Richard Hershel Bloom (born June 22, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist, who currently serves as a state judge in the

Superior Court of Los Angeles County The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Bloom formerly served as a member of 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 50th district from 2012 to 2022, which encompasses

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city situated in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 20,330 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. Agoura H ...

, Malibu,

Topanga Topanga (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern ...

, and

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. Bloom was a member of the California Legislative

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he served as mayor of Santa Monica and for thirteen years on the Santa Monica City Council. On January 31, 2022, Bloom was appointed a state judge by Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...

Early life and education

Bloom was born to an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

family and raised in Altadena and West Los Angeles. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

Career

Santa Monica City Council

First elected in 1999, Bloom served on the

Santa Monica City Council Santa Monica City Council is the governing body of Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on Calif ...

for 13 years, serving as mayor three times and mayor pro tempore twice. Bloom also served as Chair of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission.

California Assembly

Bloom defeated incumbent Assemblymember

Betsy Butler Betsy Butler (born June 14, 1963) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat. Butler is the former Executive Director of the Women's Law Center. She serves as Chair of the California Commission on ...

in 2012. Bloom serves on the following Assembly committees: Transportation, Budget, Arts & Entertainment, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, and Higher Education. He also serves on Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation and is the Chairman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation. In 2013, Bloom authored the Bobcat Protection Act, which has since been signed into law, but did not result in protection of the

Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

due to loopholes. Public pressure played a key role to influence the

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

to direct his California Fish and Game Commission to ban trapping of Bobcat in California, even though killing the Bobcat in California National Parks and Califorania State Parks has been illegal since 1918. On March 7, 2014, Bloom introduced legislation to ban live performances and captive breeding of

orcas The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopoli ...

. The legislation, if passed into law, would affect

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park in Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California. It is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, public aquarium, and marine animal rehabilitation center. SeaWorld, the theme park's proprietor, is owned and operated by Un ...

's "

Shamu Shamu ( – August 16, 1971) was a female orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizabl ...

" performances. On November 4, 2014, Bloom was re-elected to a second term with nearly 72% of the vote. In the 2015 legislative session, Bloom introduced legislation to ban plastic microbeads in personal care products. The bill has been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. In the 2016 legislative session, Bloom re-introduced legislation to ban captive orca shows. The bill passed both chambers of the legislature. Bloom did not run in the 2022 election. On December 5, 2022, Rick Chavez Zbur was sworn in as Bloom's successor.

Electoral history

2014 California State Assembly

2016 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

2020 California State Assembly

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Richard Living people 1953 births Jewish state legislators in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Santa Monica, California 21st-century American Jews 21st-century members of the California State Legislature