[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 553 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 553
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the first
Latina elected to the California State Legislature, the first Latina
elected to Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina elected to
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2023
Ms. Sanchez (for herself, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Chu, Ms. Barragan, Mr.
Carbajal, Mr. Correa, Mr. Costa, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Robert Garcia of
California, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Lee of California,
Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Peters, Ms. Porter, Mr.
Vargas, and Ms. Waters) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the first
Latina elected to the California State Legislature, the first Latina
elected to Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina elected to
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Whereas Gloria Molina was born on May 31, 1948, in Montebello, California, to
Leonard Molina and Concepcion Molina, who immigrated from Casa Grandes,
Chihuahua, Mexico;
Whereas Gloria Molina was the oldest of 10 siblings, and assisted her parents in
raising her siblings;
Whereas Gloria Molina graduated from El Rancho High School in 1966 and attended
Rio Hondo Community College, East Los Angeles Community College, and
California State University, Los Angeles;
Whereas Gloria Molina's activism was sparked by the Chicano movement and passion
for women's empowerment;
Whereas before being elected to public office, Gloria Molina volunteered for
President Carter's campaign office in California in 1975, and later
served as a staffing specialist in the Office of Presidential Personnel
for the President;
Whereas, in 1979, Gloria Molina served as the Director of Intergovernmental and
Congressional Affairs for the Region IX office of the Department of
Health and Human Services;
Whereas Gloria Molina was elected to the California State Assembly from the 56th
Assembly District in 1982, where she combined passionate advocacy with
formidable political skill to strengthen communities in the 56th
Assembly District and statewide, and served until her 1987 election to
the Los Angeles City Council;
Whereas, in 1987, Gloria Molina was the first ever Latina elected to and only
the third person of Mexican ancestry to serve on the Los Angeles City
Council;
Whereas, in 1991, after decades of gerrymandering that excluded Latino
representation on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Gloria
Molina was elected as the first Latina to represent the first Latino
district;
Whereas when Gloria Molina was elected to a seat on the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors for the First District she became known as a fiscal
watchdog committed to overseeing good government reforms, maintenance of
the county's public health care system, and quality of life issues for
the millions of county residents living in unincorporated Los Angeles
County and served until 2014;
Whereas Gloria Molina served honorably for 23 years, representing a district
that stretched from Koreatown, Pico-Union, and East Los Angeles all the
way east to Pomona and included much of the San Gabriel Valley;
Whereas Gloria Molina began her advocacy advancing health care and political
access for Latinas as president of Comision Feminil Mexicana National;
Whereas, throughout her career, Gloria Molina served on various boards including
the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the
Southwest Voter Education and Registration Project, the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the
California Community Foundation;
Whereas Gloria Molina also served for over 10 years as 1 of the 4 Vice Chairs of
the Democratic National Committee (DNC);
Whereas Gloria Molina, a strong advocate for the arts and the celebration of
Mexican-American culture, traditions, and history, in 2011 established
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and in 2014 the Eastside Arts Initiative to
support community-based arts organizations, including CASA 0101 and
Self-Help Graphics;
Whereas, a master quilter and artist herself, Gloria Molina formed the East LA
Stitchers (TELAS) to inspire Latinas to express their culture through
this art form;
Whereas Gloria Molina was a champion for social justice and fought tirelessly
for the most vulnerable Angelenos, such as fighting back against a plan
to build a prison in the Eastside, helping grow the public
transportation system, and ending the forced sterilizations of women at
the General Hospital in Los Angeles;
Whereas, throughout a distinguished career, Gloria Molina touched the lives of
countless people and will have her life and legacy preserved in Los
Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of
Directors voted to dedicate the East Los Angeles Civic Center station in
Gloria Molina's name;
Whereas the CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights designated its main theater as
the ``Gloria Molina Auditorium'' in honor of Gloria Molina's donations
to Latino arts in the Southland area of Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to
rename Grand Park the ``Gloria Molina Grand Park'' commemorating Gloria
Molina's service to Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion to rename a portion of the
Observation Deck in the Tom Bradley Tower which overlooks Grand Park, as
the ``Gloria Molina Observation Deck''; and
Whereas Gloria Molina passed away on May 14, 2023, at the age of 74 after
battling cancer for 3 years: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) extends its deepest sympathies to the friends and loved
ones of Gloria Molina of Mount Washington, California, in their
bereavement; and
(2) recognizes and celebrates Gloria Molina's historic 32-
year political career and the series of firsts that inspired
generations of women and Latinas to seek public office, being
the first Latina Assembly Member in California, the first
Latina on the Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina on
the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.
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