Laura Friedman (born December 3, 1966) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
serving 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.
The A ...
and a candidate for
California's 30th congressional district
California's 30th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The 30th district takes in the Linda Vista neighborhood of Pasadena, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Tujunga, Burbank, Glendale, Holl ...
. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, she represents the
43rd Assembly District, encompassing the cities of
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
,
Burbank, the unincorporated community of
La Crescenta-Montrose
La Crescenta-Montrose () is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The community is bordered by Glendale to the south and west, La Cañada Flintridge to the east, and Angeles National Forest to the north. Acc ...
, and northern portions of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, including
Studio City
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...
and
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
.
Prior to her election to the Assembly in 2016, Friedman was a member of the
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
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, rural counc ...
. She also served as Mayor of Glendale from 2011 to 2012. She is the author of a landmark pro-housing bill to eliminate minimum parking requirements for housing near mass transit stations throughout the state of California; the bill was signed into law in 2022.
Career
Between 1994 and 1997, Friedman was the Vice President of Development at
Rysher Entertainment
Rysher Entertainment, Inc. was an American film and television production company and distributor. It has its roots dating back to 1949 as Bing Crosby Productions, and was best known for the sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'' and the medical drama ''Ben ...
, where she oversaw the production of approximately ten feature films annually as well as extensive television programming.
In 1995, Friedman was the co-producer of the Warner Brothers release ''
It Takes Two''. In 1996 she was associate producer of ''
House Arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
''; executive producer of ''
Foxfire
Foxfire, also called fairy fire and chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with ...
''; executive producer of the family film ''
Zeus and Roxanne
''Zeus and Roxanne'' is a 1997 American family adventure film directed by George T. Miller. It revolves around the friendship between the title characters Zeus and Roxanne, a dog and a dolphin, respectively, and the relationships between the hum ...
''; and associate producer of the independent film ''
Aberration'', which was released by
LIVE Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
. Between 1998 and 1999, Friedman was the Vice President of Development at Cort/Madden Company. Since 2000, Friedman has owned and managed a small business (PlanetGlass.net), a web-based
art glass
Art glass is a subset of glass art, this latter covering the whole range of art made from glass. Art glass normally refers only to pieces made since the mid-19th century, and typically to those purely made as sculpture or decorative art, with ...
dealership.
In April 2011, Friedman became the mayor of
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
.
California State Assembly
After serving seven years on the Glendale City Council, including a term as the Mayor of Glendale, Laura Friedman was elected to the California State Assembly in 2016. During her first term in office, Laura authored a package of bills to establish landmark water efficiency standards, strengthen environmental sustainability, improve access to higher education, health care, and transportation alternatives, and create new avenues for communities to tackle the affordable housing crisis. In addition, she secured $20 million in funding for the completion of the Glendale Riverwalk Project, which for the first time will provide a safe bicycle and pedestrian connection from Glendale to Griffith Park. She has been tapped for several leadership roles in the legislature and currently serves as the Assistant Speaker pro Tempore for the Assembly and the Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. As the Chair of the Joint Rules Subcommittee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response, she's led a historic bicameral and bipartisan reform of the legislature's response to sexual harassment that's become a model for other states and local governments.
She also introduced the California legislative bill, AB-44, which made the sale and manufacture of new fur products illegal in California. It was signed into law by Governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
on October 12, 2019, in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
On September 7, she delayed the release of $4 billion of voter approved bonds for the
California High Speed Rail, stating that the California High Speed Rail Authority has "not provided us any real details about what the money would go towards this year". The CHSRA Chief Financial Officer, Brian Annis, countered by stating that the CHSRA already presented to the legislature the expenditure plan in February 2021 and that this delayed release by Friedman could cause budget delays to snowball.
Electoral history
2016
2018
2020
Personal life
Born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family,
Friedman was raised in South Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
in New York.
She is married to Guillaume Lemoine, a professional landscape designer.
The couple has a daughter, Rachel, born in 2013.
References
External links
*
City of Glendale, CA : Glendale MayorsOfficial Laura Friedman For State Assembly 2016 WebsiteLaura Friedman at ballotpedia.orgJoin California Laura Friedman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Laura
Living people
Mayors of Glendale, California
Women mayors of places in California
Businesspeople from California
University of Rochester alumni
1966 births
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Women state legislators in California
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections