[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3956-H3957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF GLORIA MOLINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cardenas) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Gloria 
Molina, a trailblazer for Latino politicians.
  Gloria fiercely served and advocated for the communities she 
represented, for the city of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, 
and the State of California. She passed away in her home, surrounded by 
her loving family, on May 14, at the age of 74.
  Gloria was raised in an immigrant household with her nine siblings. 
Her father, Leonardo, was a construction worker born in Los Angeles but 
raised in Casas Grandes, Mexico. Her mother, Concepcion, was a 
homemaker from Mexico. Together, her parents immigrated to the U.S. in 
the 1940s. Gloria was the oldest of 10 children. As she did everything 
in life, she led by example and helped wherever and whenever she could.
  Gloria's commitment to public service began during President Jimmy 
Carter's administration, where she served as a deputy for Presidential 
Personnel and soon after that with the San Francisco Department of 
Health and Human Services.
  Gloria's activism was sparked by the Chicano movement, as she was a 
woman of firsts. Gloria was first elected to office in 1982, when she 
became the first Latina elected to the California State Assembly. Some 
people made the mistake of underestimating Gloria's commitment to her 
community and her tenacity. She beat the establishment candidate.

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  In 1987, Gloria ran for the Los Angeles City Council seat that had 
been redistricted, becoming the first woman councilmember of Mexican 
ancestry to serve on the Los Angeles City Council.
  In 1991, she was elected and became the first Latina member of the 
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She was known as a fiscal 
watchdog committed to governance reforms, protecting public healthcare, 
and fighting for quality-of-life issues for millions of residents.
  Throughout more than 30 years as an elected official, Gloria changed 
the landscape of Los Angeles, putting an end to a 100-year pattern of 
dumping negative land-use developments on the east side of Los Angeles. 
Her work in East LA resulted in the Los Angeles Metro Board of 
Directors naming a train station in her honor.
  Gloria worked with Mothers of East Los Angeles, a group that 
organized against and successfully defeated the proposal to build a 
prison in East Los Angeles.
  Gloria valued the power of storytelling through art. She founded the 
historical LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the Eastside Arts 
Initiative, which provides financial support to community-based 
organizations.

                              {time}  1015

  Thanks to her love of quilting, Gloria founded the quilting group the 
East L.A. Stitchers, so that others could express themselves through 
this art form.
  Gloria successfully advocated for increased access to parks and green 
spaces, as well as culturally engaging recreational areas. The motion 
to rename Grand Park to the Gloria Molina Grand Park was approved and 
will allow Gloria's legacy and impact to live on in projects that she 
fought so hard to create.
  On top of green and recreational spaces, Gloria constantly fought for 
the improvement of women's rights and representation. She would 
regularly fight against the construction of projects that would disrupt 
predominantly Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods.
  On top of her work in politics in the mid-2000s, she would drive 
around through Skid Row in her free time looking for children living in 
unsafe conditions so that she could call the Department of Family and 
Children Services to find them a home.
  She led a program that was later named the Gloria Molina Foster Youth 
Education Program, with the sole purpose of being able to increase the 
high school graduation rates of students in foster care systems.
  As its leader, she and the program did just that and elevated 
graduation rates from the national average of 58 percent to an amazing 
80 percent. One of her final statements as she retired was that she 
only regretted not being able to raise the average even more.
  Gloria stood as a constant beacon of hard work, perseverance, and 
strength--a role model to Latinas looking to succeed in politics, and a 
role model to everyone.
  Gloria taught us all to fight for those without a voice and to let 
our passion drive our success. Her impact will be felt for generations 
to come.
  Gloria is survived by her daughter, Valentina; son-in-law, Brendan; 
grandchildren, Santiago and Ximena; nine siblings; nieces; nephews; Ron 
Martinez; and many die-hard Molinistas.

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