For Immediate Release April 4, 2019 Press Contact: [email protected]
HEART OF LA DEMOCRATIC CLUB URGES LOS ANGELES VOTERS TO ELECT A DEMOCRATIC WOMAN COUNCILMEMBER IN DISTRICT 12 ON JUNE 4, 2019
Democrats Annie Cho, Loraine Lundquist and Stella Maloyan are running in special election
Los Angeles County, CA – The Heart of LA Democratic Club (HLADems), a Los Angeles County Democratic club which promotes equality and the full representation of women in local, state and national politics, urges Los Angeles voters in Council District 12 to vote for one of the three highly qualified women candidates in the June 4, 2019 primary election. The seat was vacated by Mitchell Englander in December 2018. District 12 covers the northwestern San Fernando Valley, including the neighborhoods of Chatsworth, Granada Hills and Porter Ranch. "Annie Cho, Loraine Lundquist and Stella Maloyan all bring unique qualities and experiences such that each of them would would be an outstanding champion of the communities in District 12," says HLADems president Lindsay Carlson. "Our club members enthusiastically believe that it is time for more women to hold offices in the City of Los Angeles, and this special election is a perfect opportunity to make this happen right now. As we heard from each of the candidates when we interviewed them, in a district that has more Democrats than Republicans, the key to winning will be voter turnout.” Of all 18 elected officials in the City of Los Angeles — mayor, city controller, city attorney and city councilmembers — only two are women. It is high time that the City of Los Angeles catch up with its progressive values and recognize that representation matters. The Heart of L.A. Democratic Club believes that all three Democratic women running are highly qualified, and deserve our support.
To receive HLADems support, each candidate submitted a candidate questionnaire, was interviewed by the Executive Board, and addressed club members at the April 3 membership meeting. The candidate summaries are below:
Annie Cho A Korean immigrant, longtime resident of the district, and a graduate of Cal State LA, Annie has had an impressive career in business and journalism. She impressed HLADems with her support of college affordability and train-to-hire programs to help small businesses hire skilled people; her plan to address discriminatory hiring by hiring an LGBT+ liaison for a number of city departments; and her commitment to ensure that city services are delivered in the many languages spoken in District 12, not just in English and Spanish. https://annieforcitycouncil.com/
Loraine Lundquist Loraine received her PhD in physics from UC Berkeley, and works as a Faculty Associate for the Institute for Sustainability at CSU - Northridge. She is running to address our climate crisis. Loraine broke down what that means at the City Council level in an effortless, intelligent, and passionate manner. She has managed to galvanize students and activists in her community to help with her campaign, and HLADems were impressed with her intellect and her drive to fix a crisis we are rapidly running out of time to address. https://www.loraineforla.com/
Stella Maloyan Stella is the longtime Development Director at Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), where she conceived of and created the annual Women for a New Los Angeles Luncheon. She impressed HLADems by answering every question through a feminist lens. She has a record of fighting for unions and a living wage, for lifting up women, for holding LA developers to fair hiring standards, and has an impressive and expansive passion and knowledge of her district. She is a clear fighter with a highly tuned ethical compass and strong organizing abilities. An Armenian-American, Stella immigrated to LA at age 15 from Iran and is a graduate of Cal State Northridge. https://www.stellamaloyan.com/
About the Heart of LA Democratic Club Founded in March 2017 on the heels of the Presidential election, the Heart of L.A. Democratic Club was founded in recognition of the growing awareness within the Democratic Party that women should be fully and equally represented both in the political community and the national body politic. Heart of L.A. Democratic Club is open to all Democrats who subscribe to the club’s goals and purposes regardless of their gender identity. The mission of the Heart of L.A. Democratic Club is to help make the Democratic Party, the body politic and its elected officials responsive to, and responsible for, the needs of all people, particularly, though not exclusively, women in our community. In addition to endorsements, HLADems actively participate in political advocacy, as well as voter and community outreach. Monthly meetings feature guest speakers who include Democratic candidates, experts on policy and political processes, reproductive justice, homelessness, and more. For more information about The Heart of LA Democratic Club, visit them online: