Lorena Gonzalez (California politician)
American politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lorena Sofia Gonzalez Fletcher[1][2][3] (born September 16, 1971) is an American union leader and former politician. A Democrat, she served in the California State Assembly from 2013 to 2022, representing the 80th Assembly District, which encompasses southern San Diego. She was first elected to the Assembly in a 2013 special election to succeed Ben Hueso, who was elected to the State Senate in a special election.
Lorena Gonzalez | |
---|---|
Member of the California State Assembly from the 80th district | |
In office May 28, 2013 ā January 5, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Ben Hueso |
Succeeded by | David Alvarez |
Personal details | |
Born | Lorena Sofia Gonzalez (1971-09-16) September 16, 1971 (age 52) Oceanside, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Nathan Fletcher (m. 2017) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Stanford University (BA) Georgetown University (MA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD) |
Gonzalez successfully sponsored and passed multiple pieces of legislation in California aimed at increasing healthcare access and putting more protections in place for workers. In 2016, she helped raise the minimum wage in California, which increased by $1 each year until full implementation at $15 per hour in 2022.[4] She introduced Assembly Bill 5, which passed in September 2019 and required many workers to be classified as employees rather than independent contractors, providing them more protections under labor and minimum wage laws.[5][6]
In January 2022, Gonzalez resigned from the state assembly to assume a leadership position in the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.[7]