Holly Mitchell
 |
Holly Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Chair of Los Angeles County | |
| In office December 7, 2021 – December 6, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Hilda Solis |
| Succeeded by | Janice Hahn |
| Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 2nd district | |
| Assumed office December 6, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Ridley-Thomas |
| Member of the California State Senate | |
| In office September 26, 2013 – December 6, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Curren Price |
| Succeeded by | Sydney Kamlager |
| Constituency | 26th district (2013–2014) 30th district (2014–2020) |
| Member of the California State Assembly | |
| In office December 6, 2010 – September 26, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Karen Bass |
| Succeeded by | Sebastian Ridley-Thomas |
| Constituency | 47th district (2010–2012) 54th district (2012–2013) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Holly Jewell Mitchell September 7, 1964 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | University of California, Riverside (BA) |
Holly Jewell Mitchell[1] (born September 7, 1964) is an American politician currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She is the Chair pro tempore of Los Angeles County. A Democrat, Mitchell served as a state senator for California's 30th senate district from 2013 to 2020, which is also part of the 2nd supervisorial district. Prior to being elected to the State Senate, she served in the California State Assembly representing the 54th assembly district.
Mitchell is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus. In 2016 Mitchell became the first African American to chair the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, where she has overseen the passage and adoption of two consecutive state budgets.
Early life
[edit]Mitchell was born in Los Angeles to Edward Mitchell and Sylvia Johnson, both of whom worked for the government.[2] They were both social workers when they met. After their marriage, her father was an educator and her mother was a probation officer.
Early career
[edit]Before working in the Legislature, she served for seven years as CEO of the nonprofit Crystal Stairs.[3] She also served as a Consultant to the Senate Health Committee, and as a legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.[citation needed]
California State Senate
[edit]
In 2018, Mitchell was named vice chair of the Joint Legislative Subcommittee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response, formed in response to the #MeToo movement and several instances where accusations had forced some lawmakers to resign. Mitchell was the first African-American to serve as Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, overseeing the passage of state budgets totaling over $200 billion.[4]
In 2019, Mitchell drafted and sponsored the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB 188), a California law which prohibits discrimination based on hair style and hair texture by extending protection under the FEHA and the California Education Code. It is the first legislation passed at the state level in the United States to prohibit such discrimination. The Act passed unanimously in both chambers of the California Legislature by June 27, 2019, and was signed into law on July 3, 2019.[5] The law has since inspired similar laws across the country.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
[edit]Mitchell faced Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson in the 2020 race for District 2 of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She defeated Wesson by a wide margin. Her election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2020 marks the first time the board is composed entirely of women.[6] Mitchell generated controversy when she said, "Law enforcement and the District Attorneys Association and the Sheriffs’ Association, who just when you look at who represents them in Sacramento, is clearly such White supremacist organizations."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "About — Holly Mitchell for LA County Supervisor". www.hollyjmitchell.com. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
- ^ "Sylvia Jewell Johnson" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2017.
- ^ Swann, Jennifer (2020). "After a Decade in Sacramento, Holly Mitchell is Ready to Take on Los Angeles". theLAnd. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ "Short biography of LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell | LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell".
- ^ "California becomes first state to ban discrimination against natural hair". CBS News. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ Cosgrove, Jaclyn (November 5, 2020). "L.A. County makes history with all female Board of Supervisors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ Ruiz, Michael (March 31, 2021). "California Democrat suggests police, prosecutors and sheriffs groups are 'White supremacist organizations'". Fox News. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
External links
[edit]
- 1964 births
- 20th-century African-American politicians
- 20th-century African-American women politicians
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 21st-century African-American politicians
- 21st-century African-American women politicians
- 21st-century American women politicians
- 21st-century members of the California State Legislature
- African-American state legislators in California
- Democratic Party California state senators
- Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
- Living people
- People from Leimert Park, Los Angeles
- Politicians from Los Angeles
- University of California, Riverside alumni
- Women state legislators in California