Marqueece Harris-Dawson

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Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Marqueece Harris-Dawson.jpg
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 8th district
Assumed office
July 1, 2015
Preceded byBernard Parks
Personal details
Born (1970-11-07) November 7, 1970 (age 51)
Los Angeles, California U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationMorehouse College (BA)
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteOfficial Website - Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson

Marqueece Harris-Dawson (born November 7, 1970) is an American politician and the incumbent member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing Los Angeles City Council District 8 of western .

He took office as Councilperson on 1 July 2015.[1] District 8 includes the Baldwin Hills, West Adams, and Crenshaw communities, and other neighborhoods in western South Los Angeles.[2]

Early life[]

Harris-Dawson was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles.[3] Councilmember Harris-Dawson grew up in South Los Angeles during the crack cocaine epidemic. His family moved from their neighborhood to protect their children from police and gang violence.[3]

Professional career[]

Harris-Dawson graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Mathematics. In 1995, he joined Community Coalition under then founder and current Congresswoman Karen Bass.

Political career[]

Dawson's first campaign as a community organizer was to change the conditions of schools in South Los Angeles and to infuse equity in the distribution of education funding.[3] As a result of the campaign, South Los Angeles schools received an investment of $153 million for repair and modernization.[3] He served as its President and CEO from 2004 to 2014.[3][4] He was the coordinator for the 1999 re-election campaign of Mark Ridley-Thomas in District 2 of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors .[3]

Harris-Dawson holds a certificate in non-profit management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and is an Aspen Institute Pahara Fellow.[3]

Campaign for City Council, 2015[]

In the primary election for District 8 in 2015, Harris-Dawson received over 62% of the vote for the vacant seat.[5] Because Harris-Dawson won outright, a general election for District 8 was not needed.[6] Term limits forced Bernard C. Parks, Harris-Dawson's predecessor since 2004, out of office.[7]

City Council[]

Proposition HHH[]

In 2016, Councilmember Harris-Dawson co-authored Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure to build permanent supportive housing for homeless people and people at risk of becoming homeless.[8] The measure appeared on the November 2016 municipal ballot and passed, with voters approving the measure 77% to 23%.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ LA Times: "Marqueece Harris-Dawson takes office as councilman of L.A.'s 8th District", 1 July 2015.
  2. ^ City of Los Angeles map of District 8
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Council District 8: Harris-Dawson biography
  4. ^ Cocosouthla.org: Community Coalition website
  5. ^ My News LA: "L.A. election results: Marqueece Harris-Dawson wins 8th District city council race", 4 March 2015
  6. ^ L.A. Weekly: "Marqueece Harris-Dawson, L.A.'s Newest Council Member, Represents a Lurch to the Left", 4 March 2015
  7. ^ LA Times: "The Times endorses Marqueece Harris-Dawson in the 8th Council District", 11 February 2015
  8. ^ City Clerk for the City of Los Angeles: Measure HHH, 29 October 2016
  9. ^ Holland, Gale (May 11, 2019). "L.A. spent $619 million on homelessness last year. Has it made a difference?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2019.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Bernard Parks
 Los Angeles City Councilmember,
8th district
July 1, 2015 - present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Retrieved from ""