|
| Affiliation | Democratic |
|
| Name | Gloria Molina |
| Address |
Mount Washington, California , United States |
| Email | http://molina.co.la.ca.us/ |
| Website | None |
| Born |
May 31, 1948
|
| Died | May 14, 2023
(74 years)
|
| Contributor | COSDem |
| Last Modifed | RBH
May 15, 2023 02:01am |
| Tags |
Hispanic - Married - Cancer -
|
| Info | On February 19, 1991 Gloria Molina became the first Latina ever elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She was inspired by her father's enduring philosophy, "Con un sueño, trabajo, y ganas, todo se puede lograr," which means, "With a dream, hard work, and a desire to succeed, anything can be achieved." To many observers both at home and across the country, Molina's election to the Board represented both the growing formidability of the Latino electorate and the determination of voters of all backgrounds to elect a leader to office who understood their needs.
A proud daughter of a Mexican mother and a Mexican-American father, Molina grew up in the Pico Rivera area and is the eldest of ten children. Accustomed to hard work since childhood, Molina understood from a young age that many people do not have advantages and that eliminating unfair barriers is the best way to ensure equal opportunity.
To this end, Molina is committed to fighting for working families. In the past year alone, Molina made it possible for 222 youngsters to receive daycare via her Infant Care Expansion Grant. And in the past decade, 1,090 new affordable housing units have been constructed in her District, which includes East Los Angeles, the third most crowded area in the nation.
Because Molina grew up in working-class surroundings, she is acutely aware that as Los Angeles County property values skyrocket, fewer people can afford to buy homes. She understands that for many people - but particularly children - public parks take the place of private backyards.
As a result, Molina has brought more parks and open space to the inner city during her tenure, such as the Los Angeles River Center, El Bosque de Rio Hondo, and the Los Angeles Bikeway Plan. She has allocated over $10 million toward various Parks & Recreation capital projects, including the construction of a gym in City Terrace, a senior center at Roosevelt Park, improvements for the Bassett Little League in Shyre Park, the construction of the Santa Fe Dam lifeguard facilities, refurbishment of the Baldwin Park Library, and upgrades to Basset Park, Saybrook Park, and Mayberry Park, which includes a skating rink and a Tiny Tots Adventure Zone.
More improvements are underway at Belvedere Park, Sorensen Park, Whittier Narrows, the Anthony Quinn Library, and Graham Library. Improvements at Valleydale Park and Salazar Park are on the drawing board, as are additions to the East Los Angeles Civic Center, which will include a new child care center, library, public spaces, and a refurbished park. And Molina has been at the forefront of major street beautification projects on Firestone Boulevard, Florence Avenue, and City Terrace Drive.
Throughout her childhood, Molina witnessed her father arrive home each day exhausted from his job as a laborer. So when she became an elected official, Molina understood that the public treasury originates from working people's hard-earned paychecks.
Accordingly, Molina has advocated for fiscal responsibility and "good government" values. She ended the County practice of pension spiking, saving taxpayers nearly $100 million. She effectively reined in medical malpractice liability costs, and she eliminated numerous perks, bonuses, and transportation allowances for highly paid bureaucrats.
Since her political beginnings during the 1970's Chicano movement as a women's health advocate, Molina recognized that just because you hold a job does not mean you have health care access, and that the mere cost of medicine prevents many people from being healthy. Molina realized that working adults are not the only ones who suffer from this injustice. Children suffer, too.
Consequently, Molina started the "Nurse Mentoring Program" in partnership with local community colleges to help alleviate the County's nursing shortage-as well as to provide an opportunity for hundreds of individuals to become skilled employees. She worked with the private sector so that hundreds of schoolchildren could receive eyeglasses that they otherwise could not afford through the "Gift of Sight" project. And Molina was instrumental in acquiring a $1 billion federal commitment from President Clinton in 1995 to rescue the County's health care system, upon which millions of people depend.
Molina spent her early days providing job training for at-risk youth in the unincorporated areas of East Los Angeles, so she understands the government's obligation to provide a safe, healthy environment in which to raise a family. As Supervisor of the District with the largest population living in unincorporated areas, Molina made quality-of-life issues a central point of her agenda. She aggressively closed down massage parlors acting as fronts for prostitution, cracked down on illegal pharmacies selling dangerous over-the-counter drugs without a prescription, and worked to remove unsightly grafitti and illegal billboards. Molina instituted landmark legislation that restricts the proliferation of adult businesses in the unincorporated areas. She also created the County's Nuisance and Bar Abatement Team, resulting in liquor license revocations and the subsequent closures of 14 problematic bars, nightclubs, and markets.
Whether functioning on a local or national level, Molina always maintained her reputation as a fighter and groundbreaker. In the 1970s, Molina served in the Carter White House and the San Francisco Department of Health and Human Services. She was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982 and the Los Angeles City Council in 1987. Her victorious leadership against the construction of a prison in East Los Angeles is legendary. Named as one of the Democratic Party's "10 Rising Stars" by TIME magazine in 1996, Molina is one of four Vice Chairs of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). During the 2000 Presidential Election, Molina was one of 15 top women leaders nationwide to be named as a possible Vice-Presidential candidate by the White House Project, a non-profit and non-partisan group dedicated to raising awareness of women's leadership in American politics.
In addition, Molina continues to remain active in community issues through her board membership with numerous civil rights organizations. These include the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP), and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).
Molina resides in the Mount Washington area with her husband, businessman Ron Martinez, and their teen-age daughter, Valentina. She divides her time between her family, her position as County Supervisor, and her love for quilting for which she has received recognition for original pieces she created.
|
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
