I was raised in Overland Park, Kansas, oldest of 4 children. Father-Retired Minister/Bishop.  Mother-Retired professor of piano & community music school director.  I attended public schools (K-12) in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. I was active in church, college and community choirs for 20 years from the age of 5. I attended college in Oklahoma and graduate school in Indianapolis. I worked 10 years for the Department of Corrections in Indiana as an addictions counselor and classification specialist.  I moved to CA in 1999 to work as a social worker in child protection until retiring in 2019.  I'm passionate about music and saving the earth, humans, animals, plants, trees, air and water.

I believe in equality. I believe the time has come for women to have greater power and responsibility within the political sphere. This will involve continued softening of patriarchal systems that have been pervasive since America's founding. Eliminating racial disparities and disproportionality in economic, educational, housing, policing, life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality, health care, income, wealth, prisons, the judicial systerm, and employment is long overdue, and I believe attainable within my lifetime. It is time for a focused righting of the wrongs caused by centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, lethal policing and implicit bias in all aspects of American life. Young people need to be welcomed into political discourse. Decades of the corrupting influence of money in American government needs to be stopped and corrected.  I am passionate about mental health and addictions care being available to all Americans in addition to Medicare for All. Gun violence and suicide need to be addressed by the Centers for Disease Control in a scientific manner and solutions based in science (concurrent with our Constitution). With greater gender balance in governance, war will assuredly be a last resort, not an expedient economic necessity. Poverty in America can be eradicated with elimination of perpetual wars. Gender balance in the Congress will ensure women have permanent reproductive rights. Human rights will be higher on the agenda in a more balanced Congress. LGBTQI rights will be codified. Separation of church and state are essential to the great American experiment succeeding.

I was born and raised in Woodland Hills. I went to public schools: Woodlake Elementary, Hughes Jr. High, and El Camino.  My father was a psychiatrist and my mother was heavily involved with the schools and  the League of Women Voters. I inherited the drive to make an impact in my community from my mother. She spent decades educating people on the ballot measures on behalf of the League of Women Voters.  After graduating from San Francisco State University with a BA in Drama,  I was gone for a while, teaching English and running a theatrical production company in Japan.  When I returned to this community in 2001 I was a single mom with a toddler son.   We struggled for a while but friends, family and the community always had our backs. I eventually got my MBA and was able to start my own business, Topper Packaging, LLC which has grown to the point that I’ve been able to pay the bills and keep a roof over our heads.  My son is now soon to graduate from UCLA with a double major in Political Science and International Industrial Development.  I’m looking forward to many years of continuing to serve my customers and my community.

Politically, my biggest influencers have been my parents and Bernie Sanders.  I was raised to acknowledge, respect, and value all people, animals, and the environment. Every day we have a choice. We can decide to spend our time pretending we are separate from the world. We can pretend that happens to strangers and  what happens to the land or to the animals has nothing to do with us. And even though deep down we all know that’s not true, like many others, I didn’t get involved in politics because I felt like the system was rigged against regular people like me and I couldn’t make a difference.  That was until Senator Sanders ran for president in 2016.  For the first time in my life and ever since then I have been heavily involved in creating the change I want to see around me.  I was inspired by  Bernie Sanders because he was fighting for goals that were in line with my own:

Ensure healthcare as a right through Medicare-for-All

Get big money out of politics

Raise the minimum wage to at least $15/hr

Make public colleges tuition-free and cancel student debt.

Create clean energy jobs and invest in research and actions to combat climate change

Fix our broken immigration system

Create affordable housing and permanent supportive housing

Advance and promote civil rights, equality, and justice for all

Promote diplomacy rather than endless wars

Legalize cannabis  

• Member of the County Central Committee since 2007
• Member of its Rules Committee
• Formerly its Regional Vice Chair
• Chair of the state party's subcommittee on federal legislation
• Member of the executive board of the state party
• President of North Valley Democratic Club

As a former astrophysicist, I focus on using sound science to develop good policy in Sacramento and Washington.

I am a San Fernando Valley native and have lived my whole life in this area. I was born in Encino and have lived most of my life around Chatsworth, where I am now, and Porter Ranch.

