Los Angeles—Equality California today announced that it has endorsed Asm. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) to replace Xavier Becerra to represent California’s 34th Congressional District, which includes parts of central and northeast Los Angeles. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Becerra to replace newly-elected Senator Kamala Harris as California attorney general.
Gomez was first elected to the California Assembly in 2012 to represent California’s 51st Assembly District. In 2013, he authored Equality California-sponsored bill AB 663, integrating LGBT-specific cultural competency into training for administrators at long term care facilities, helping to ensure that LGBT seniors are treated with dignity and respect. In 2014, he authored AB 1951, also sponsored by Equality California, that established the right of same-sex parents to be reflected on their children’s birth certificates. In addition, as assembly floor leader, Gomez helped secure passage of other Equality California priority bills during various legislative sessions. He has received a perfect Equality Score Rating of 100 percent from Equality California each year he has served in the Assembly. He also has been a champion for broader issues impacting LGBT Californians, including paid family leave, public health, education and affordable housing.
“As the climate in Washington grows colder and more hostile to LGBT people, immigrants and many others, who we send to Congress matters more than ever,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “Asm. Gomez stood out from a large field of LGBT allies because of his solid record of accomplishment on behalf of LGBT people. Time and again, he has proven himself one of our community’s most committed and dedicated allies in the state legislature, authoring and carrying priority bills for Equality California and helping to secure passage of others that address the needs of LGBT people. We are confident that he will head to Capitol Hill ready to fight for LGBT people, our state and the values important to all of us as Californians.”
The Equality California Political Action Committee endorses viable candidates for federal and state office who have a proven track record of supporting equal rights and legal protections for LGBT Californians, as well as outstanding LGBT candidates at the local level.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance, and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.org
