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By Brian Hews
Downey ~ Friné Medrano announced her candidacy for the 58th Assembly District this past March 30, joining a long list of candidates trying to replace current embattled Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia.
Garcia was accused of sexual harassment in a February POLITICO report that cited a former staffer, Daniel Fierro, saying Garcia“reached around and grabbed my crotch” at a softball game.
Other staffers came out later accusing her of similar misconduct, and recently Garcia admitted calling former speaker John Perez a “homo.”
Medrano began working in state government in 2006, serving with then-State Assembly member Kevin De León as a Field Deputy.
Today, Medrano continues to work for De León, who is now the State Senator and President Pro-Tempore of the California State Senate as a Senior Field Deputy, where she has concentrated on linking state government with local communities.
In her capacity, Medrano has been a key advisor on issues of public policy, including education, health and safety, women’s issues, and small business development.
Medrano told HMG-CN that she believes her experience working in state government have “provided her with the tools necessary to be a strong leader in Sacramento, and fight to represent the interests of the people of the 58th Assembly District.”
As a Southeast Los Angeles native, Medrano feels strongly about getting things done for the district and ensuring that the resident’s vision is well represented. She has been active in building bi-partisan coalitions around pragmatic causes throughout Los Angeles County.
Medrano is most proud of her work helping to shut down the Exide Battery Plant in Vernon, which had shown to have adverse negative effects on surrounding communities, including the city Downey.
As a member of the Exide Community Advisory board, she worked closely with De León and Governor Jerry Brown to shut down the toxic plant. A major victory was celebrated when $176 million was allocated for testing, clean-up and remediation of the site.
Throughout her years in public office, Medrano “has never forgotten the reasons why she works so hard in getting things done for local neighborhoods, ensuring that there is an even playing field for all residents, solving our community’s most challenging problems.”
For over 20 years Medrano has called Southeastern Los Angeles her home. She attended Warren High School and went on to graduate from California State University Los Angeles with a degree in Communications.
Medrano is following in her mother’s footsteps as a community activist, who instilled in her a strong commitment to public service, promising herself to always do right by others.
The 58th Assembly district represents the cities of Artesia, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Cerritos, Commerce, Downey, Montebello, Norwalk, and Pico Rivera.
Medrano’s donation site can be found here and she can be followed on Twitter at @FrineMedrano, found on Facebook here.
If the race gets any more crowded, Garcia could still win! Then she will have yet another thing in common with TRUMP (it’s already a long list!) — she’ll be able to use the excuse that the allegations against her were settled at the ballot box!