Ricardo Lara

Ricardo Lara (born November 5, 1974) is a politician from Los Angeles County, California who serves in the California State Senate, where he represents the 33rd district.

Early life and career

Born in Commerce, California, Lara attended Los Angeles Unified School District schools and graduated from San Diego State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and served as student body president. He is currently pursuing a master's degree from the University of Southern California.

A longtime Assembly staffer, Lara worked as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh (D–South Gate) when Firebaugh served as Majority Leader. Lara later served as Fabian Nuñez's district director during Nuñez's time as Speaker. He then served as communications director for Assemblyman Kevin de León (D–Los Angeles).

In politics

2008 State Assembly campaign

Lara was a candidate for the Assembly in 2008, seeking the Democratic nomination in the Los Angeles-based 46th district. He faced a number of well-connected challengers, including John Pérez, the cousin of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Following a meeting at Getty House, Villaraigosa's official residence, Pérez became the consensus candidate and the other candidates, including Lara, dropped their campaigns. Although the challengers' names remained on the ballot, Pérez won the primary comfortably and took the seat before being elected to the Speakership in late 2009.

State senator

A state senator is a member of a state's senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 50 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one-house state legislature.

There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house. In the past, this meant that senators represented various geographic regions within a state, regardless of the population, as a way of balancing the power of the lower house, which was apportioned according to population.

This system changed in 1963, when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that state legislatures must apportion seats in both houses according to population. A senator's job is to represent the people at a higher level than a state representative in the lower house.

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Lara

Lara may refer to:

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Senate

A Senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature or parliament. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: senex meaning "the elder" or "the old one") and therefore allegedly wiser and more experienced members of the society or ruling class.

Thus, the literal meaning of the word "senate" is: Assembly of Elders.

Many countries have an assembly named a senate, composed of senators who may be elected, appointed, have inherited the title, or gained membership by other methods, depending on the country. Modern senates typically serve to provide a chamber of "sober second thought" to consider legislation passed by a lower house, whose members are usually elected.

Overview

The modern word senate is derived from the [Latin] word senātus (senate), which comes from senex, “old man”. The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. The Latin word senator was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of social organization, in which advisory or decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word senate is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. This form adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take a long period of time. The original senate was the Roman Senate, which lasted until 580 (various efforts to revive it were made in Medieval Rome). In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Senate continued until the Fourth Crusade, circa 1202–1204.

Ricardo

Ricardo is the Portuguese, Spanish cognate of the name Richard. Therefore, the name means "Powerful/Great Leader".

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