Some of my earliest action as an activist was marching for Cesar Chavez to boycott grapes. I worked in the McGovern campaign. I walked precincts for my mother's congressional campaign.

My family has taught me the importance of protecting all families, not just those who fit some specific mold. Families must be given the freedom to prosper in their own way while being empowered with great opportunities including good jobs, quality education, affordable health care, and a safe environment. Those are family values I cherish.

I have served as Parliamentarian and Member of the Board of Trustees of The Summer Science Program, an educational non-profit that provides teenagers with an opportunity to study math, physics, and astronomy in a college-like environment and to work on a real science project with real scientists.

After 12 years of public school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I went to Caltech in Pasadena where I majored in astronomy and physics.

I left physics to become a software engineer and manager. I was a principal in a small start-up company in Calabasas designing computer storage products. I was Chief Technology officer at another computer company in Chatsworth. I previously worked for 8 years at Micro Memory, a small but long established company in Chatsworth. Before that, I was at Sun Microsystems for 9 years.

I learned much from my contrasting experiences with these different companies. Micro Memory did its own production in the United States until it was bought out and shut down by a much larger company. Sun had been outsourcing many jobs to India and other foreign countries. More recently I got to see the entrepreneurial side with a start-up. We must work harder to keep jobs here. Creating jobs for many must be more important than profits that go to only a few. For this country to be a technological leader, we need quality public education including the right to go to college. We should invest in basic research done in the United States by citizens and permanent residents.

Corruption

We must end the corruption in the White House. Trump has to go, and we need to elect a Democrat. I will support whoever is the Democratic nominee, though I would prefer to see it be someone who is progressive.

Environment

There is no issue as crucial as protecting the environment. The environmental damage being done today may take thousands of years to repair. We could even be facing mass extinction and the end of life as we know it. We must follow the IPCC SR15 recommendation to quickly reduce and eliminate CO2 emissions, reduce dependence on all oil, protect all species and preserve their habitat, and ensure our water supply and clean air.

I support the Green New Deal to achieve those goals while creating quality jobs.

As a member of the board of Save Porter Ranch, I've been a leader in fighting to protect us from the terrible and continuing effects of the Aliso natural-gas blowout and from future leaks. I am fighting to see that we finally clean up to radioactive and toxic mess above our homes at the Santa Susana Field Lab, site of a nuclear power meltdown and dumping of nuclear and poisonous waste. I will continue fighting to get a fracking moratorium and get us to end the use of all fossil fuels which transitioning to new infrastructure that keeps our economy strong.

Health Care

We need Single Payer health insurance at the state and national level. While working to establish that, we must continue to build on the success of Obamacare and make it even better.

Choice

I strongly support the right to reproductive choice. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. We must have complete freedom from government involvement in such decisions. Women must have complete freedom to choose, and doctors must have complete freedom to assist in that choice.

Cecile Bendavid is a member of the Los Angeles County Committee and is chair of the 45 Assembly District Committee as well as Vice-Chair of Region 2 that includes Assembly Districts 39, 45 and 46.  She also is elected to the California Democratic Party State Executive Board, a position she has held for many years.  

Cecile is an active Union Member and serves as the Secretary of the California Faculty Association Chapter at CSU Northridge.  She is also the Political Action Director for the Union for the campus.  Cecile's main focus is to help elect legislators who will vote to provide free or affordable quality public education in the state of California.  She has been a professor at CSUN for the past 23 years.

As a member of the California State Central Committee, she attends all state conventions and is appointed to the State Legislative committee.  In Los Angeles, she also serves on the Legislative Committee.   

I have dedicated most of my life to helping elect Democrats in the San Fernando Valley and to advancing the progressive and inclusive values of our Party. I have served on the Democratic Party Central Committee for more than 20 years and am an elected member of the California Democratic Party Executive Board.  I will continue to be a responsive, accessible, and effective advocate.  I began my leadership as a 15-year-old activist when I was a founder of a Democratic Club that grew out of the McGovern campaign. Over the years, I have knocked on more doors, organized more political events, and helped open more campaign offices than I can remember. My long record of service to the Democratic Party includes:

• Serving as Chair of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV) for six years, growing DP/SFV from 7 clubs to 25, and opening the largest independent Democratic Headquarters in California.

