Laura Richardson
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| Laura Richardson | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office September 4, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Juanita Millender-McDonald |
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| Born | April 14, 1962 Los Angeles, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | divorced |
| Residence | Long Beach, California |
| Religion | Methodist |
Laura Richardson (born April 14, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is a Democratic Representative in the United States Congress. She represented California's 55th Assembly District for the 2007 term until she was elected to the House of Representatives for California's 37th congressional district in a special election on August 21 to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Juanita Millender-McDonald. The district encompasses the inland section of Long Beach, Carson, Compton and Signal Hill, as well as parts of other municipalities.
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[edit] Background
Richardson was raised by a single mother who belonged to the Teamsters labor union.[1] Her father was African American, while her mother was Caucasian. Richardson has said that racism against their mixed-race family was "what got me since the age of about six of wanting to be a public servant."[2]
Richardson graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984. In 1987, she joined Xerox Corporation where she worked for 14 years. In 1996, Laura received her MBA from the University of Southern California. She often credits her studies in China at Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai as significantly expanding her educational experience.
[edit] Long Beach City Council
Richardson served on the Long Beach City Council from 2000 to 2006. In 2004, Richardson won a second term outright on the first ballot. As a councilwoman, she made statements that her priorities included neighborhood improvement, public safety, attracting jobs and businesses to the cities’ central corridors, job training programs for adults, after-school programs for youth and expanding senior programs.
Richardson established the Sixth District Master Plan, a strategic guideline for development in the area. Other significant accomplishments during her council tenure include securing the first funding for alley maintenance by the city of Long Beach, initiating the planning process for a Senior Transportation Program in the Central Area of Long Beach and creating a forum for South Wrigley residents and businesses.
While serving on the city council, Richardson joined the staff of Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and served as his Southern California director for five years.
[edit] California Assembly
Richardson served as the assistant speaker pro tempore in the Assembly. Richardson was the first African-American and South Bay representative to achieve this position. Additionally, Richardson was appointed to serve on the Budget, Human Services, Utilities & Commerce, Government Organization, and Joint Legislative Budget committees. She was chair of the Select Committee on Proposition 209-Equal Opportunity.
[edit] Election to Congress
Richardson defeated State Senator Jenny Oropeza and 9 other Democrats in the June 26 primary election to win her party's nomination. On August 21, Richardson won more than 65% of the vote in a four-way race against the nominees of the Republican Party, Green Party, and Libertarian Party. Possible Democratic candidates for her Assembly seat include Warren Furutani, whom she defeated in the 2006 State Assembly primary; Long Beach City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, the daughter in law of California State Senator Alan Lowenthal; Mike Gipson, Carson City councilman; and Jim Dear, mayor of Carson.
[edit] Real estate controversies
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Richardson purchased a home in Sacramento with no money down[3] and a subprime mortgage. Washington Mutual alleged that she later walked away from her Sacramento home and the mortgage within two years of receiving the $578,000 mortgage and stopped making payments on the home and the mortgage. Washington Mutual foreclosed on the house and the final amount owed by Richardson was $578,000 which was $40,000 more than the home was worth.[4] According to county records, Richardson received a default notice and Notice of Trustee's Sale in late 2007. In December 2007, Richardson was behind in payments by more than $18,000.[5] According to the couple that sold the home to Richardson, Richardson was not maintaining the home. Sharon Helmar has stated: "The neighbors are extremely unhappy with her. She didn't mow the lawn or take out the garbage while she was there. We lived there for a long time, 30 years, and we had to hide our heads whenever we came back to the neighborhood."[6]
The real estate broker who bought Rep. Laura Richardson's Sacramento house at a foreclosure sale last month is accusing her of receiving preferential treatment because her lender has issued a notice to rescind the sale. James York, owner of Red Rock Mortgage, said he would file a lawsuit against Richardson and her lender, Washington Mutual, by the end of the week, and has every intention of keeping the house. York bought the Sacramento home at a foreclosure auction on May 7 for $388,000. Richardson had not been making payments on the property for nearly a year, and had also gone into default on her two other houses in Long Beach and San Pedro. Richardson, D-Long Beach, has said that the auction should never have been held, because she had worked out a loan modification agreement with her lender beforehand and had begun making payments.[7]
According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Richardson had also defaulted on payments for her primary home in Long Beach and an additional property she owns in San Pedro. Although she has worked out an agreement with her lender for the Long Beach property, the San Pedro home is still in default and faces foreclosure.[8]
[edit] Support from labor unions
Richardson has the backing of several large unions, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, which provided significant volunteer support during the special primary election.
[edit] Political positions
- Iraq War
In 2003, Richardson said she believed the inspectors should be allowed to continue her work, and that she did not favor an invasion at that time. She was asked by anti-war groups to support a Long Beach City Council resolution declaring the city's opposition to the Iraq War. She did not support this resolution, but cosponsored a resolution declaring support for local members of the National Guard. She said she believed once hostilities began, it was important to support the troops. Her position today is that once Saddam Hussein was caught and executed, American troops should have come home. She supports a withdrawal plan beginning in six months, according to her mailers, which often contain pictures of President George W. Bush with a slash mark through his image, indicating her opposition to Bush's policies. She pledged to oppose any new spending for war in Iraq if elected to Congress.
- Same-sex marriage
Richardson has previously been critical of the gay lifestyle and those who promote it. More recently, she co-wrote the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in California.
- Prisons
Richardson supported AB 900 to create 40,000 more prison beds in California at the cost of $7.4 billion dollars.
- Environment
Richardson has faced some harsh scrutiny for not co-sponsoring Rep. Henry Waxman's global warming legislation. As a result, Greenpeace has mounted a public awareness campaign about her position.[9]
- Immigration
Richardson does not support building a border fence. She does support some path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants.
- 2008 presidential race
Laura Richardson has endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 election.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Laura Richardson official House site
- Laura Richardson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Laura Richardson profile
- Laura Richardson Political History
- On the Issues — Laura Richardson issue positions and quotes
- Public Swearing In Video September 2007
- California Assembly bio
- Long Beach Report with local discussions about Richardson
[edit] References
- ^ Mitchell, John L. "Racial issues take a back seat in 37th, 'Multiracial support has Laura Richardson poised to represent a largely Latino district. Her take: `We are a new America, very diverse.'" Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2007. Accessed July 16, 2007.
- ^ Kapochunas, Rachel. Early Brush With Racism Set Rep.-Elect Richardson on Political Path. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
- ^ Viles, Peter. "Report: California Congresswoman walked away from $578K mortgage", L.A. Land, Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. Richardson borrowed the $15,000 for the closing costs from the seller.
- ^ Viles, Peter. "Report: California Congresswoman walked away from $578K mortgage", L.A. Land, Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Capitol Weekly: The Newspaper of California State Government and Politics
- ^ York, Anthony. "Foreclosure tale shows that nobody is immune from crisis", Capitol Weekly, Capitol Weekly Group, May 20, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Maddaus, Gene. "WaMu giving Richardson a break?", Daily Breeze, Los Angeles Newspaper group, June 9, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ Maddaus, Gene. "Housing woes mount for Rep. Laura Richardson", Long Beach Post-Telegram, May 23, 2008.
- ^ Puente, Kelly. "Lukewarm response to Safe Climate Act", Long Beach Post-Telegram, December 8, 2007.
| Preceded by Juanita Millender-McDonald |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th congressional district August 21, 2007–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
