Most describe Gloria Molina, who died from cancer at 74 on Mother’s Day, as the pioneering Chicana who served 32 years in elected office in Los Angeles, trounced her male opponents and fiercely stood up for her constituents.
They called her tough as nails, fearless, salty and a role model for women and especially women of color seeking elected office.
Certainly, the memories from those who knew her go hand-in-hand with her political “firsts.” In 1982, first Latina elected to the state Assembly; in 1987, first Latina elected to the Los Angeles City Council; in 1991, first Latina elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The Montebello-born Mexican American brought more than a tough exterior to her longest-held position, as a county supervisor from 1991 until 2014. The journey of Jesús Gloria Molina is really one of a multi-layered individual, who would grill county bureaucrats one day, and another day would host a food fair with homemade tamales.
“There were many layers to Gloria,” said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who Molina endorsed for supervisor. “Her layers were very complicated, as a woman, a mother — and as a feminist before she even realized she was a feminist.”
In her later years, she could be found near Olvera Street, knitting and quilting with ladies in the group she founded, The East LA Stitchers (or TELAS). She also founded the historical museum LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and the Eastside Arts Initiative.
Someone who saw Molina as a role model is First District Supervisor Hilda Solis, who started her career by getting elected to the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees in 1985. “She was one of the few role models. I think of Gloria Molina and (labor activist) Dolores Huerta. That’s where it ends,” Solis said on Monday, May 15.
Solis remembers Molina winning seats by beating male Latino candidates and defying those in the party who told her not to run. She met her at a meeting of the…
Read the full article here
