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?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

DON'T MISS

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

DON'T MISS

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

DON'T MISS

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

DON'T MISS

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

DON'T MISS

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

DON'T MISS

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

DON'T MISS

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

DON'T MISS

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

DON'T MISS

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

UP NEXT

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

UP NEXT

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

UP NEXT

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

UP NEXT

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

UP NEXT

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

UP NEXT

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

UP NEXT

Tariff Talks Begin Between US and Chinese Officials in Geneva

UP NEXT

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

UP NEXT

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

1 day ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

1 day ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

1 day ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

1 day ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

1 day ago

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

1 day ago

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

1 day ago

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 in Gaza as Outcry Over Aid Blockade Grows

1 day ago

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

1 day ago

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

1 day ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

A recent study from TripIt and Edelman Data & Intelligence discovered 69% of millennials and Gen Z use social media to find inspiration ...

11 hours ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
11 hours ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

11 hours ago

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

1 day ago

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

1 day ago

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

1 day ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

The Clovis Police Department identified two suspects they have arrested in connection with the murder of Caleb Quick, 18, at a Saturday, May 10, 2025, news conference. (GV Wire Composite)
1 day ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

1 day ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

1 day ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

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

Search

Send this to a friend