Laura Friedman,
Assemblymember, 43rd District
California State Assembly
Note: This interview was first published in the Fall 2017 Volume 1 of our Guide to Civic Engagement.
Laura Friedman is a mother, a wife, and spent six years on Glendale, California’s City Council, where she focused on supporting small businesses, job creation, non-profit organizations, the arts, and environmental sustainability. She was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2016.
Because she’s a woman in politics and someone new to serving at the state level, we asked her questions about the state of our nation and what it takes to lead in 2017 and beyond.
Q: What's the number one thing ordinary citizens can do right now to be involved in politics?
LF: The number one thing that you can do is get to know your elected officials. Find out who represents you at the local level on your city council, your county supervisor, your state representatives in the Assembly and Senate, and your congressional representatives. There are plenty of websites that make the search easy. The next step is communicating with them. Believe it or not, we want to hear from you. Tell us about the issues you’re passionate about, where you stand, and what you expect from us. It’s easier than ever before. I hear from my constituents daily through social media, email, my website, phone calls, drop-ins to my office, and even through the fax. As I approach each vote, I want to know what my constituents think.
Q: What do you see as the number one issue critical to our nation's future right now?
LF: Our access to affordable, quality health care is repeatedly under attack, and the threat is real. The proposals put forward by Congressional Republicans and supported by President Trump would eliminate health care for tens of millions of Americans. That’s something that we can’t ignore.
However, the issues that keep me up at night are climate change and environmental degradation. These pose a real and immediate threat to life on earth. What could be more important? A lot of my work in Sacramento has to do with protecting the environment, climate change, clean energy, water resources, and habitat protection.
Q: The Women’s March was a huge success — hundreds of thousands turned out and marched. What can women specifically do year-round to amplify their voices?
LF: Attending the Women’s’ March was incredibly inspiring. To be surrounded by thousands of women of all ages, all united in our push for equality, was simply amazing. The fact that it was a global demonstration with millions marching was beyond my expectations. We have to harness that power and that passion and keep up the commitment. Every time our rights are threatened, whether it be our right to comprehensive reproductive care, pay equity, or environmental justice, we need to speak up and show up.
This year the Affordable Care Act faced serious threats that would eliminate access to quality, affordable health care for millions of women and their families. The fact that the bill was stalled [twice] in the U.S. Senate is a testament to all of the calls, letters, e-mails, demonstrations, and protests. However, the fight isn’t over. The moment we go quiet, when our representatives in Washington aren’t held accountable, is when they’ll be successful in cutting the programs and protections that we all rely upon.
Q: Fake news and the claim of fake news has become something that the President has shouted about quite a bit. How can citizens decipher the real from the unprofessional?
LF: Technology has made it incredibly easy to connect to information. It’s also made it incredibly easy to spread misinformation and outright lies. If you’re getting all of your news from social media, keep this in mind – skepticism is a virtue. It's important to dig a little deeper. Check out what the old stalwarts of print media are reporting. They’re held to a higher ethical standard than an anonymous blogger, and we need their journalism now more than ever.
Q: What are the first 3 things you read each day to stay informed?
LF: The Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, and BBC News to get a global perspective. I'm also an NPR listener.
Q: California is in a good position to lead on progressive issues. Even though we are in a blue state, how can people here do more or help others in other places across the country?
LF: You’re right. California is leading the nation on a number of issues, from environmental protection to affordable health care. When the Trump Administration pulled out of the Paris Agreement on combating climate change, California joined with several other states and renewed our commitment to the agreement and asked world leaders to include us even if our leaders at the federal level stepped away. We have opportunities to help our fellow Americans in other states. We can form local phone banks to support candidates that share our values. We can continue to fight for what’s right in Congress.
Q: What is your greatest hope for the next 4 years in our country?
LF: I hope that we can protect California and all of our residents from the threats to our environment, our health care, and our rights. I hope that we can demonstrate to the nation that we can embrace progressive values and maintain our rank as the 5th largest economy in the world.
I hope that we can use the next few years to unite behind political candidates that hold those same values. At the end of the day, I hope that we emerge at the end of the next four years with a renewed commitment to our shared future.