• Serving as a DP/SFV Executive Board Member for the past 22 years.   

• Helping form more than 12 different Democratic clubs and organizations.

• Serving as a Member of the California Democratic Party’s Executive Board for many years.

• Serving as a Member of the LA County Democratic Central Committee and Chairing its Judicial Interview Committee for about 20 years.

I have a proven track record as a tireless leader who will challenge the status quo and bring people together. I am proud to have served Los Angeles as a City Commissioner for the past 15 years, including 10 years as the Chair of the Rent Adjustment Commission preserving affordable housing, and on the Airport Commission. 

I currently work for UnitedHealthcare as a Healthcare Service Coordinator, however I am a strong advicate of Medicare for All.  I'm also an author and have written a book entitled Manic Man: Life with My Bipolar Father that is in the re-writing stage and is being reveiwed by one of the most prestigious agents in the country.  I'm a Journalism graduate from Cal State University Northridge and am the current President of Feel The Bern San Fernando Valley Democratic Club.  

I am an organizer, volunteer and activist who has been fighting and will continue to represent the working class for equal justice, to erase income inequality and to eradicate the stigmas of mental health illness.  I support full comprensive healthcare for all, a Green New Deal, erasing income inequality and expanding social security, eliminating racial disparities, immigration reform, permanent reproductive rights for women, equal pay for women, free pre-school, free college and trade school, cancelling all student debt, ending regime change nation-building, ending "forever" wars, a 2-state solution for Israel/Palestine and renewing relationships with foreign allies.  

I have been building homes and commercial buildings for 30 + years. Built my first residential home with my Father during my High School years. I am very blessed to do what I love in order to make a living. I finally realized my dream last year (2019), by passing the tests for my General "B" building license, and starting my own company. I'm looking forward now to taking advantage of new building technologies to incorporate clean-energy and sustainable development into everything I build.

My name is Jason Small. I moved to this assembly district from California’s central coast a few years ago. I was born in Santa Barbara and have lived in California most of my life. I am a 48-year-old father and carpenter by trade. I am the proud nephew of Reverend Dr. Gary Herbertson. I was very honored to work with my uncle the year that he was the recipient of the united nations religion and faith global environment award (1995). During this time I was also involved with Earth Day international and the spaceship Earth foundation, working towards clean energy solutions and sustainable development. My uncle was the chief of non-governmental organizations (UNEP) and organized the religious task force on the global environment in the days leading up to the first conference on the global environment in Stockholm, Sweden(1972). He was my mentor. These were very inspiring times of my young life and imbedded in me a strong sense of urgency to think globally, but act locally. 

  Around the time I moved here, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his 2016 run for POTUS. Inspired by his call for a political revolution, I decided to campaign as one of his pledged delegates. I also volunteered as a poll worker for the 2016 general election, as I witnessed the massive amount of election fraud and voter suppression that was taking place across our country, that same year, in the media, as well as in our Democratic Party (I witnessed this firsthand at my polling location). I was on able to go to the convention as a pledged delegate, but did attend and was inside and outside protesting the unfair treatment of my Primary Election Candidate. During my run to be a pledge delegate and in the days leading up to the convention, I took every opportunity to attend all local functions & simultaneously table against the TPP. To educate the public on this disastrous trade deal, as attempts were made to fast track it through the congress. I am a member of the progressive & environmental Caucuses and have attended state meetings in Long Beach and San Diego. I am also a member of the Feel the Bern Democratic Club and the parliamentarian of our San Fernando Valley regional committee. I have organized and participated in voter registration drives leading up to the 2016 GE & , more recently the 2018 Mid-Terms(phone-banking & on the block). I also organized (& was one of) California is 55 Presidential Elector Candidates for the Bernie write in campaign in California. I took this action knowing that many of the disenfranchised voters in our state were going to write Bernie in, and wanted to legitimize those votes. I strongly believe in calls to help transform the Democratic Party and from what I have witnessed over the past couple of years, we need change from within now more than ever. I am ready, willing, and able, to fight for progressive change. It is my ardent hope that we all continue to awaken to the critical change we need to make, as human beings, in our interaction with others and the planet that sustains us all. That all of us cease to be dissuaded and distracted by the constant bombardment of insignificant information and it's desired effect. That we all cease to be placated by controlled opposition, created and sustained by the corporate class on a national and global scale. That we all realize daily,and act on our own "given" intuitions. That we all continue to take heart and stand for what we inherently know to be just. That we continue to exemplify the courage it takes to sometimes be the only one in a crowd doing so. With all of us dedicated to seeking the truth and acting on what we discover individually and collectively, we cannot miss the boat.

