Sebastian Ridley-Thomas
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas is a former Democratic member of the California State Assembly, representing District 54 from 2013 to 2017. He was first elected to the chamber in a special election on December 3, 2013. He resigned on December 27, 2017, citing persistent health issues.[1]
Biography
Ridley-Thomas earned his B.A. in Sociology from Morehouse College. His professional experience includes working as public policy director for Curren De Mille Price.[2]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banking and Finance |
| • Health |
| • Local Government |
| • Revenue and Taxation, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Ridley-Thomas served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Finance |
| • Elections and Redistricting, Chair |
| • Health |
| • Water, Parks and Wildlife |
Campaign themes
2014
Ridley-Thomas' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Jobs
- Excerpt: "We must do our utmost to create new jobs. We can accomplish this, in part, by supporting small businesses. We must expand the abilities of small business owners to take advantage of local and state contracting opportunities."
Traffic
- Excerpt: "I don’t have a miracle solution to our local traffic woes, but I do know it is time to gather together the best transportation minds in our region and state to evaluate and assess how we can best mitigate our vehicle gridlocked surface streets and freeways to promote better movement of people and goods."
Healthcare
- Excerpt: "The Affordable Care Act will open the door to healthcare coverage for millions of Californians. But it will only work when people walk through the door to choose their healthcare provider that is best for themselves and their families. We must make sure residents and business owners are properly educated on the choices and benefits made available through the Affordable Care Act."
Public Safety
- Excerpt: "Our law enforcement agencies – from LAPD to Culver City PD to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department – need to be assured they will have the resources, tools and community support to perform the challenging daily job of keeping our neighborhoods safe."
Getting Our Fair Share from Sacramento
- Excerpt: "We have much work to do in our communities. We need our fair share from Sacramento in order to do the job right."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.[4]
Incumbent Sebastian Ridley-Thomas defeated Glen Ratcliff in the California State Assembly District 54 general election.[5][6]
| California State Assembly, District 54 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Sebastian Ridley-Thomas Incumbent |
81.58% | 146,723 | |
| Republican | Glen Ratcliff | 18.42% | 33,119 | |
| Total Votes | 179,842 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Sebastian Ridley-Thomas and Glen Ratcliff were unopposed in the California State Assembly District 54 Blanket primary.[7][8]
| California State Assembly, District 54 Blanket Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Sebastian Ridley-Thomas Incumbent | |
| Republican | Glen Ratcliff | |
2014
Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Sebastian Mark Ridley Thomas (D) and Glen Ratcliff (R) were unopposed in the blanket primary. Ridley-Thomas defeated Ratcliff in the general election.[9][10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sebastian Mark Ridley Thomas Incumbent |
79.1% | 66,082 | |
| Republican | Glen Ratcliff | 20.9% | 17,506 | |
| Total Votes | 83,588 | |||
2013
Ridley-Thomas won election in a special election for California State Assembly District 54. The seat was vacant following Rep. Holly Mitchell's (D) election to the California State Senate. Ridley-Thomas defeated John Jake (D) and Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D) in the special election, which took place on December 3.[12][13][14][15]
| California State Assembly, District 54, Special Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sebastian Ridley-Thomas |
60.3% | 13,992 | |
| Democratic | Christopher R. Armenta | 35.7% | 8,270 | |
| Democratic | John Jake | 4% | 931 | |
| Total Votes | 23,193 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Ridley-Thomas' endorsements included the following:[16]
- California Democratic Party
- Hon. Dianne Feinstein, Member, United States Senate
- Hon. Barbara Boxer, Member, United States Senate
- Hon. Karen Bass, Member, U.S. House of Representatives
- Hon. Janice Hahn, Member, U.S. House of Representatives
- Hon. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., Governor, State of California
- Hon. Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor
- Hon. Mark Ridley-Thomas, Chairman, L.A. County Board of Supervisors
- Hon. Mike Feuer, City Attorney, City of Los Angeles
- Hon. Herb Wesson, President, L.A. City Council
- Hon. Mike Bonin, L.A. City Council member
- Hon. Curren Price, L.A. City Council member
- Hon. Paul Koretz, L.A. City Council member
- Hon. Bill Rosendahl, L.A. City Council member (Ret.)
- Hon. James T. Butts, Mayor, City of Inglewood
- Hon. Michael A. “Mehaul” O’Leary, Council member, Culver City
- Hon. Lee Baca, Sheriff, L.A. County
- Hon. Jerome E. Horton, Chairman, California Board of Equalization
- Hon. Holly J. Mitchell, Senate member
- Hon. Rod Wright, Senate member
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the California State Legislature was in session from December 5, 2016 through September 15, 2017.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by ACS CAN.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on "issues important to the engineering and land surveying industry."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on "how they voted in accord with CMTA."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of consumers.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on Republican issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues pertaining to children.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the interests of seniors.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of consumers.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues pertaining to children.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer related issues.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on bills related to the interests of California cities.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to food and agriculture.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the interests of home care providers.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the California State Legislature was in session from January 4 through August 31. The formal session ended on August 31, but constitutionally the session adjourned sine die on November 30.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the California State Legislature was in session from December 1, 2014, through September 12, 2015.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the California State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 30.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the California State Legislature was in session from December 3, 2012, to September 13, 2013
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See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Assembly
- California Assembly Committees
- California State Assembly District 54
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas is resigning," December 27, 2017
- ↑ sridleythomas.com, "About Sebastian," accessed September 23, 2014
- ↑ sridleythomas.com, "Issues," accessed September 23, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ latimes.com, "Jerry Brown calls Dec. 3 election for vacant L.A.-area Assembly seat," September 30, 2013
- ↑ sos.ca.gov, California Secretary of State - Official Candidate List
- ↑ fresnobee.com, "Ridley-Thomas wins race for Calif. Assembly seat," December 3, 2013
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 19, 2013
- ↑ sridleythomas.com, "Endorsements," accessed September 23, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Holly Mitchell (D) |
California State Assembly District 54 2013-2017 |
Succeeded by Sydney Kamlager (D) |
