Marqueece Harris-Dawson (born November 7, 1970) is an American

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 ...

, who currently represents the 8th district of the

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 ...

since 2015.

Early life and education

Harris-Dawson was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles.Council District 8: Harris-Dawson biography
/ref> Councilmember Harris-Dawson grew up in South Los Angeles during the crack cocaine epidemic. His family moved from their neighborhood to protect their children from police and gang violence. Harris-Dawson graduated from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Mathematics. Harris-Dawson holds a certificate in non-profit management from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...

, and is an

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Pahara Fellow.

Career

Harris-Dawson's first campaign as a community organizer was to change the conditions of schools in South Los Angeles and to infuse equity in the distribution of education funding. As a result of the campaign, South Los Angeles schools received an investment of $153 million for repair and modernization. He served as its President and CEO from 2004 to 2014. In 1995, he joined Community Coalition under founder Karen Bass. Harris-Dawson was the coordinator for the 1999 re-election campaign of

Mark Ridley-Thomas Mark Ridley-Thomas is an American politician. He previously served three terms on the Los Angeles City Council from the 8th district from 1991 to 2002, and again for the 10th district from 2020 until his expulsion from the council in 2022. Ridle ...

in District 2 of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors .

Los Angeles City Council (2015—)

Elections

In the primary election for District 8 in 2015, Harris-Dawson received over 62% of the vote for the vacant seat. Because Harris-Dawson won outright, a general election for District 8 was not needed. Term limits forced

Bernard C. Parks Bernard C. Parks (born December 7, 1943) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 8th district in South Los Angeles from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Parks served as C ...

, Harris-Dawson's predecessor since 2004, out of office.

Proposition HHH

In 2016, Councilmember Harris-Dawson co-authored Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure to build permanent supportive housing for homeless people and people at risk of becoming homeless. The measure appeared on the November 2016 municipal ballot and passed, with voters approving the measure 77% to 23%.

References

External links

Official Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson—Los Angeles City Council District 8 website

City of Los Angeles: Map of District 8
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris-Dawson, Marqueece Los Angeles City Council members African-American people in California politics California Democrats 1970 births Living people People from South Los Angeles 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people