Curren Price

Curren De Mille Price, Jr. (born December 16, 1950, in Los Angeles, California) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, currently serving as a Los Angeles city council member for District 9. Price was a California State Senator, representing the state's 26th Senate District which he won in the May 19, 2009 special election to fill the seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas. He previously served as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the state's 51st Assembly District. He was first elected to that position in 2006, and was re-elected in 2008. Price resigned as state senator on July 1, 2013, to be sworn in as Los Angeles city councilman.[1] Holly Mitchell was elected to succeed him in the state senate. Price's tenure as District 9 Councilman has been marked by accusations of pay to play and FBI investigations.[2]

Curren Price
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2013
Preceded by	Jan Perry
Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus
In office December 6, 2010 – July 1, 2013
Preceded by	Sandré Swanson
Succeeded by	Holly Mitchell
Member of the California State Senate from the 26th district
In office June 3, 2009 – July 1, 2013
Preceded by	Mark Ridley-Thomas
Succeeded by	Holly Mitchell
Member of the California State Assembly from the 51st district
In office December 4, 2006 – June 3, 2009
Preceded by	Jerome Horton
Succeeded by	Steve Bradford
Inglewood City Councillor from the 1st District
In office April 20, 1993 – April 22, 1997
In office April 24, 2001 – December 4, 2006
Personal details
Born	(1950-12-16) December 16, 1950 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Del Richardson Price
Children	Dennis Richardson, Dakira Williams and Son-in-Law Joseph Williams
Residence	South Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Santa Clara University Stanford University
Occupation	Politician, Small business advocate
Website	www.currenpricejr.com

Social Innovation Summit 2015 Martin Ludlow and Councilman Curren Price

Background and education

Price attended Morningside High School and in 1967 became the first African-American to be elected as the school's student body president.

After graduation from high school, Price earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University, and in 1972, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the school in political science. Thereafter, he studied law at Santa Clara University. He graduated in 1976 with a Juris Doctor in law.

Following law school, Price worked for an export management company that represented companies in the sales of industrial products in Asia and the Middle East. From 1979-1989, Price lived in Washington, D.C., where he was active in the telecommunications industry (satellites, cellular, paging, and cable). As an advocate for minority enterprise, he was a featured speaker at conferences sponsored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Price returned to California in 1988, serving as a deputy to two members of the Los Angeles City Council.[3] Later, he was the Southern California Coordinator for a statewide association that provided training to assist community-based organizations develop commercial real estate projects.

Price is a lifetime credentialed instructor for both adult education and the community colleges.

Public Service

From 1993 to 1997, Price was a member of the Inglewood City Council,[4] representing the city's District 1. In 1997, he was defeated in a bid to become the mayor of Inglewood. In 2001, he reclaimed his former city council seat and held it until his election to the state assembly in 2006. As a council member, he was the chair of the City Council Community Economic Development Committee.

In addition to his council responsibilities, Price served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's South Bay Governance Council. For several years, he also served as a consultant with the Small Business Administration-sponsored Small Business Development Center.

Curren Price was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2006 to represent the 51st District, and was re-elected by an overwhelming margin to a second term in 2008. He served as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting as well as the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization. Mr. Price won a special election in May 2009 to represent the 26th District in the State Senate, which includes South and West Los Angeles as well as the entirety of the City of Culver City.

During his first year in the Senate, Senator Price was chosen by Senate Leadership to serve on a range of important legislative committees that reflect his priorities and interests. Senator Price chaired the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts as well as the Senate Select Committee on Procurement. Furthermore, Senator Price served on the following committees: Appropriations, Banking Finance and Insurance, Education, Governmental Organization and Local Government. He also served on the Select Committees focusing on Autism Prevention, California’s Horse Racing Industry, California’s Wine Industry, Constitutional Reform, the Census, Improving State Government and Obesity and Diabetes. Senator Price also sits on the California Science Center Foundation Board of Trustees.[5]

In 2010, Price was selected by his colleagues to serve as the Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. He was also chosen by Senate leadership to serve as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development. In addition, Price served as Chairman of the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts and Senate Select Committee on Procurement and was a member of the following Standing Committees: Appropriations, Education, Public Safety, and Insurance. He also serves on the following Senate select committees: Autism, Air Quality, California’s Horse Racing Industry, California’s Wine Industry, College and University Admissions and Outreach, High Speed Rail, Obesity and Diabetes, Restoring California’s Middle Class, Sports and Entertainment, Workforce Development, School Environment and Student Wellness.

Allegations of conflict of interest

In 2017, it was reported that Price married Del Richardson before his divorce to his previous wife was finalized. [6] [7] Price failed to disclose his first wife's assets as well as his new wife's assets in his reports. "Since some of Price’s properties are located in the City of Los Angeles, he was supposed to disclose ownership in the event they were impacted by City Council votes on issues such as sidewalk repair, street lighting, street furniture, advertising and redistricting, among others. Price also failed to disclose the businesses owned by second wife Del Richardson-Price including DRA Associates, Just Work Inc. and Cuba Travel Service. If they, or their affiliates, applied for contracts from the LA City Council, Price would have had to recuse himself from those discussions and votes. Councilmember Price also neglected in 2012 to list any of Del Richardson-Price’s clients who paid her more than $10,000 each. A year later, in 2013, at least 20 businesses and government agencies fit that description Price either failed to detail his wife’s client-based income in 2012, or she went from zero-to-20 clients as soon as he was elected to LA City Council." [8]

In 2019, Curren Price was scrutinized over several instances in which he voted on matters benefiting wife's consulting company Del Richardson & Associates. [9] Price voted on decisions involving at least 10 companies in the same years they were listed as providing at least $10,000 in income to Del Richardson & Associates, according to his annual financial disclosures and council records.

FBI Investigation

In 2019, the Los Angeles Times reported that Price was amongst a group of Los Angeles Councilmembers being investigated in a corruption probe. [10] The probe was primarily concerned with Chinese investors bankrolling projects in the Los Angeles area. The FBI warrant was in search of possible bribery, extortion, money laundering and other crimes as part of a corruption investigation at City Hall. [11] Price heads a council committee focused on economic development, which reviews taxpayer subsidies offered by the city to hotel developers in and around downtown.

External links

• Campaign web site

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2013-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "FBI corruption probe goes beyond L.A. Councilman Jose Huizar to include other City Hall figures - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. January 12, 2019.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-10-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-05-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/GenInfo/AboutUs/Governance/Governance.php
6. "LA's Own Bigamist-ery - City Watch". citywatchla.com. February 27, 2017.
7. "L.A. City Councilman Curren Price faces questions over two marriages - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. March 3, 2017.
8. "Curren Price Plot Thickens: Councilman's Problems are Bigger than Bigamy - City Watch". citiwatchla.com. March 27, 2017.
9. "FL.A. councilman has voted on decisions involving his wife's clients - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. April 28, 2019.
10. "FBI corruption probe goes beyond L.A. Councilman Jose Huizar to include other City Hall figures - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. January 12, 2019.
11. "FBI corruption probe of L.A. City Hall focuses on downtown development boom - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. January 14, 2019.