[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 297 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 297
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the
first Latina elected to the California State Legislature, Los Angeles
City Council, and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 13, 2023
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the
first Latina elected to the California State Legislature, Los Angeles
City Council, and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Whereas Gloria Molina was born on May 31, 1948, in Montebello, California, to
Leonard Molina and Concepcion Molina, who immigrated from Casa Grandes,
Chihuahua, Mexico;
Whereas Gloria Molina was the oldest of 10 siblings and assisted her parents in
raising her siblings;
Whereas Gloria Molina graduated from El Rancho High School in 1966, and attended
Rio Hondo Community College, East Los Angeles Community College, and
California State University, Los Angeles;
Whereas Gloria Molina's activism was sparked by the Chicano movement and passion
for women's empowerment;
Whereas Gloria Molina began her advocacy advancing health care and political
access for Latinas as President of Comision Feminil Mexicana National;
Whereas, before being elected to public office, Gloria Molina volunteered for
President Carter's campaign office in California in 1975, and later
served as a staffing specialist in the White House Office of
Presidential Personnel;
Whereas, in 1979, Gloria Molina served as the Director of Intergovernmental and
Congressional Affairs for the region IX office of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services;
Whereas Gloria Molina was elected to the California State Assembly from the 56th
Assembly District in 1982, where she combined passionate advocacy with
formidable political skill to strengthen communities in the 56th
Assembly District and statewide, and served until her 1987 election to
the Los Angeles City Council;
Whereas Gloria Molina was the first ever Latina elected to, and only the third
person of Mexican ancestry to serve on, the Los Angeles City Council in
1987;
Whereas, in 1991, after decades of gerrymandering that excluded Latino
representation on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Gloria
Molina was elected as the first Latina to serve as a Los Angeles County
Supervisor;
Whereas Gloria Molina served honorably for 23 years, representing a district
that stretched from Koreatown, Pico-Union, and East Los Angeles, all the
way east to Pomona and included much of the San Gabriel Valley;
Whereas Gloria Molina became renowned during her service as a County Supervisor
as a fiscal watchdog committed to overseeing good government reforms,
maintenance of the county's public health care system, and quality-of-
life issues for the millions of county residents living in
unincorporated Los Angeles County;
Whereas, throughout her career, Gloria Molina served on various boards,
including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
(MALDEF), the Southwest Voter Education and Registration Project, the
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO),
and the California Community Foundation;
Whereas Gloria Molina also served for over 10 years as 1 of 4 Vice Chairs of the
Democratic National Committee (DNC);
Whereas Gloria Molina, a strong advocate for the arts and the celebration of
Mexican American culture, traditions, and history, in 2011 established
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown Los Angeles, and in 2014, the
Eastside Arts Initiative to support community-based arts organizations,
including CASA 0101 and Self-Help Graphics;
Whereas Gloria Molina, a master quilter and artist, formed the East LA Stitchers
(TELAS) to inspire Latinas to express their culture through this art
form;
Whereas Gloria Molina was a champion for social justice and fought tirelessly
for the most vulnerable Angelenos, from fighting against a plan to build
a prison in the Eastside to helping grow the public transportation
system and ending the forced sterilizations of women at General Hospital
in Los Angeles;
Whereas, throughout a distinguished career, Gloria Molina touched the lives of
countless people and will have her life and legacy preserved in Los
Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of
Directors voted to dedicate the East Los Angeles Civic Center station in
Gloria Molina's name;
Whereas the CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights designated its main theater as
the ``Gloria Molina Auditorium'' in honor of Gloria Molina's donations
to Latino arts in the Southland area of Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to
rename Grand Park the ``Gloria Molina Grand Park'' commemorating Gloria
Molina's service to Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion to rename a portion of the
Observation Deck in the Tom Bradley Tower which overlooks Grand Park, as
the ``Gloria Molina Observation deck''; and
Whereas Gloria Molina passed away on May 14, 2023, at the age of 74 after
battling cancer for 3 years: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) extends its deepest sympathies to the friends and loved
ones of Gloria Molina of Mount Washington, California, in their
bereavement; and
(2) recognizes and celebrates Gloria Molina's historic 32-
year political career and the series of firsts that inspired
generations of women and Latinos to seek public office, being
the first Latina Assembly Member in California, the first
Latina on the Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina on
the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.
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