Richard Hershel Bloom (born June 22, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who 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. The A ...

from the 50th district, which encompasses

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

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...

, Malibu,

Topanga Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) 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 s ...

, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, Brentwood,

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which display ...

, and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, from 2012 to 2022. Bloom was a member of the California Legislative

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 ...

Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he served as mayor of

and previously on the Santa Monica City Council for 13 years.

Early life and education

Bloom was born to a

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 land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic 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 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 Executive Director of the Women's Law Center. She serves as Chair of the California Commission on Aging, ...

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 red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

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, the g ...

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 or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

. The legislation, if passed into law, would affect

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Diego ...

's "

Shamu Shamu (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a captive orca that appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s. She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She was caught in October 1965 and died in August 1971, aft ...

" 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 Assemblyhttps://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2020-primary/sov/complete-sov.pdf

References

External links

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