Herb Wesson

Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr.[2] (born November 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as a councilmember representing the 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, 2020, and again on an appointed basis from March 22, 2022 until August 25, 2022.[3][4] He was also the President of the Los Angeles City Council and Speaker of the California State Assembly.

Herb Wesson
Wesson in 2017
President of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
January 12, 2012 – January 5, 2020
Preceded byEric Garcetti
Succeeded byNury Martinez
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 10th district
In office
July 1, 2005 – December 14, 2020
Preceded byMartin Ludlow
Succeeded byMark Ridley-Thomas
In office
March 17, 2022 – August 25, 2022
Preceded byMark Ridley-Thomas
Succeeded byHeather Hutt
65th Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office
February 6, 2002 – February 9, 2004
Preceded byRobert Hertzberg
Succeeded byFabian Núñez
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 47th district
In office
December 7, 1998 – November 30, 2004
Preceded byKevin Murray
Succeeded byKaren Bass
Personal details
Born
Herman J. Wesson Jr.

(1951-11-11) November 11, 1951
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseFabian[1]
Children4
ResidenceLos Angeles, California
Alma materLincoln University
Websitewww.herbwesson.com

Early life and career

Wesson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 11, 1951. He has one younger brother.

He received his undergraduate degree in history from Lincoln in 1999, where he was initiated as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Before his term in the California State Assembly, Wesson was the chief of staff of former Los Angeles City Council Member Nate Holden and in the same position for former Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke. After being termed out of the Assembly, he became a senior adviser and special assistant to Burke.[5] He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Family

Wesson and his wife, Fabian, have four children.[6][7][5]

State Assembly (1998–2004)

Wesson served in the California State Assembly, representing the 47th district from 1998 until 2004. He was unanimously elected Speaker of the California State Assembly in January 2002[8] and served in the role until February 2004.[9] He was the second African-American to be elected Speaker of the California Assembly. His legislative agenda focused on education, environmental protection and healthcare.[10]

City Council (2005–2020; 2022)

On November 8, 2005, Wesson was elected with almost 80% of the vote to represent the 10th Council District in the Los Angeles City Council, in a special election to fill the vacancy created when Martin Ludlow resigned.[11] The 10th Council District is located in central and South Los Angeles, and includes the neighborhoods of Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, West Adams, Jefferson Park, Wilshire Center, South Robertson, Arlington Heights, Leimert Park, Faircrest Heights, Gramercy Park and parts of Baldwin Hills.[12]

Wesson won a full term in March 2007 with 99.7% of the vote.[13] He was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015.[14]

In 2022, he was appointed by City Council President Nury Martinez to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas for the 10th district seat after the Ridley-Thomas was indicted on a federal corruption case.[15] He was sworn in on Tuesday, February 22, but was blocked from participating as a council member until March 17 by Judge Mary H. Strobel.[16][17] Strobel declined to extend the restraining order against Wesson on March 17, 2022, meaning Wesson was cleared to attend council meetings.[18] After California Attorney General Rob Bonta granted the activists to have a lawsuit, Wesson was again blocked from acting as councilman in July 2022 after Strobel blocked him again, though she did not remove him from the post.[19][20] On August 22, 2022, Mitchell Beckloff granted a preliminary injunction that barred Wesson from serving until a trial about his appointment as held. On August 25, 2022, Wesson resigned as councilmember.

Economic development

In July 2015 he created a committee to address how Los Angeles could be more business-friendly.[21]

Some of the developments in the 10th Council District during Wesson's term have been Midtown Crossing,[22] Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Medical Offices,[23] and Cumulus.[24]

Race relations

On October 20, 2016 Wesson announced the creation of embRACE L.A., a program to engage Angelenos in a conversation on race, ethnicity and diversity.[25] He partnered with Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell to create the program. On April 25, 2017 Wesson invited over 20 members of the community to dinner at his home to discuss embRACE L.A. and race in Los Angeles.[26]

Olympic bid

Wesson chaired the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the 2024 Summer Olympics. On January 25, 2017 he voted in favor of final approval of L.A.'s Host City Bid.[27] Following the news that L.A. would bid on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wesson and the City Council voted unanimously in favor of the new proposal.[28] On September 13, 2017, Los Angeles was officially named as the host of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.[29]

Immigration

On December 19, 2016, the City Council created a $10 million fund to provide legal assistance for Los Angeles residents facing deportation [30]

On January 20, 2017, Wesson was part of the City Council action that approved the hiring of an "immigrant advocate".[31] On April 20, 2017 Peter Schey was appointed to the position.[32] In April 2017, Wesson welcomed a delegation of governors from Mexico to discuss the relationship between Los Angeles and Mexican states. He concluded the dialogue by making each member of the delegation an honorary citizen in the City of Los Angeles.[33]

Controversy

On October 24, 2019 the Los Angeles Times wrote a story accusing Wesson's son of receiving discounts on his rent at an L.A. apartment building. Rent records showed that over the years, the building had increased rent for the nearly all of its tenants except Wesson's son. Separately, Herb Wesson had helped the building's owners win approval of a controversial high-rise.[34]

Camping

Every year Wesson, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, treats approximately 150 children from disadvantaged communities to a camping trip at Hansen Dam.[35]

Movies in the Park

Each summer Wesson hosts several screenings in the 10th Council District of various family-friendly films.[36] Dubbed "Movies in the Park", the series provides a fun and safe environment for all ages. In addition to the movie screenings, Wesson provides all attendees with a meal, drink, popcorn, candy and a raffle drawing. Each year, the series sees thousands of attendees across the four film screenings.

