Richard Hershel Bloom (born June 22, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who currently serves as a state judge in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and formerly served as a member of the California State Assembly from the 50th district, which encompasses West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Malibu, Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hancock Park, and Hollywood, from 2012 to 2022.

Richard Bloom
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 50th district
In office
December 3, 2012 – December 5, 2022
Preceded byRicardo Lara
Succeeded byRick Zbur
Mayor of Santa Monica
In office
December 2010 – December 2012
Preceded byTerry O'Day
Succeeded byGleam Davis, Kevin McKeown
Member of the Santa Monica City Council
In office
1999–2012
Personal details
Born (1953-06-22) June 22, 1953 (age 71)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobbie Black
Children2
Residence(s)Santa Monica, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA)
Loyola Marymount University (JD)
Websitewww.richardbloom.com

Bloom was a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he served as mayor of Santa Monica and previously on the Santa Monica City Council for 13 years. On January 31, 2022, Bloom was appointed a state judge by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Early life and education

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Bloom was born to an Ashkenazi Jewish family and raised in Altadena and West Los Angeles. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the Loyola Law School.[1]

Career

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Santa Monica City Council

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First elected in 1999, Bloom served on the Santa Monica City Council for 13 years, serving as mayor three times and mayor pro tempore twice. Bloom also served as Chair of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission.[citation needed]

California Assembly

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Bloom defeated incumbent Assemblymember Betsy Butler in 2012.[citation needed]

Bloom serves on the following Assembly committees: Transportation, Budget, Arts & Entertainment, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, and Higher Education. He also serves on Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation and is the Chairman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation.[citation needed]

In 2013, Bloom authored the Bobcat Protection Act, which has since been signed into law, but did not result in protection of the Bobcat due to loopholes. Public pressure played a key role to influence the California Governor to direct his California Fish and Game Commission to ban trapping of Bobcat in California, even though killing the Bobcat in California National Parks and Califorania State Parks has been illegal since 1918.[citation needed]

On March 7, 2014, Bloom introduced legislation to ban live performances and captive breeding of orcas. The legislation, if passed into law, would affect SeaWorld San Diego's "Shamu" performances.[2][3]

On November 4, 2014, Bloom was re-elected to a second term with nearly 72% of the vote.[citation needed]

In the 2015 legislative session, Bloom introduced legislation to ban plastic microbeads in personal care products. The bill has been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.[citation needed]

In the 2016 legislative session, Bloom re-introduced legislation to ban captive orca shows. The bill passed both chambers of the legislature.[citation needed]

Bloom did not run in the 2022 election. On December 5, 2022, Rick Chavez Zbur was sworn in as Bloom's successor.

Electoral history

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2014 California State Assembly

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California's 50th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 42,332 73.4
Republican Bradley S. Torgan 15,370 26.6
Total votes 57,702 100.0
General election
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 78,093 71.5
Republican Bradley S. Torgan 31,113 28.5
Total votes 109,206 100.0
Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly

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California's 50th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 92,315 79.6
Republican Matthew Gene Craffey 23,613 20.4
Total votes 115,928 100.0
General election
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 158,967 74.6
Republican Matthew Gene Craffey 54,016 25.4
Total votes 212,983 100.0
Democratic hold

2018 California State Assembly

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California's 50th State Assembly district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 79,458 100.0
Total votes 79,458 100.0
General election
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 167,428 100.0
Total votes 167,428 100.0
Democratic hold

2020 California State Assembly[4]

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2020 California's 50th State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Bloom (incumbent) 89,797 78.7%
Democratic Will Hess 16,482 14.5%
Democratic Jim King 7,750 6.8%
Total votes
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ Arom, Eitan (January 6, 2017). "Jewish state legislators ready to make an impact". Jewish Journal.
  2. ^ "UPDATE 1-California bill would ban orca shows, captive breeding". Reuters. 8 March 2014.
  3. ^ "San Diego mayor blasts bill to ban orca shows at SeaWorld". Los Angeles Times. 8 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Statement of Vote" (PDF). Retrieved 28 June 2024.
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