I was commended by my commanding officer in Vietnam for professional actions & sense of urgency displayed during a Viet Cong attack: "your self-discipline and cool thinking preserved order and saved lives." 

Upon return as a partially disabled veteran, I worked as an organizer to end the war.  I have served as a life long advocate for a better world.  I served as a consultant to the Carter White House and to a Congressman. Elected to the executive board of the CA State Democratic Party and elected to Chair the Business & Professional Caucus for the past ten years.  I was elected to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, serve on the Legislative Committee and was honored as a Democrat of the Year. Now I am running for re-election in March.

I was elected to the Board of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and several Democratic Clubs.

I have served as a LA City Commissioner since first appointed by Mayor Bradley, in a number of posts, including Council on Aging, Harbor, Convention Center, Industrial Development Authority and Currently serve as a City Planning Commissioner.  Have served for twenty years as a Los Angeles County Small Business Commissioner and as the Vice Chair and Chair of this Commission. I was appointed to the Commission for the State Film Advisory Board and also the State Small Business Commission.  I was appointed to the Advisory Board of several elected officials over the years and have received over thirty certificates of commendation from elected officials as well as many letters from non profit groups thanking me for my contributions and service. 

I have been a member of the Producers Guild of America for over forty-five years, I have served on the boards of many Chamber of Commerce organizations, was elected to the Tarzana Neighborhood Council, and served with the Los Angeles Business Council as well as a member of the United Hospital Association and several other professional groups.

I attended East Los Angeles College, CSUN and UCLA and received a degree in business and accounting and attended film school along with many other courses over the years.

I served as the CFO, Treasurer and founding member of TELACU, The East Los Angeles Community Union. Ray Bishop & Associates provided accounting, tax preparation & business management Services to companies and individuals to include Producers, Directors, Actors, Musicians, Attorneys, and Physicians. 

I was the co-founder and Administrator of the Valley Psychiatric Medical Clinic which grew to be recognized as one of the finest and largest clinics with over twenty professional health providers.  I organized and purchased Community Hospital of North Hollywood and served as the Chairman of the Governing Board and Board of Directors. I was the founder and administrator of the Coldwater Medical Group with six physicans. My company managed these health institutions.

I provided accounting, management services and negotiated contracts for many board and care homes including Penny Lane, the Exceptional Childrens Foundation, and others. I formed and served as the Chair of the Valley Health Fund, a non-profit organization. As such, I organized SOS, Save our Seniors to provide free health screens to senior citizens, developed and funded a juvenile diversion program in conjunction with UCLA, obtained a grant to conduct a study to de-toxify heroin addicts, providing treatment to approximately eighty addicts a day.  I accquired Hyatt Alcholism Centers and after changing the name to; CAP, Community Alcholism Program, worked with AA to treat victims of alcholism.

I was the President and Chair of Image International, a motion picture production company, the producer and owner of the last film of Zero Mostel.  With Mary Ellis Bunim I worked with Bunim Murray Productions to develop new shows such as Simple Life, Starting Over, Real Medical and also helped organize productions of shows such as Real World and Road Rules.

I owned and operated the LA Cabaret Comedy Club serving the San Fernando Valley for over fifteen years.  I was responsible for a highly successful club that was the home of many highly successful comics who had a start at my club.  

I have served as a Licensed Commercial and Business Broker, under my company Bishop Associates and have servecd as the listing agent, manager and sales agent for many properties including shopping centers, office buildings, retail centers, land and businesses.  We provide consulting services to many business owners and professionals.

