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Laura Friedman

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Laura Friedman
Official House portrait of Friedman smiling in front of the U.S. Capitol, wearing a black jacket and red shirt.
Official portrait, 2026
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 30th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byAdam Schiff
Member of the California Assembly
In office
December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2024
Preceded byMike Gatto
Succeeded byNick Schultz
Constituency43rd district (2016–2022)
44th district (2022–2024)
Mayor of Glendale
In office
April 2011 – April 2012
Preceded byAra Najarian
Succeeded byFrank Quintero
Personal details
Born (1966-12-03) December 3, 1966 (age 59)
New York City, New York, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseGuillaume Lemoine
Children1
EducationUniversity of Rochester (BA)
SignatureLaura Friedman's signature
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Laura Syril Friedman[1] (born December 3, 1966)[2] is an American politician and former film producer who is the member for California's 30th congressional district in the House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented California's 44th State Assembly district from 2016 to 2024.

Prior to her election to the Assembly in 2016, Friedman was a member of the Glendale City Council from 2009 to 2016,[3] where she served as mayor of Glendale from 2011 until 2012.[4] She authored a bill to eliminate minimum parking requirements for housing near mass transit stations in California, which was signed into law in 2022.[5]

Early life and career

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Friedman comes from a Jewish family in New York.[6] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester in New York.[7] In 1992, Friedman moved to Hollywood, eventually relocating to Glendale in 2000 where she has resided ever since.

Between 1994 and 1997, Friedman was the vice president of development at Rysher Entertainment, where she oversaw the production of approximately ten feature films annually as well as extensive television programming.[8]

In 1995, Friedman was the co-producer of the Warner Brothers release It Takes Two.[9] In 1996, she was associate producer of House Arrest; executive producer of Foxfire; executive producer of the family film Zeus and Roxanne; and associate producer of the independent film Aberration, which was released by LIVE Entertainment. Between 1998 and 1999, Friedman was the vice president of development at Cort/Madden Company. Since 2000, Friedman has owned and managed PlanetGlass.net, a web-based art glass dealership.[10]

Political career

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In April 2011, Friedman became the mayor of Glendale, California.[11]

California State Assembly

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Official portrait in the California State Assembly, 2018

In 2019, Friedman authored legislation supported by animal rights organizations and activists to prohibit the sale of new fur products in California. The bill was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2019, making California the first state to ban the sale of fur.[12][13] In 2024, Friedman co-authored legislation with Assemblymember Steve Bennett to prohibit the commercial farming of octopuses in California. The legislation was enacted in September 2024, making California the second state to prohibit octopus farming after the state of Washington banned the practice earlier that year.[14][15]

On September 7, 2021, she delayed the release of $4 billion of voter approved bonds for the California High-Speed Rail, stating that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has "not provided us any real details about what the money would go towards this year". The CHSRA Chief Financial Officer, Brian Annis, countered by stating that the CHSRA already presented to the legislature the expenditure plan in February 2021 and that this delayed release by Friedman could cause budget delays to snowball.[16]

Friedman was a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.[17]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2024

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In January 2023, Friedman launched her candidacy in the 2024 election in California's 30th congressional district.[18] The incumbent representative, Adam Schiff, vacated the seat in his successful bid in the 2024 United States Senate election in California. Friedman defeated physician Alex Balekian, receiving 68.4% of the vote.[19]

