Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown represents the 47th District and has been in this position since late 2012. Prior to her being elected to the legislature, Brown served on the San Bernardino County and City Planning Commissions for 17 years. She takes initiatives on helping small businesses. Brown authored the first mining ordinance in San Bernardino County and directed the Auto Club Speedway through the environmental review process. She is also a member and former president of San Bernardino County’s NAACP. For 30 years she has also been a small business owner with her husband. They founded the Brown Publishing Company where they circulate the newspaper Black Voice News.
In 2005, Satra Zurita was elected to the Compton Unified School District Governing Board of Education. She is a native of Compton. Born and raised in the community, Zurita was a product of Compton. Educational equality, filling in academic achievement gaps and several other educational issues have been on her list of things to tackle in her position. She also serves as the Senior Administrative Analyst with the City of Compton’s Department of Public Works where she manages contracts of the City’s Renaissance Transit; Dial A Taxi; the Los Angeles County Animal Control; the City’s Graffiti Abatement Program; and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.
Aja Brown is the youngest mayor ever elected in the history of Compton. At the age of 31, Brown beat out 12 candidates in 2013 to receive the mayoral position in Compton. Her career started at the University of Southern California where she received her bachelors in public policy and masters in urban planning with a concentration in economic development. In 2006, she began working for the city of Inglewood as an urban planner and soon made her way to the cities of Pasadena and Compton. During her time as mayor, a decrease in Compton gang crimes dropped by 65 percent in 2014.
District Attorney Jackie Lacey has spent most of her career as a prosecutor, manager and executive in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Since 2012, she has been the 42nd District Attorney. Her known priorities for the city of Los Angeles are keeping the community safe from violent and dangerous crimes. Her many initiatives include human sex trafficking, seniors financial and physical well-being, and environmental issues that affect health and livelihood.
Autumn Burke (D) is a California State Assembly member representing the 62nd district. Her district is home to some of Los Angeles popular beaches, LAX and the Los Angeles Forum. Assemblywoman Burke is a Los Angeles native who started her career off as a realtor and businesswoman before she entered into politics. Her biggest initiatives consisted of green technology provision, health care, education and solid job formation for active seekers. Burke is a member of the Yvonne Burke Foundation, which provides scholarships for young people in Los Angeles County to attend colleges, universities and career training programs.
Senator Holly Mitchell has served in California’s Legislature since 2011 and was elected as the representative for the 30th Senate District in 2014. She has prided herself in focusing on reducing poverty and working with health and human services to help govern the people of her district. Prior to her work in the district, she was the field deputy in the Los Angeles district office of Senator Diane Watson. Mitchell founded the Senate Select Committee on Women and Inequality and is a member of the Black, Democratic and Women’s Caucuses.
U.S. House Representative Karen Bass represents California’s 37th congressional district since 2010. Prior to her House position, Bass represented the 47th district in the California State Assembly 2004 to 2010 and was the second woman, third African American speaker for the State Assembly from 2008 to 2010. Before her work as a politician, Bass received her bachelors in health sciences from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 1990. She first worked as a clinical instructor at the USC Keck School of Medicine physician assistant program before she moved on to the political world. In the start of her political career, Bass founded the Community Coalition, an organization in South Los Angeles geared towards the betterment of South L.A. residents.
U.S. Representative for the 43rd congressional district Maxine Waters has served three districts since 1991. She holds seniority over the 12 Black women currently serving in the United States Congress and is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Before her Congress days, Waters served in the California Assembly starting in 1976 to 1991. While in the assembly she worked for the divestment of state pension funds from businesses that were active in South Africa operating under the apartheid. She is also known for her support and work during the Rodney King trial when she helped bring national attention to the riots happening in South Los Angeles.