I was commended by my commanding officer in Vietnam for professional actions & sense of urgency displayed during a Viet Cong attack: "your self-discipline and cool thinking preserved order and saved lives." 

Upon return as a partially disabled veteran, I worked as an organizer to end the war.  I have served as a life long advocate for a better world.  I served as a consultant to the Carter White House and to a Congressman. Elected to the executive board of the CA State Democratic Party and elected to Chair the Business & Professional Caucus for the past ten years.  I was elected to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, serve on the Legislative Committee and was honored as a Democrat of the Year. Now I am running for re-election in March.

I was elected to the Board of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and several Democratic Clubs.

I have served as a LA City Commissioner since first appointed by Mayor Bradley, in a number of posts, including Council on Aging, Harbor, Convention Center, Industrial Development Authority and Currently serve as a City Planning Commissioner.  Have served for twenty years as a Los Angeles County Small Business Commissioner and as the Vice Chair and Chair of this Commission. I was appointed to the Commission for the State Film Advisory Board and also the State Small Business Commission.  I was appointed to the Advisory Board of several elected officials over the years and have received over thirty certificates of commendation from elected officials as well as many letters from non profit groups thanking me for my contributions and service. 

I have been a member of the Producers Guild of America for over forty-five years, I have served on the boards of many Chamber of Commerce organizations, was elected to the Tarzana Neighborhood Council, and served with the Los Angeles Business Council as well as a member of the United Hospital Association and several other professional groups.

I attended East Los Angeles College, CSUN and UCLA and received a degree in business and accounting and attended film school along with many other courses over the years.

I served as the CFO, Treasurer and founding member of TELACU, The East Los Angeles Community Union. Ray Bishop & Associates provided accounting, tax preparation & business management Services to companies and individuals to include Producers, Directors, Actors, Musicians, Attorneys, and Physicians. 

I was the co-founder and Administrator of the Valley Psychiatric Medical Clinic which grew to be recognized as one of the finest and largest clinics with over twenty professional health providers.  I organized and purchased Community Hospital of North Hollywood and served as the Chairman of the Governing Board and Board of Directors. I was the founder and administrator of the Coldwater Medical Group with six physicians. My company managed these health institutions.

I provided accounting, management services and negotiated contracts for many board and care homes including Penny Lane, the Exceptional Children's Foundation, and others. I formed and served as the Chair of the Valley Health Fund, a non-profit organization. As such, I organized SOS, Save our Seniors to provide free health screens to senior citizens, developed and funded a juvenile diversion program in conjunction with UCLA, obtained a grant to conduct a study to de-toxify heroin addicts, providing treatment to approximately eighty addicts a day.  I acquired Hyatt Alcoholism Centers and after changing the name to; CAP, Community Alcoholism Program, worked with AA to treat victims of alcoholism.

I was the President and Chair of Image International, a motion picture production company, the producer and owner of the last film of Zero Mostel.  With Mary Ellis Bunim I worked with Bunim Murray Productions to develop new shows such as Simple Life, Starting Over, Real Medical and also helped organize productions of shows such as Real World and Road Rules.

I owned and operated the LA Cabaret Comedy Club serving the San Fernando Valley for over fifteen years.  I was responsible for a highly successful club that was the home of many highly successful comics who had a start at my club.  

I have served as a Licensed Commercial and Business Broker, under my company Bishop Associates and have served as the listing agent, manager and sales agent for many properties including shopping centers, office buildings, retail centers, land and businesses.  We provide consulting services to many business owners and professionals.

I believe in the hope for a better world for all people with freedom and a good life for all.  I have organized and filmed many great panels on issues that are of great importance to bring about positive change to people in our Country and hopefully around the world.  I have developed relationships with many of our nations leaders who share a vision for the better world I am able to work for.

I am an advocate to protect all living things for today and in the future, by working to solve the many problems that face us, to find greater opportunity for all. 

I hope to influence others by sharing the understanding that we can create a better world, save the planet from the system of inequality and despair that we face in our every day lives by believing in the hope for positive change.  We must find ways to work together to protect the future of our host planet the earth and the life that exists for future generations.