Patty López

Patty López
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 39th district
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded by Raul Bocanegra
Succeeded by Raul Bocanegra
Personal details
Born January 19, 19--
Michoácan, Mexico
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Juan
Residence San Fernando, California
Occupation Politician
Religion Catholic

Patty López is an American politician elected to the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat elected to represent the 39th district, encompassing parts of the San Fernando Valley. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, she was a community representative for the North Valley Occupational Center-Aviation Center.

Personal life

She arrived in the United States at the age of 12 from Michoacan, Mexico, speaking no English.[1] Her parents did not enroll her in public school.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] Her experience of having to seek out education as an adult instilled a lifelong interest in public education for her.[1][2] 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.[3]

Career

2014 California State Assembly

In 2014, she ran for office for the first time and was elected to the California State Assembly, defeating the incumbent. 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.[4] She was subjected to an over year long investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.[5] The Commission ultimately exonerated her of all serious charges although they found some minor infractions in record-keeping and she was fined accordingly.[6] 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.[5]

Since joining the Assembly, Patty Lopez 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.[7] She also authored legislation to require an independent film maker to sit as a boardmember on California's Filming Commission.[8] In 2016, she was honored by the National Women's Political Caucus as the recipient of their annual Leadership award.[9] She was also given the annual Green Leadership Award in 2016. She notably authored a bill to make prosecutorial misconduct a felony offense.[10][11] Although she was accused of being a secret Republican, Patty Lopez 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 transgendered individuals.

Patty Lopez has also been known to occasionally give remarks on the State Assembly floor in Spanish, which is her first language.[12] She was one of five Democrats in the State Assembly to vote against the mandatory vaccination bill, SB 277.[13] 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.[14]

California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2014
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 candidacy

She is running for reelection in 2016 and was successful in once again making the top two runoff in June 2016.[15]

In her reelection effort, she has the endorsement of the California League of Conservation Voters,[16] SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, the California Teachers Association,[17] SEIU State Service Employees Council, SEIU Local 2015,[18] SEIU Local 99,[19] United Teachers of Los Angeles, the California Nurses Association,[20] Consumer Attorneys of California,[21] the Sierra Club,[22] the National Women's Political Caucus,[23] 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.[24]

California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2016
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
Democratic Patty López (incumbent)
Total votes ' '
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mayol, Taylor. "The Underdog Mexican Mom in Office".
  2. ↑ "Adult education is top priority for Asm. Patty López".
  3. ↑ Aron, Hillel (15 June 2015). "What Happens When a Random Citizen Becomes a California Legislator?".
  4. ↑ Times, Los Angeles. "A political novice who scored big upset finds herself on the defensive".
  5. 1 2 "Patty López, Stanislaus County Republican Party hit with FPPC fines".
  6. ↑ http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/documents/Stipulations/2016/March/06%20Patricia%20Lopez%20-%20Campaign%20Reporting-%20Mar-2016%20-%20Fine$7500.pdf
  7. ↑ Times, Los Angeles. "Laundry liberation: California becomes a 'right to dry' state".
  8. ↑ "Assemblywoman Patty López's Film Commission Bill Becomes Law - Assemblymember Patty Lopez Representing the 39th California Assembly District".
  9. ↑ "Assemblywoman Patty López - Timeline - Facebook".
  10. ↑ SAAVEDRA, TONY. "Prosecutors face felonies if they cheat".
  11. ↑ Reporter, Matt Ferner National; Post, The Huffington (1 October 2016). "Cheating California Prosecutors Face Prison Under New Law".
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yom7EA_xEho&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop
  13. ↑ David Meiners (25 June 2015). "CA SB277 - Asm Lopez (D) in Opposition - June 25 2015" – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ AssemblyAccess (4 April 2016). "López Praises Passage of Landmark Minimum Wage Law" – via YouTube.
  15. ↑ Hatfield, Paul. "Patty 'Rocky' Lopez Advances, Stern Surprises … Leaving Some Question about the Value of Endorsements".
  16. ↑ "Endorsements - California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV)".
  17. ↑ "CTA Recommends".
  18. ↑ Roth, Mike; 916.444.7170. "SEIU California Announces Legislative Endorsements for 2016 Primary".
  19. ↑ 99, SEIU Local. "SEIU endorsements for the June 2016 primary elections".
  20. ↑ "California Endorsements - National Nurses United".
  21. ↑ "CAOC 2016 Election HQ".
  22. ↑ "2016 Endorsements". 11 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "National Women's Political Caucus Metro Los Angeles - Timeline - Facebook".
  24. ↑ "Patty Lopez in Assembly District 39: Endorsement".

External links

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