Committee assignments

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Caucus membership

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Electoral history

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California Assembly election, 2016: District 43[23][24]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman 33,276 31.89
Democratic Ardy Kassakhian 25,357 24.30
Republican Mark MacCarley 16,551 15.86
Democratic Andrew Blumenfield 13,309 12.75
Republican Alexandra Bustamante 6,524 6.25
Democratic Dennis Bullock 4,294 4.11
Democratic Rajiv Dalal 3,173 3.04
American Independent Aaron Cervantes 1,873 1.79
Total votes 104,357 100
General election
Democratic Laura Friedman 106,186 64.45
Democratic Ardy Kassakhian 58,561 35.55
Total votes 164,747 100
Democratic hold
California Assembly election, 2018: District 43[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman (incumbent; uncontested) 125,568 100
Total votes 125,568 100
Democratic hold
California Assembly election, 2020: District 43[26][27]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman (incumbent) 88,541 75.64
Republican Mike Graves 24,258 20.72
No party preference Robert Sexton 4,264 3.64
Total votes 117,063 100
General election
Democratic Laura Friedman (incumbent) 149,214 69.57
Republican Mike Graves 65,270 30.43
Total votes 214,484 100
Democratic hold
California Assembly election, 2022: District 44[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman (incumbent) 113,380 71.35
Republican Barry Curtis Jacobsen 45,519 28.65
Total votes 158,899 100
Democratic hold
US House election, 2024: California District 30[29][19]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman 46,329 30.08
Republican Alex Balekian 26,826 17.42
Democratic Anthony Portantino 20,459 13.28
Democratic Mike Feuer 18,878 12.26
Democratic Maebe A. Girl 15,791 10.25
Republican Emilio Martinez 6,775 4.40
Democratic Ben Savage 6,147 3.99
Democratic Nick Melvoin 4,134 2.68
Democratic Jirair Ratevosian 2,889 1.88
Democratic Sepi Shyne 2,126 1.38
Democratic Courtney Najera 1,167 0.76
No party preference Joshua Bocanegra 780 0.51
Democratic Steve Dunwoody 727 0.47
Democratic Francisco Arreaga 532 0.35
Democratic Sal Genovese 442 0.29
Total votes 154,002 100
General election
Democratic Laura Friedman 213,100 68.38
Republican Alex Balekian 98,559 31.62
Total votes 311,659 100
Democratic hold
US House election, 2026: California District 30[30]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Laura Friedman (incumbent) 102,384 52.68
Republican Scott Alan Meyers 32,216 16.58
Democratic Cameron Tennyson 26,756 13.77
No party preference John Armenian 10,341 5.32
Republican Dennis Feitosa 9,084 4.67
Democratic Joel Lava 8,210 4.22
Democratic Pini Herman 5,360 2.76
Total votes 194,351 100

Personal life

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Friedman is married to Guillaume Lemoine, a professional landscape designer.[8] The couple has a daughter, Rachel, born in 2013.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Rep. Laura Friedman - D California, 30th- Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Rep. Laura Friedman - D California, 30th, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Management Services: City Council". City of Glendale. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Levine, Brittany (April 9, 2012). "Mayor Laura Friedman baffled by colleagues' indecision". Glendale News-Press.
  5. ↑ Parker, Jordan (September 23, 2022). "YIMBYs cheer 'landmark' law to eliminate parking mandates in housing near transit". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ↑ Arom, Eitan (January 6, 2017). "Jewish state legislators ready to make an impact". Jewish Journal.
  7. ↑ "Management Services: Laura Friedman". City of Glendale. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Qualifications". VoteLauraFriedman.com. January 9, 2009. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ Klady, Leonard (November 20, 1995). "It Takes Two". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Laura Friedman". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Laura Friedman's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Bill Text - AB-44 Fur products: prohibition". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
  13. ↑ Kaur, Harmeet (October 13, 2019). "California becomes the first state to ban fur products". CNN.
  14. ↑ Peterson, Jenna (August 16, 2024). "What's California going to ban now? Farmed octopus sales". CalMatters. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ Jeong, Helen (September 30, 2024). "Why did Newsom sign an octopus farming ban in California? Here's why". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  16. ↑ Rudick, Roger (September 7, 2021). "Friedman Derails Bullet Train Budget". Streetsblog California. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Legislative Progressive Caucus". assembly.ca.gov. California State Assembly. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  18. ↑ Mason, Melanie; Mehta, Seema (February 3, 2023). "As Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter launch Senate campaigns, the race to replace them begins". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  19. 1 2 "2024 California general election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. November 5, 2024. p. 32.
  20. ↑ "Ranking Member Larsen Welcomes T&I Vice Ranking Members". The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. January 22, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Membership". Congressional Freethought Caucus. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  23. ↑ "2016 California primary election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. June 7, 2016. p. 121.
  24. ↑ "2016 California general election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. November 8, 2016. p. 56.
  25. ↑ "2018 California general election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. November 6, 2018. p. 79.
  26. ↑ "2020 California primary election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. March 3, 2020. p. 160.
  27. ↑ "2020 California general election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. November 3, 2020. p. 50.
  28. ↑ "2022 California general election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. November 8, 2022. p. 74.
  29. ↑ "2024 California primary election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. March 5, 2024. p. 86.
  30. ↑ "2026 California primary election results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. June 2, 2026. p. 84.
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