Winter Wonderland

Wesson's Winter Wonderland includes a tobogganing course made from real snow, holiday themed arts and crafts, lunch and an appearance from Santa Claus. Wesson also gives toys to all attendees and raffles off larger prizes such as bicycles. In December 2015 Wesson gave computers to 350 families.[37]

Post-Council career

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors election

In the 2020 election cycle, Wesson ran to succeed Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in the County's 2nd district.[38] State Senator Holly Mitchell defeated Wesson, earning just over 60% of the vote.[39]

References
  1. "About". herbwesson.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  2. "Multiple records for Herman J Wesson} | Transparent California". transparentcalifornia.com. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  3. "Herb Wesson appointed to LA City Council's 10th district". KTTV. February 16, 2022.
  4. Zahnizer, David (March 12, 2022). "Judge allows Herb Wesson to rejoin the L.A. City Council — at least for now". Los Angeles Times.
  5. Lucas, Greg (2002-01-10). "New Assembly speaker has silver tongue". SF Gate. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  6. "African American Speakers of the California". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  7. "Meet Herb Wesson".
  8. Bustillo, Miguel (11 January 2002). "Assembly Chooses Wesson as Speaker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  9. Vogel, Nancy (9 January 2004). "L.A.'s Nunez Is Formally Chosen Assembly Speaker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  10. "Past Members | Legislative Black Caucus". blackcaucus.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  11. "Our Campaigns – Los Angeles City Council District 10 Race – Nov 08, 2005". Ourcampaigns.com.
  12. "Map of Council District 10" (PDF).
  13. "Our Campaigns – Los Angeles City Council – District 10 Race – Mar 06, 2007". Ourcampaigns.com.
  14. Zahniser, David; Saillant, Catherine (2015-03-04). "L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson comes out on top". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  15. "Former Councilman Herb Wesson To Temporarily Represent District 10". KCAL-TV. February 16, 2022.
  16. Zahniser, David (February 22, 2022). "L.A. City Council votes to bring back Herb Wesson, despite a legal challenge". Los Angeles Times.
  17. "Judge issues temporary restraining order blocking Herb Wesson from returning to L.A. City Council". KTLA. February 24, 2022.
  18. "Herb Wesson returns to LA City Council for his first meeting since 2020". KTTV. March 22, 2022.
  19. "Herb Wesson blocked from acting as LA's 10th District representative again". KTTV. July 19, 2022.
  20. Bakewell Jr., Danny (July 21, 2022). "Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Herb Wesson Appointment". Los Angeles Sentinel.
  21. "How LA leaders plan to make the city more business-friendly". Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  22. Zahniser, David (2010-05-29). "L.A. City Council OKs $19.3-million loan for Midtown Crossing mall". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  23. "Kaiser Permanente Announces Construction of New Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Medical Facility – Los Angeles Sentinel". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  24. "Welcoming Councilmember Herb Wesson | The Valley Economic Alliance". www.thevalley.net. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  25. "How embRACE LA plans to have an 'uncomfortable conversation' about diversity". Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  26. "Council President Wesson's leadership brings community together – Los Angeles Sentinel". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  27. Wharton, David (2017-01-25). "City Council unanimous in final approval for L.A. to host 2024 Olympics". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  28. "LA 2028: City Council gives green light to bring games to LA". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  29. Wharton, David (2017-09-13). "L.A. officially awarded 2028 Olympic Games". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  30. Smith, Dakota; Carcamo, Cindy (2016-12-19). "Responding to Trump, L.A. proposes $10-million legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  31. Smith, Dakota (2017-01-20). "L.A. City Council approves hiring an 'immigrant advocate' at City Hall". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  32. "L.A. City Council appoints immigrant advocate – Park Labrea News/ Beverly Press". Park Labrea News/ Beverly Press. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  33. "Trump deportation plans 'deeply' concerning to LA Council? 'Immigrant Advocate' – MyNewsLA.com". MyNewsLA.com. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  34. "L.A. councilman Wesson helped apartment executives while his son received rent break".
  35. "WESSON'S CAMP FOR AT-RISK KIDS A GREAT ADVENTURE – Los Angeles Sentinel". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  36. "WESSON ANNOUNCES FREE SUMMER "MOVIES IN THE PARK" – Los Angeles Sentinel". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  37. "Wesson Provides 350 Deserving Families with Computers this Holiday Season – Los Angeles Sentinel". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  38. admin. "Herb Wesson For Supervisor". Herb Wesson For Supervisor. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  39. The Los Angeles Times on Yahoo! News - "L.A. County makes history with all female Board of Supervisors"
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