Sebastian Ridley-Thomas

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas
Member of the California State Assembly; from the 54th district
	In office; December 5, 2013 – December 31, 2017
Preceded by	Holly Mitchell
Succeeded by	Sydney Kamlager
Personal details
Born	August 12, 1987; Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Morehouse College

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (born August 12, 1987) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly. A Democrat, he represented the 54th Assembly District, which includes the Los Angeles County communities of Century City, Culver City, Westwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, Ladera Heights, View Park, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Mid City, and West Los Angeles.

He was elected to office on December 3, 2013 to fill the 54th Assembly District seat vacated by Holly Mitchell upon her election to the California State Senate. He resigned from office December 31, 2017. Prior to his election to the Assembly in 2014, he was an aide for former State Senator Curren Price. He is the son of longtime Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Early life and education

Ridley-Thomas is the son of Avis Ridley-Thomas and Mark Ridley-Thomas, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Morehouse College.

Assembly Service

During his tenure in the Assembly, Ridley-Thomas chaired the Elections & Redistricting and Revenue & Taxation committees[1], as well as the Select Committee on Mental Health[2]. He was also a member of the Assembly Appropriations, Rules, Joint Rules, Health, Water, Public Safety, Local Government, Public Safety, Public Employment & Retirement, and Labor & Employment committees[3].

Resignation and Post-Assembly Activities

On December 27, 2017, Ridley-Thomas announced that he would resign from the state Assembly on December 31. He cited unspecified health problems in his statement and said he would "an extended period of time to recuperate.[4]

In August 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that Ridley-Thomas was "the subject of two sexual harassment complaints at the time he stepped down from the Legislature last year."[5] An Assembly investigation released on January 16, 2019 concluded that Ridley-Thomas likely made an unwanted sexual advance toward a female Capitol staffer two years ago.[6]

According to the LA Times reporting:

Ridley-Thomas was already raising money for reelection to a third full term. Late in November 2017, the Assembly Rules Committee informed him that an investigation into a complaint was underway, according to correspondence reviewed by The Times. Two sources familiar with the investigation said the complaint was about alleged unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature but did not disclose details of the allegation. A second sexual harassment complaint, by a different person, was filed around the same time ...

Ridley-Thomas resumed some political work just weeks after resigning. In February, he registered a new consulting business, Millennial Advisors. The firm has collected more than $80,000 from the African American Voter Registration, Education and Participation Project, a political action committee founded by his father. The fees cover consulting, office expenses and advertising. A related AAVREP committee specially formed to support Gavin Newsom's bid for governor —mostly backed by donations from labor unions — listed Sebastian Ridley-Thomas as treasurer and paid his Millennial Advisors firm more than $27,000.

He also joined the faculty of USC, which sits in his father's district and with which the supervisor has had a long and close relationship. USC appointed him "professor of practice of policy and social work" this spring ... In addition, the university gave him a scholarship to study for a master's degree in social work.

The unusual arrangement has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as the scandal-plagued university attempts to adopt more transparency in its affairs. Administrators launched an investigation and Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was fired [in July]. ... After the internal probe, USC approached the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. The university told federal prosecutors it had concerns about a recent $100,000 donation from a campaign fund controlled by Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The gift to USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work ended up in the account of a nonprofit group [known as the Policy, Research and Practice Initiative] outside the university run by Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, according to sources and public records.[7]

2014 California State Assembly

California's 54th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (incumbent)	34,444	78.2
	Republican	Glen Ratcliff	9,585	21.8
Total votes			44,029	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (incumbent)	66,082	79.1
	Republican	Glen Ratcliff	17,506	20.9
Total votes			83,588	100.0
	Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly

California's 54th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (incumbent)	83,889	83.2
	Republican	Glen Ratcliff	16,880	16.8
Total votes			100,769	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (incumbent)	146,723	81.6
	Republican	Glen Ratcliff	33,119	18.4
Total votes			179,842	100.0
	Democratic hold

Notes

"2015-16 Joint Handbook" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
"California Legislature 2013-14" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
"California Legislature 2013-14" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
Hamilton, Matt (August 1, 2018). "Donation from prominent L.A. politician roils USC, which referred case to federal prosecutors". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
Ryan, Matt Hamilton, Harriet. "Donation from prominent L.A. politician roils USC, which referred case to federal prosecutors". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
Gutierrez, Melanie Mason, Taryn Luna, Melody. "Ex-assemblyman likely made unwanted sexual advances on Capitol employee, investigation finds". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
Mason, Melanie (August 15, 2018). "Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was facing sexual harassment investigation when he took USC professor job". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2018.

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[1] "2015-16 Joint Handbook" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.

[2] "California Legislature 2013-14" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.

[3] "California Legislature 2013-14" (PDF). California State at Sacramento. 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2019.

[4] Hamilton, Matt (August 1, 2018). "Donation from prominent L.A. politician roils USC, which referred case to federal prosecutors". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2018.

[5] Ryan, Matt Hamilton, Harriet. "Donation from prominent L.A. politician roils USC, which referred case to federal prosecutors". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.

[6] Gutierrez, Melanie Mason, Taryn Luna, Melody. "Ex-assemblyman likely made unwanted sexual advances on Capitol employee, investigation finds". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.

[7] Mason, Melanie (August 15, 2018). "Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was facing sexual harassment investigation when he took USC professor job". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2018.