Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Gloria Molina, Groundbreaking Latina Leader in California Politics, Dies at 74
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
May 15, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LOS ANGELES — Gloria Molina, a groundbreaking Chicana leader in state and local California politics for more than 30 years, has died after a three-year battle with cancer, her family announced. She was 74.

Molina died Sunday evening at her Mount Washington home, surrounded by her family, her daughter, Valentina Martinez, said in a statement.

Molina, a Democrat, was the first Latina to serve in the state Assembly, on the Los Angeles City Council and on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Molina paved the way for future generations of leaders, said Karen Bass, who was elected last year as the first woman mayor of Los Angeles.

In a statement, Bass called Molina “a force for unapologetic good and transformational change in Los Angeles” who “advocated for those who did not have a voice in government through her pioneering environmental justice work, her role as a fiscal watchdog, and her advocacy for public health.”

Molina was born to working-class parents on May 31, 1948, in Montebello, California, and was the oldest of 10 children.

She was elected to the state Assembly in 1982 and then to the Los Angeles City Council, where she served from 1987 to 1991, when she was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She served on the board until she was termed out in 2014.

Molina revealed her terminal cancer battle in a Facebook post on March 14.

“You should know that I’m not sad,” she wrote. “I enter this transition in life feeling so fortunate. I have an amazing and caring family, wonderful friends, and worked with committed colleagues and a loyal team.”

The Board of Supervisors subsequently voted to change the name of downtown’s Grand Park to Gloria Molina Grand Park.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

13 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

13 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

The nonprofit supporting Fresno State’s ag specialty college unveiled its first corporate sponsor Thursday supporting students and tea...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

13 hours ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

13 hours ago

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

13 hours ago

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

13 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

14 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

14 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
14 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend