The Los Angeles County Young Democrats (LACYD) is a political organization in Southern California. It is an official Democratic Club, and is chartered with the California Young Democrats, [1] the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley, [2] and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. [3]
LACYD has more than 1,000 members and supporters. To be an active member, one must be a registered Democrat from 18 to 35 years of age. [4]
LACYD was founded in 1973 by Congressman Henry Waxman, Congressman Howard Berman, former Los Angeles City Controller Rick Tuttle, and others. [4]
Notable former LACYD Executive board members include:
LACYD has been active in elections at the local, state, and national level since its founding. Members work for endorsed candidates, and representatives speak to other organizations and media outlets about the candidates and issues LACYD has endorsed. The group also organizes candidate forums and debates [5] and takes positions on public issues. [6]
Candidates have been known to go to great lengths to seek the group's endorsement, [7] [8] and cite the group's endorsement as a reason to vote for them. [9]
On February 28, 2011, then LACYD President David Graham-Caso was quoted in the Los Angeles Daily News , advocating for Los Angeles Measure L, an initiative to restore funding to libraries. [10] [11]
Bradley James Sherman is an American accountant and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 32nd congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, he first entered Congress in 1997. Sherman represented California's 24th congressional district for three terms, California's 27th congressional district for five terms, and California's 30th congressional district for five terms. His district includes parts of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and the eastern part of the Simi Hills in Ventura County.
Howard Lawrence Berman is an American attorney and retired politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1983 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the state's 26th congressional district until redistricting and the 28th congressional district—which both encompassed parts of the San Fernando Valley—for a combined 15 terms.
Henry Arnold Waxman is an American politician and lobbyist who was a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Rick Tuttle is an American politician, university administrator and educator from Los Angeles, California.
The 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on March 5, 2013, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles. No candidate received a majority of the primary votes to be elected outright, and the top two finishers, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel advanced to a runoff vote. On May 21, 2013, Garcetti was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in the runoff.
California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010, statewide ballot. It was defeated, with 53.5% of California voters voting "No" and 46.5% voting "Yes." If passed, it would have legalized various marijuana-related activities, allowed local governments to regulate these activities, permitted local governments to impose and collect marijuana-related fees and taxes, and authorized various criminal and civil penalties. In March 2010, it qualified to be on the November statewide ballot. The proposition required a simple majority in order to pass, and would have taken effect the day after the election. Yes on 19 was the official advocacy group for the initiative and California Public Safety Institute: No On Proposition 19 was the official opposition group.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 6, 2012, with a primary election on June 5, 2012. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and a U.S. Senate election.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, with a primary election on June 3, 2014. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election.
The 2016 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Brown was ineligible to run for re-election for a third consecutive term due to term limits from the Constitution of California. The race was between the incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and businessman John H. Cox, a Republican, who qualified for the general election after placing first and second in the June 5, 2018, primary election.
The 2018 California lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the lieutenant governor of California. Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits and ran for governor of California instead. Democrats Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez faced each other in the general election, as no Republican finished in the top two positions of the nonpartisan blanket primary that was held on June 5, 2018.
A special election was held on June 6, 2017, to elect the member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district. A special open primary election was held on April 4, 2017.
The 2018 California Superintendent of Public Instruction primary election was held on June 5, 2018, to elect the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California. Unlike most other elections in California, the superintendent is not elected under the state's "top-two primary". Instead, the officially nonpartisan position is elected via a general election, with a runoff held on November 6, 2018, because no candidate received a majority of the vote.
The 2024 United States Senate elections in California will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of California. There will be two ballot items for the same Class 1 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final weeks of the 118th United States Congress, and a general election for a full term that starts on January 3, 2025, starting in the 119th United States Congress. California uses a nonpartisan blanket primary, in which all candidates regardless of party affiliation appear on the same primary ballot and the two highest-placing candidates advance to the general election; however, special election winners can win outright if they win more than 50% of the vote in the first round.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A top-two primary was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Twenty-seven filed their declaration of intention to collect signatures for the ballot, and of these twelve qualified.
The 2022 California State Controller election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the California State Controller. Due to strict absolute lifetime term limit laws, incumbent Democratic State Controller Betty Yee was ineligible to run for a third term. Democrat Malia Cohen won the election, defeating Republican Lanhee Chen. Despite Chen's loss, the race was the closest of the 2022 elections in California, and Chen received more votes than any Republican candidate in the 2022 national election cycle. Chen flipped ten counties, also the most any candidate flipped in California.
The 2017 Los Angeles elections were held on March 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Voters elected candidates in a nonpartisan primary, with runoff elections scheduled for May 16, 2017. Eight of the fifteen seats in the City Council were up for election, as well as the offices of Mayor, City Attorney and City Controller. Four ballot measures were also on the ballot.
The 2022 Los Angeles elections were held on June 7, 2022. Voters elected candidates in a nonpartisan primary, with runoff elections scheduled for November 8, 2022. Eight of the fifteen seats in the City Council were up for election while three of the seven seats in the LAUSD Board of Education were up for election. The seat of Mayor of Los Angeles was up for election due to incumbent Eric Garcetti's term limit. The seats of the Los Angeles City Controller and the Los Angeles City Attorney were also up for election, as their incumbents, Mike Feuer and Ron Galperin, were running for mayor and California State Controller respectively.
The 2022 Los Angeles County elections were held on November 8, 2022, in Los Angeles County, California, with nonpartisan blanket primary elections for certain offices being held on June 7. Two of the five seats of the Board of Supervisors were up for election, as well as two of the countywide elected officials, the Sheriff and the Assessor. In addition, elections were held for the Superior Court, along with two ballot measures.