Felipe Fuentes (born May 25, 1971) is an American lobbyist and former Democratic politician and businessman from the San Fernando Valley in the U.S. state of California, formerly a member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 7th district. Fuentes resigned his seat on the Los Angeles City Council 10 months before the end of the term in order to start working as a lobbyist. Fuentes won election to the California State Assembly for the 39th district on a May 15, 2007

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. He slightly exceeded the 50%+1 margin needed to avoid a runoff. Prior to serving in the Assembly, Fuentes served as Chief of Staff to then Los Angeles City Councilman

Alex Padilla Alejandro Padilla ( ; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 201 ...

Biography

Fuentes was born in Colorado Springs, CO in 1971. He majored in political science at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and received his bachelor's degree in (1994). He received his masters in business administration (MBA)from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

in (2004).Felipe Fuentes for District 39
/ref> Fuentes began his career promoting immigrant and children's rights at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. In 1999, Fuentes began serving the 7th council district of Los Angeles as a field deputy to then City Councilmember Alex Padila. In 2001, he worked on then City Attorney James Hahn's campaign for Mayor. After Hahn's election, he was appointed Deputy Mayor of the San Fernando Valley. Fuentes managed the Mayor's Office of the Neighborhood Advocate, Volunteer Corps, Constituent Services, and the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative. He was the Mayor's liaison to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, Animal Services, and the Department of Building & Safety. As Chief of Staff to Los Angeles City Council President

, Fuentes helped establish a pilot program to implement the " Safe Routes to Schools" initiative in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. He worked to help bring the first new police station to the San Fernando Valley in twenty-five years, and to create effective anti-gang programs. Felipe is a lifelong resident of the Northeast San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and now resides in Sylmar, Los Angeles with his wife, Lena Wu-Fuentes. Lena and Felipe are parents to a daughter.

References

External links

Join California - Felipe Fuentes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentes, Felipe 1971 births Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Sylmar, Los Angeles Pepperdine University alumni San Fernando High School alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Los Angeles City Council members 2012 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians