[img]1987|right|Sebastian Ridley-Thomas||no_popup[/img]I have the experience, the drive and the dedication to capably serve our community with distinction, intelligence and vigor in the state Assembly.
As a Public Policy Director, community organizer and advocate for consumers, children and small businesses, I rolled up my sleeves to deliver results for the residents of our community.
My commitment to public service is born from my desire to address problems by working with residents to implement sensible solutions.
My quest to serve follows in the public service footsteps of my mother – Avis Ridley-Thomas, a pioneer in conflict resolution, and my father, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors and founder of the Community Empowerment movement that has become a model for communities nationwide. I came of age as a student of participatory politics and civic engagement.
I served as Policy Director for state Sen. Curren Price (D-Culver City). I advised Sen. Price on economic development, transportation, housing, public safety and local government issues. All are critically important to constituents in the 54th Assembly District.
I served as a legislative consultant to the Senate Select Committee on Procurement, focusing principally on how to ensure that a fair share of lucrative state contracts were awarded to qualified small business owners in underserved communities that often were overlooked.
I worked with 500 religious institutions spanning all faiths across 30 square miles as the Sen. Price’s chief liaison to South Los Angeles’s faith-based organizations and clergy. I served as a vital resource on the Sen. Price’s district office staff, a caseload of 900,000 residents of Greater Los Angeles. My job was to make sure constituents were served and their concerns acted upon.
I was a policy researcher, strategic program analyst, coalition builder, and advocate for children during the “Summer of Healthcare” while serving with the Children’s Defense Fund, our nation's premiere child advocacy organization led by Marian Wright Edelman. I worked to expand the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools summer enrichment program.
My Varied Background
I had an internship with the National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches, assisting in the management of its “Children In Poverty” program.
I worked in the Complaint Resolution Division of the Dept. of Consumer Affairs to get a first-hand view and hands-on experience in consumer protection best practices.
“I worked with consumers and small businesses. We cut government red tape. I helped residents statewide solve problems, remove barriers to employment and receive just treatment in their everyday lives.
That included understanding their rights under the state’s Fair Debt collection laws, obtaining professional licenses such as security guard certifications, filing claims for substandard medical treatment.
Broad Seasoning
I also lodged formal complaints against unlicensed contractors who performed faulty work for which they had been paid.
My experiences have prepared me for the policy responsibilities and the commitment that is needed to represent the people of the 54th Assembly District.
My challengers may point to my age. They may deride the youth and the energy I bring to the political process.
But I am undeterred.
I am encouraged by history. Many of our great leaders took on enormous responsibilities when they were younger men. Martin Luther King, Jr. was 29 when he took the helm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. President John F. Kennedy was 29 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Los Angeles Congressman Augustus Hawkins was 27 when he was elected to the Assembly. The political history on the Westside has shown that age is no stumbling block for aspiring leaders.
Roz Wyman is a pivotal figure in the dawning of the modern age of Los Angeles. She is regarded as one of the bright lights of her era as representative of the Westside's 5th District on the L.A. City Council.
Look at Their Examples
Roz Wyman is widely acknowledged as the woman to helped engineer the Dodgers move from their storied home in Brooklyn to Chavez Ravine, north of downtown, in 1958. She was 28 years old at the time of the Dodgers’ historic first game here.
Westside voters elected Roz Wyman to office six years before the Dodgers moved. She was 22. To this day, she remains the youngest person ever elected to the City Council.
Less than 20 years later, Westside voters would choose a former UCLA student activist who had fought the oppression of Jews in the Soviet Union as their City Council representative.
Zev Yaroslavsky's election in 1975 would usher him into a leadership role as L.A.’s fiscal watchdog.
At 26, he was elected to represent the 5th Council District.
Today, Westside voters may be poised to repeat their voting history. I am 26 years old. I seek to represent Westside neighborhoods in the Assembly’s 54th District.
My candidacy brings state capital experience gained from my policy work for Sen. Price and campaign-tested strategic experience as political director for the nine-member Legislative Black Caucus.
Will history repeat itself?
We will find out one week from today. Westside voters have always seemed to regard age as merely a number, not a barrier to leadership.
I like my chances.
I place myself before the voters.
I offer my vision for jobs, education, health and public safety to move our communities forward. I want their vote. I’m ready to do their work in the state capital.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas may be contacted at www.sridleythomas.com
