Laura Friedman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's30th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Adam Schiff |
| Member of theCalifornia Assembly | |
| In office December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Gatto |
| Succeeded by | Nick Schultz |
| Constituency | 43rd district (2016–2022) 44th district (2022–2024) |
| Mayor ofGlendale | |
| In office April 2011 – April 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ara Najarian |
| Succeeded by | Frank Quintero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1966-12-03)December 3, 1966 (age 58) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Guillaume Lemoine |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Rochester (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Laura Syril Friedman[1] (born December 3, 1966)[2] is an American politician and former film producer who is the member forCalifornia's 30th congressional district. A member of theDemocratic Party, she previously representedCalifornia's 44th State Assembly district from 2016 to 2024.
Prior to her election to the Assembly in 2016, Friedman was a member of theGlendaleCity Council from 2009 to 2016,[3] where she served as mayor of Glendale from 2011 until 2012.[4] She authored a bill to eliminateminimum parking requirements for housing near mass transit stations in California, which was signed into law in 2022.[5]
Friedman comes from aJewish family in New York.[6] She earned aBachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Rochester in New York.[7] In 1992, Friedman moved to Hollywood, eventually relocating to Glendale in 2000 where she currently resides.
Between 1994 and 1997, Friedman was the vice president of development atRysher Entertainment, where she oversaw the production of approximately ten feature films annually as well as extensive television programming.[8]
In 1995, Friedman was the co-producer of the Warner Brothers releaseIt Takes Two.[9] In 1996, she was associate producer ofHouse Arrest; executive producer ofFoxfire; executive producer of the family filmZeus and Roxanne; and associate producer of the independent filmAberration, which was released byLIVE Entertainment. Between 1998 and 1999, Friedman was the vice president of development at Cort/Madden Company. Since 2000, Friedman has owned and managed PlanetGlass.net, a web-basedart glass dealership.
In April 2011, Friedman became the mayor ofGlendale, California.[10]
In 2019, Friedman authored legislation supported byanimal rights organizations and activists to prohibit the sale of newfur products in California. The bill was signed by GovernorGavin Newsom in October 2019, making California the first state to ban the sale of fur.[11][12] In 2024, Friedman co-authored legislation with AssemblymemberSteve Bennett to prohibit thecommercial farming of octopuses in California. The legislation was enacted in September 2024, making California the second state to prohibit octopus farming after the state of Washingtonbanned the practice earlier that year.[13][14]
On September 7, 2021, she delayed the release of $4 billion of voter approved bonds for theCalifornia High-Speed Rail, stating that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has "not provided us any real details about what the money would go towards this year". The CHSRA Chief Financial Officer, Brian Annis, countered by stating that the CHSRA already presented to the legislature the expenditure plan in February 2021 and that this delayed release by Friedman could cause budget delays to snowball.[15]
Friedman is a member of theCalifornia Legislative Progressive Caucus.[16]
In January 2023, Friedman launched her candidacy in the2024 election in California's 30th congressional district.[17] The incumbent representative,Adam Schiff, vacated the seat in his successful bid in the2024 United States Senate election in California. Friedman defeated physician Alex Balekian, receiving 68.4% of the vote.[18]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Laura Friedman | 33,276 | 31.9 | |
| Democratic | Ardy Kassakhian | 25,357 | 24.3 | |
| Republican | Mark MacCarley | 16,551 | 15.9 | |
| Democratic | Andrew J. Blumenfield | 13,309 | 12.8 | |
| Republican | Alexandra A. Bustamante | 6,524 | 6.3 | |
| Democratic | Dennis R. Bullock | 4,294 | 4.1 | |
| Democratic | Rajiv Dalal | 3,173 | 3.0 | |
| American Independent | Aaron Cervantes | 1,873 | 1.8 | |
| Total votes | 104,357 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Laura Friedman | 106,186 | 64.5 | |
| Democratic | Ardy Kassakhian | 58,561 | 35.5 | |
| Total votes | 164,747 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Laura Friedman (incumbent) | 58,310 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 58,310 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Laura Friedman (incumbent) | 125,568 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 125,568 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Laura Friedman (incumbent) | 88,541 | 75.6% | |
| Republican | Mike Graves | 24,258 | 20.7% | |
| No party preference | Robert J. Sexton | 4,264 | 3.6% | |
| Total votes | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Laura Friedman (incumbent) | 80,209 | 73.2 | |
| Republican | Barry Curtis Jacobsen | 29,381 | 26.8 | |
| Total votes | 109,590 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Laura Friedman (incumbent) | 113,380 | 71.4 | |
| Republican | Barry Curtis Jacobsen | 45,519 | 28.6 | |
| Total votes | 158,899 | 100% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Laura Friedman | 46,329 | 30.1 | |
| Republican | Alex Balekian | 26,826 | 17.4 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Portantino | 20,459 | 13.3 | |
| Democratic | Mike Feuer | 18,878 | 12.3 | |
| Democratic | Maebe A. Girl | 15,791 | 10.3 | |
| Republican | Emilio Martinez | 6,775 | 4.4 | |
| Democratic | Ben Savage | 6,147 | 4.0 | |
| Democratic | Nick Melvoin | 4,134 | 2.7 | |
| Democratic | Jirair Ratevosian | 2,889 | 1.9 | |
| Democratic | Sepi Shyne | 2,126 | 1.4 | |
| Democratic | Courtney Simone Najera | 1,167 | 0.8 | |
| No party preference | Joshua Bocanegra | 780 | 0.5 | |
| Democratic | Steve Dunwoody | 727 | 0.5 | |
| Democratic | Francisco Arreaga | 532 | 0.3 | |
| Democratic | Sal Genovese | 442 | 0.3 | |
| Total votes | 154,002 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Laura Friedman | 213,100 | 68.4 | |
| Republican | Alex Balekian | 98,559 | 31.6 | |
| Total votes | 311,659 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Friedman is married to Guillaume Lemoine, a professional landscape designer.[8] The couple has a daughter, Rachel, born in 2013.[citation needed]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 30th congressional district 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 387th | Succeeded by |
