Laura Richardson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Richardson
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th district |
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| In office August 21, 2007 – January 3, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Juanita Millender-McDonald |
| Succeeded by | Janice Hahn (Redistricting) |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 55th district |
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| In office December 4, 2006 – September 4, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Jenny Oropeza |
| Succeeded by | Warren Furutani |
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| Born | April 14, 1962 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) University of Southern California (MBA) |
Laura Richardson (born April 14, 1962) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for CA's 37th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
She previously represented the 55th district in the California State Assembly 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, 2007, to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Juanita Millender-McDonald. She was reelected to represent that district in 2008 and 2010. Following the decennial reorganization of Congressional districts in 2012, most of Richardson's territory became the 44th District. She ran against fellow Democratic Congresswoman Janice Hahn in the 2012 Congressional elections cycle. On November 6, 2012, she was defeated in her bid for re-election by Representative Hahn by a landslide 20 percentage points.
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Background
Richardson was born in Los Angeles and lives in Long Beach. She was raised by a single mother after her parents divorced when she was two. Her father was a member of the Teamsters. Her father was black and her mother was white. 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."
Richardson was previously married to Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts. During the marriage, she took the name Laura Richardson-Batts. She graduated with a bachelor's 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, Richardson received her MBA from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.
Early political career
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.
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.
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.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Committee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies
- Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications (Ranking Member)
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Caucuses
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Associate Member)
Political positions
Iraq War
In 2003, Richardson said she believed weapons inspections in Iraq should have continued, and that she did not favor an invasion. 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. Once hostilities began, she stated that it was important to support the troops. She argued 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 former 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.
Same-sex marriage
She co-wrote AB 43, the bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 43 in 2007.
Prisons
Richardson supported AB 900 to create 40,000 more prison beds in California at the cost of $7.4 billion.
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.
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 endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, although her district voted for 54.2% to 43.5% in favor of Barack Obama.
FISA Amendments Act
Richardson voted in favor of a controversial update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on June 20, 2008. As part of the bill, telecommunications companies that have allegedly acted illegally in allowing the Bush Administration to spy on customers will be protected from prosecution. The administration's surveillance of U.S. citizens and residents is part of the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.
Political campaigns
Richardson defeated State Senator Jenny Oropeza and 9 other Democrats in the June 26 primary election to win her party's nomination, the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. 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. She easily won a full term in 2008, and was reelected in 2010, in both cases against only nominal Republican opposition
Redistricting for the 2012 elections significantly altered California's congressional map. Richardson had previously represented portions of inland Los Angeles and inland Long Beach, all of Carson, Compton and Signal Hill, as well as parts of other municipalities. However, her old district was split almost in half, with the bulk of her territory becoming the 44th District. While Richardson's home in Long Beach was drawn into the new 47th District, she moved her residence into the 44th district because its demographics were more similar to the old 37th; like the 44th, it is majority black and Latino. Fellow Democrat Janice Hahn, who had previously represented the neighboring 36th District, had her home drawn into the 44th as well. The California Democratic Party endorsed Hahn for the seat. In the all-party primary, Hahn defeated Richardson with 60 percent of the vote to Richardson's 39 percent—which was all the more remarkable since, on paper, the district's demographics were more favorable to Richardson.
On November 6, 2012, Hahn easily beat Richardson by 20 percentage points.
See also
- List of African-American United States representatives
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
