting light rail to connect the Foothills region and Los Angeles.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Holden served nearly 24 years as a Pasadena City Councilmember and Mayor. He was the youngest City Councilmember at age 28 and only the second African American to serve as Mayor.

Holden has been a vigorous advocate for job creation, economic vitality and expanding light rail in the San Gabriel Valley. While on the city council, he fought for the city's first living wage ordinance, which ensured that workers could earn decent pay and contribute to the economy. He also managed deregulation of the city's public utility in a way that preserved jobs while keeping rates lower than in the private marketplace.

In addition to his accomplishments as a city councilmember, Chris served as a Commissioner and President of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority and on the Pasadena Light Rail Alignment Task Force. He owns CHMB Consulting, a real estate firm. Assemblymember Holden lives in Pasadena with his wife, Melanie, and his four children: Nicholas, Alexander, Austin, Mariah and Noah.
 

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, 66th District
New Member - Elected Nov. 2012
Committees:
•    Chair, Veterans Affairs
•    Budget
•    Natural Resources
•    Judiciary

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi served as a prosecutor and a school board member before he was elected in November of 2012 to represent California's 66th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, the Los Angeles communities of Harbor City and Harbor Gateway, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance and the unincorporated communities of El Camino Village and West Carson.

Muratsuchi served as a prosecutor and Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice for over eleven years. Prior to joining the Department of Justice in 2001, he was a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the Santa Ana City Attorney's Office. As a prosecutor, Muratsuchi has put gang members, sex offenders, and drug dealers behind bars, as well as cracked down on rogue doctors and other health care providers.

Muratsuchi also served as a Torrance Unified School Board member for over seven years. His fiscally responsible leadership on the school board helped the district consistently deliver balanced budgets and a healthy rainy day reserve fund despite huge state budget cuts. At the same time, Muratsuchi helped maintain Torrance's reputation as a high-achieving school district, with test scores rising every year during his seven years on the school board. As School Board President, Muratsuchi played a key role in initiating the largest school repair and modernization program in the district's history.

Regionally, Muratsuchi has been an active volunteer in the South Bay and Los Angeles area for many years. He has served as Chairman of the Torrance Planning Commission and a member of the Torrance Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission. He has also served as President of the Torrance Sister City Association, President of South Bay JACL, and on the board of directors of the Southern California Regional Occupation Center, Little Tokyo Service Center, and the League of Women Voters of Torrance.

Assemblymember Muratsuchi lives in Torrance with his wife and daughter. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the UCLA School of Law, and an alumnus of the Coro Foundation Public Affairs Fellows Program.
 
Assemblymember Scott Wilk, 38th District
Committees:
•    Vice Chair, Rules
•    Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media
•    Business, Professions and Consumer Protection
•    Health
•    Higher Education

California State Assembly Republican Member Scott Wilk represents the 38th Assembly District which encompasses Simi Valley, the northern section of the San Fernando Valley, Val Verde, Castaic, Agua Dulce and most of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Recognized for his strong leadership abilities, Scott has been appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly to be the Vice-Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee which has jurisdiction over the business of the Legislature.

Scott earned a B.A. degree in Political Science from California State University, Bakersfield and his career has spanned both the private and public sector. He served as Chief of Staff for California Assembly Members Tom McClintock and Paula Boland, as well as District Director for Representative Howard P. “Buck” McKeon. While working for Assemblyman McClintock and Assemblywoman Boland, Scott was the architect of successful legislation on a variety of important issues.

Balancing public service with private enterprise, Scott managed the California New Car Dealers Association and was the Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for an assisted living company. In the 1980’s, he and his wife, Vanessa, owned a vending company. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Scott owned a public affairs firm where his work greatly enhanced the quality of life in the community.

The Signal Newspaper has honored Scott multiple times as one of “The 51 Most Influential People in the Santa Clarita Valley” and the SCV Press Club honored him with the 2006 Newsmaker of the Year “Behind the Scenes” award.

Upon his election to the Assembly, Scott resigned from the Santa Clarita Community College Board of Trustees where he was serving his second term.  Scott recently completed a four-year term on the Board of Directors of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation and he served on the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Committee. He is a member of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce and a past member of the Granada Hills Rotary Club.

Scott and Vanessa reside in Santa Clarita and have been married for 27 years. They have two adult children, Scott, Jr. and Alison Grace.