Mark Matthew Herd (born May 29, 1963) is an American

community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. A member of the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

, Herd has run for office three times, most notably as the party's 2016 U.S. Senate nominee.

Early life

A native 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' ...

, Herd is a graduate of University High School and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where he got his bachelor's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Politics

In 2010, Herd started the Westwood Neighborhood Council, and served 4 years as its councilman. In 2014, Herd was the Libertarian candidate for

California's 33rd congressional district California's 33rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Based in Los Angeles County, the district is currently represented by . In 2014, after 40 years in Congress, previous Democratic Representative ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Herd was also the Libertarian candidate for Senator of California in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. In 2017, Herd ran against

Paul Koretz Paul Koretz (born April 3, 1955) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 5th district from 2009 to 2022. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly and the West Hollywood City Coun ...

and Jesse Max Creed for

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...

to represent

District 5 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * District 5, an electoral district of Malta * District 5, a police district of Malta * Palma-Palmilla, also known a ...

. Herd is the founder and Co-Chairman of the Venice Beach Libertarian Club and Executive Producer of the Libertarian Broadcast Network.

References

1963 births California Libertarians Living people Activists from Los Angeles University High School (Los Angeles) alumni University of Arizona alumni {{California-politician-stub