Sydney Kamlager

Sydney Kamlager (born July 20, 1972) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat representing the 54th Assembly District, encompassing Mid-city Los Angeles, the Crenshaw community, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Windsor Hills, all of Culver City and parts of Westside Los Angeles.

Prior to being elected to the state assembly, Kamlager served as Trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.

Education

Sydney Kamlager was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of Don Kamlager and Cheryl Lynn Bruce. ^[1] In the early eighties, she and her mother moved to Brooklyn, New York. She attended middle and junior high school in Brooklyn. Her first internship was at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. She and her mother returned to Chicago in 1986, where she attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory. During her junior year in high school, she went to Appalachia, West Virginia, on a missionary program, and her commitment to social justice and addressing poverty and education was born. She attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles,^[2] where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, was initiated into Zeta Phi Beta sorority and curated her first art exhibition, featuring artists John Outterbridge and Willie Midllebrook, among others. She received her Masters in Arts Management in 1994 from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.^[3]. Her step-father is artist Kerry James Marshall. ^[4]

Professional career

Sydney Kamlager began her professional career at the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice, CA, where she programmed public art programs in each of the city council districts throughout Los Angeles.^{[5] [5]} Kamlager supervised the restoration of the famous Venice graffiti pit, working with graffiti crews from across the city to establish the pit as a site for revolving spray paint mural art.^{[6] [7]} After SPARC, Kamlager worked with actor Delroy Lindo, developing projects for his Cieluna Company. ^[8] Kamlager returned to the public service and non-profit world in 2002, where she would become the Director of External Affairs at Crystal Stairs. She was responsible for the agency’s legislative, advocacy and public policy agendas as well as for its parent and provider advocate program, Community Voices. While at Crystal Stairs, she trained and mobilized community advocates, fought against state budget cuts to child care and helped raise the local profile of the organization and child care’s contribution to the local economy. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Political career

In 2010, Kamlager transitioned to politics and accepted a position as a key consultant on the campaign to elect Holly J. Mitchell to State Assembly. Mitchell won and Kamalger became her District Director. She has served as District Director for Ms. Mitchell while she was in the State Assembly and while in the State Senate, focusing on strategic initiatives as well as on issues of higher education, restorative justice and the arts. ^{[12] [13]}

In 2015, Sydney Kamlager ran for Seat 3 of the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District. She won with over 52% of the vote among four candidates on March 3, 2015 . ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]} She is the fourth African-American woman to be elected to the LACCD Board of Trustees since 2001 ^[19] and the third African-American women to be elected to Seat 3 since 1987. She follows in the footsteps of Ms. Gwen Moore, Ms. Althea Baker and Ms. Marguerite Archie-Hudson.^[20]

After Sebastian Ridley-Thomas announced his resignation from the California State Assembly on December 27, 2017, Kamlager entered the race to serve out the remainder of his term. She won the April 3, 2018 Special Election to represent the 54th Assembly District which includes the Los Angeles County communities of Century City, Culver City, Westwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, Ladera Heights,View Park, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Mid City, and West Los Angeles.

The first bill she co-sponsored would fast-track the construction of a new arena for the Los Angeles Clippers by limiting environmental challenges. The part of Inglewood that was exempted from environmental rules was not part of her Assembly District and generated significant opposition from community-based anti-displacement groups such as Uplift Inglewood.^[21]

Kamlager was one of only two Democrats who voted against a "Just Cause Eviction" bill (AB 2925) which was a priority of renters rights groups and which would have required landlords to state a cause when they seek to evict a tenant. She failed to vote on a second renters' rights bill, AB 2364, which "would have closed loopholes that have allowed landlords to misuse the Ellis Act for decades, ousting tenants while claiming family use of rental units and then converting them for sale or re-rental at inflated prices."^[22]

On June 20, 2018, she voted in favor of a SB-822 which was originally a network neutrality bill, but was amended to gut most of the meaningful protections. ^[23]

References

External links

• Official website
• Campaign website