Laura Richardson
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Laura Richardson (born April 14, 1962) is an American politician who has served as a member of the
California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...
from the 35th district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 2007 to 2013. She previously represented the 55th district in the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
for the 2007 term until she was elected to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
for in a
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
on August 21, 2007, to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of
Juanita Millender-McDonald Juanita Millender-McDonald (September 7, 1938 – April 22, 2007) was an Politics of the United States, American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 until her death in 2007, representing Califo ...
. 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 Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a U.S. Representative from California ...
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.


Background

Richardson was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and lives in
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. She was raised by a single mother after her parents divorced when she was two. Her father was a member of the
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...
. 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 A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
in 1984. In 1987, she joined
Xerox Corporation Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduction of the Xerox ...
, where she worked for 14 years. In 1996, Richardson received her
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
's
Marshall School of Business The USC Marshall School of Business is the business school of the University of Southern California. It is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In 1997 the school was renamed following a $35 million donation fr ...
.


Early political career

Richardson served on the
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
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 A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Cruz Bustamante Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He served as the 45th lieutenant governor of California from 1999 to 2007, under governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A member of the Democratic Party, Bustaman ...
and served as his Southern California director for five years.


California Assembly

Richardson served as the assistant speaker
pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...
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 Proposition 209 (also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative or CCRI) is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, Constitutional amendment, amended the state Constitution of California, constitution to prohi ...
-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 The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works ...
** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment


Caucuses

*
Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...
*
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a Caucuses of the United States Congress, caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Asian Pacific American, AAPI), and who ...
(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 Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
City Council resolution declaring the city's opposition to the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. She did not support this resolution, but co-sponsored a resolution declaring support for local members of the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
. Once hostilities began, she stated that it was important to support the troops. She argued that once
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
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 George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
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.


Prisons

Richardson supported AB 900 to create 40,000 more
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
beds in California at the cost of $7.4 billion.


Environment

Richardson has faced some harsh scrutiny for not co-sponsoring Rep.
Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician and lobbyist who was a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included much of the western part of the ...
's global warming legislation. As a result,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
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 Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
.


2008 presidential race

Laura Richardson endorsed
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
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 The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.NSA warrantless surveillance controversy The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
.


Political campaigns

In the run up to the 2008 election, Richardson came under fire for sending out an anti-LGBTQ mailer against a lesbian candidate in 1996 during her run for the 54th Assembly District, accusing her opponent of being, "committed to a radical gay rights agenda. Despite the controversy, Richardson defeated
State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Jenny Oropeza and 9 other Democrats in the June 26
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
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 A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
, and
Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...
. 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 Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a U.S. Representative from California ...
, who had previously represented the neighboring 36th District, had her home drawn into the 44th as well. The
California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento, the state capital. With 46.59% of the state's registered voters as of February 2024, the Democratic ...
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.


Controversies

Richardson was accused of receiving preferential treatment by a bank when it rescinded an erroneous foreclosure of her house, but was cleared of wrongdoing by the
House Ethics Committee The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. ...
, in accordance with the recommendations of the
Office of Congressional Ethics The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and thei ...
. Upon the death of Juanita Millender-McDonald, her predecessor in the 37th Congressional District, Richardson seems to have put all of her funds into winning the resulting special election, and as a result stopped paying her mortgages. Following the special election, she made agreements with
Washington Mutual Washington Mutual, Inc. (often abbreviated to WaMu) was an American Bank holding company, savings bank holding company based in Seattle. It was the parent company of Washington Mutual Bank, which was the largest savings and loan association in ...
to catch up payments on her 3 properties, but the bank violated this agreement with regard to the Sacramento property when it foreclosed on the house. The bank then rescinded the foreclosure, causing the controversy. After her election to the California Assembly, Richardson purchased a home in Sacramento with no money down and a
subprime mortgage In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpr ...
. 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. 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." The real estate broker who bought Richardson's Sacramento house at the foreclosure sale accused her of receiving preferential treatment because her lender had 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, but settled out of court with the terms not disclosed. 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. The House Ethics Committee, following the recommendations of the Ethics Office, found no wrongdoing other than by Richardson's Mortgage Broker, who was referred to the Justice Department for
mortgage fraud Mortgage fraud refers to an intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission of information relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase, or insure a loan secured by real property. Criminal offenses may be prosecuted in eith ...
, which was widespread at the time the mortgage was made. Mistaken foreclosures despite paid-up recovery agreements, such as the one that happened to Richardson, were also becoming rampant during this period. Richardson also initially did not disclose a loan from a strip club owner when on the City Council, public records show. Richardson was speaker of the House pro tempore during the November 29, 2010 lame-duck session of Congress. She initially refused to recognize, then relented to allow committee ranking member Steve Buyer to talk despite the failure of the committee chairman to appear. She was seen discussing with the House parliamentarian and aides how to handle the failure of the committee chairman to appear to present his bill under rules and procedures that minorities in both parties have often denounced when out of power in the House, as Boyer did when recognized in this instance. On November 3, 2011, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that Richardson would face an ethics inquiry related to possible illegal use of staffers. On November 4, 2011, Richardson claimed that the House Ethics Committee, composed of five members from the Democratic Party and five members from Republican Party, singled her out for investigation because she is African-American. The Ethics Committee leaders did announce that the vote to establish a four-member investigative subcommittee was unanimous.


Decisions of House committee and full House

On August 1, 2012, the House Ethics Committee issued its report about accusations of improper use of staff. It found that Richardson had broken federal law, violated House rules and obstructed the Committee's own investigation. She was found guilty on seven counts of violating House rules by improperly pressuring her staff to campaign for her, destroying evidence and tampering with witness testimony. Richardson was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 within four months and promised to require staffers who work on her campaign to sign a waiver stating that they haven't been pressured to do so. The committee also called on the full House to reprimand Richardson.
The following day, the full House duly voted to accept the Committee report and List of United States Representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded, reprimand Richardson.


See also

* List of African-American United States representatives *
Women in the United States House of Representatives Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Congress. In total, 396 women ...
*
List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 5) gives the House of Representatives the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. Expulsion of a Representative is rare: only six members of the House have been expelled in its histo ...
*
List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes This list consists of American politicians convicted of crimes either committed or prosecuted while holding office in the Federal government of the United States, federal government. It includes politicians who were convicted or pleaded guilty ...
*
List of federal political scandals in the United States This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government of the United States, sorted from oldest to most recent. Scope and organization of political scandals This article is organized by presidential terms ...


References


External links


U.S. Congresswoman Laura Richardson's official U.S. House website

Laura Richardson Political HistoryJoin California Laura Richardson
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Laura 1962 births Living people 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the California State Legislature African-American city council members in California African-American state legislators in California African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American Methodists California politicians convicted of crimes Censured or reprimanded members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Female members of the United States House of Representatives Marshall School of Business alumni Methodists from California Politicians from Long Beach, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni Women city councillors in California Women state legislators in California Xerox people 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century African-American politicians