Richard Alatorre
Encyclopedia
Richard Alatorre is an American
politician from California
. He served as a prominent member of the California State Assembly
from 1973 to 1985, and as a noted member of the Los Angeles City Council
from 1985 to 1999.
. He graduated from James A. Garfield High School
in 1961. He received a bachelor of arts
degree from California State University, Los Angeles
, and a master of public administration
from the University of Southern California
. He taught at California State University, Long Beach
and the University of California, Irvine
.
He was Western Regional Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he successfully initiated lawsuits on behalf of children, many of whom because were Spanish speaking, were assigned to classes for the mentally disabled.
Prior to running for elected office himself, he served as an aide to California State Assemblymember Walter Karabian and State Senator Alfred Song in 1968.
In 1972 he was elected to the California State Assembly
, serving 14 years in various capacities, including Chairman on the Select Committee on Farm Labor Violence; Chairman of Human services Committee; Chairman of the historic 1980 Elections and Reapportionment Committee; Founder and Chairman of the Chicano Caucus for the California State Legislature; and Chairman of the Prison Reform Committee. During his tenure in the Assembly, he authored the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act
.
In 1985 he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council (the first Latino to serve on the city council in 23 years). During his tenure, he served as Chairman of Redistricting, federally mandated by the U.S. Justice Department; Chairman of the Public Safety Committee; and Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. He retired in 1999 when he became the object of a federal probe into corruption. He pled guilty to federal tax evasion charges in 2001, and was sentenced to eight months of home detention.
He was appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley to the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Commission, the forerunner to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA); he was elected the first Chairman of the MTA, and during his tenure championed the passage of the Gold Line and led the successful approval of the Eastern Extension of the light rail into East Los Angeles.
In 1999, he was appointed by the State of California to serve on the five-member Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.
He is a member of the Democratic Party and known as a chief ally of Assemblymember and Speaker Willie Brown
,
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
, and Mayors Tom Bradley
, Dick Riordan, and Antonio Villaraigosa
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He served as a prominent member of the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
from 1973 to 1985, and as a noted member of the Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
from 1985 to 1999.
Background
Alatorre was born in 1943 and raised in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He graduated from James A. Garfield High School
Garfield High School (Los Angeles County, California)
James A. Garfield High School is a public, year-round high school founded in 1925 in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California. The school was made famous by the film Stand and Deliver about a teacher named Jaime Escalante...
in 1961. He received a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
, and a master of public administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He taught at California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
and the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
.
He was Western Regional Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he successfully initiated lawsuits on behalf of children, many of whom because were Spanish speaking, were assigned to classes for the mentally disabled.
Prior to running for elected office himself, he served as an aide to California State Assemblymember Walter Karabian and State Senator Alfred Song in 1968.
In 1972 he was elected to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
, serving 14 years in various capacities, including Chairman on the Select Committee on Farm Labor Violence; Chairman of Human services Committee; Chairman of the historic 1980 Elections and Reapportionment Committee; Founder and Chairman of the Chicano Caucus for the California State Legislature; and Chairman of the Prison Reform Committee. During his tenure in the Assembly, he authored the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act
California Agricultural Labor Relations Act
The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act is a landmark statute enacted by the state of California which became law on June 5, 1975, and which establishes collective bargaining for farmworkers in that state....
.
In 1985 he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council (the first Latino to serve on the city council in 23 years). During his tenure, he served as Chairman of Redistricting, federally mandated by the U.S. Justice Department; Chairman of the Public Safety Committee; and Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. He retired in 1999 when he became the object of a federal probe into corruption. He pled guilty to federal tax evasion charges in 2001, and was sentenced to eight months of home detention.
He was appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley to the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Commission, the forerunner to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
(MTA); he was elected the first Chairman of the MTA, and during his tenure championed the passage of the Gold Line and led the successful approval of the Eastern Extension of the light rail into East Los Angeles.
In 1999, he was appointed by the State of California to serve on the five-member Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.
He is a member of the Democratic Party and known as a chief ally of Assemblymember and Speaker Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
,
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
, and Mayors Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
, Dick Riordan, and Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
.