California Assemblymember Laura Friedman is almost sure to be elected to the U.S. Home of Representatives on Nov. 5. The Glendale Democrat is operating to exchange Rep. Adam Schiff within the deeply blue thirtieth Congressional District race in opposition to a little-known Republican doctor.
However, there’s nonetheless motive for voters to be enthusiastic about supporting her to change into the subsequent consultant of the district that stretches from West Hollywood to the western fringe of Pasadena, together with Glendale, Burbank and a number of other L.A. metropolis neighborhoods.
Friedman has been an progressive, brave and efficient state legislator in Sacramento, significantly on the surroundings, housing and transportation. Her file in Sacramento exhibits that she is extra eager about constructing assist for sensible laws than trolling rivals or taking part within the polarizing, asinine tradition wars. These are terrific qualities for a member of Congress to have in these politically fraught instances.
She’s not afraid to deal with controversial subjects. Friedman has authored necessary laws on all kinds of necessary points going through Californians. Simply to call a couple of of the extra groundbreaking — and infrequently controversial — payments she pushed till they handed: restrictions on the use of potable water on purely decorative landscaping; a pilot program to legalize speed cameras; a ban on the usage of “without end chemical substances” in child merchandise and one other on toxic chemicals in cosmetics, and lifting parking mandates in new housing developments close to transit.
Her remaining yr as a legislator was no exception. Whilst she was operating for Congress, she pushed necessary payments similar to one which’s on the governor’s desk in the mean time to protect the state’s wetlands.
Friedman is likely one of the too-rare lawmakers motivated by ideas moderately than politics. She is undaunted by opposition to laws she believes in, and can spend years constructing assist wanted to get payments handed, together with from Republican colleagues — not a simple feat in immediately’s hyperpartisan political panorama.
Her background in Hollywood may also be a boon for this district, which incorporates many content material creators. Earlier than she pivoted to politics by getting elected to the Glendale Metropolis Council, Friedman was a movie and tv govt. In Washington, she needs to work on points to guard the long-term well being of the trade similar to copyright legislation and synthetic intelligence, and on points that threaten democracy similar to the usage of deepfake audio and video in election promoting and misinformation.
She’s additionally a powerful champion of girls (together with for these operating for president. She endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris within the 2020 presidential main) and was a pacesetter within the #MeToo motion in Sacramento. We count on she’s going to change into a powerful voice within the struggle in Congress to guard reproductive rights.
Her expertise and monitor file far eclipse what the opposite candidate, pulmonologist Alex Balekian, has to supply. He’s campaigning on the slogan “Progressive isn’t working.” His deceptive private assaults (one mailer falsely accused Friedman of creating bike lanes necessary “in each California metropolis”) and give attention to tradition conflict points such as so-called parental rights appear straight out of the MAGA playbook.
Friedman isn’t just the probably successor to Schiff, who’s almost definitely going to be elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 5, however a worthy one.
