By Anika Khubchandani
SACRAMENTO – The California Legislative Black Caucus, committed to removing inequalities between racial groups and working toward equity for Black Californians, has elected Sen. Steven Bradford to serve as Chair, and Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager as Vice Chair.
Sen. Bradford (D-35) represents the constituents of communities including Carson, Compton, Gardena, Harbor Gateway, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Torrance, Watts/Willowbrook, and Wilmington.
Since the beginning of his professional career, Bradford said he views himself “as a public servant and not a politician,” noting he will remain true to his “value of giving back to the community.”
Bradford made history when he became the first African American elected to the Gardena City Council, focusing on bolstering economic growth and balancing the city’s budget. After 12 years of service, Bradford left the council in a positive state. Debt was eliminated, $8.5 million was saved, and employees’ salaries were increased without increasing taxes or cutting essential services. In addition, Bradford helped secure millions of dollars of funding for several improvement projects for neighborhoods in North Gardena.
In 2009, Bradford was elected to the 51st State Assembly District in a Special Election. After becoming Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, he gained national recognition for his efforts in “increasing equity and the deployment of distributed clean energy resources” through the creation of a $108 million program to assist low-income households install solar panels.
Assembly Speaker John Perez named Sen. Bradford Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men and Color in 2013. The committee investigated the many institutional injustices 
that Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander males in California face on a daily basis.
Due to these immense efforts to address and ameliorate the disparities faced by these minority communities, Bradford was invited to attend President Obama’s announcement of “My Brother’s Keeper,” an initiative committed to helping every boy and young man of color to “break barriers” and “promote success.”
Sen. Bradford said he is “honored and humbled to be elected” to serve as the next Chair of the CLBC so that he can continue his work “to correct the many institutional injustices that plague young Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander males” as well as leading “in a similar fashion to…previous Chairs championing African American issues for the state and nation.”
Born and raised in Chicago, Assemblymember Kamlager moved to Los Angeles for her undergraduate degree at USC. After leaving the city to pursue her master’s in arts management and public policy at Carnegie Melon University, she returned to Southern California to become the spokesperson and public art director for the Social and Public Art Resource Center.
She began her political career her 2010, working on a campaign to elect Holly J. Mitchell to the California State Assembly. In 2018, she won the special election and went on to represent California’s 54th Assembly District which includes Baldwin Hills, Cheviot Hills, the Crenshaw District, Culver City, Holmby Hills, Ladera, Mar Vista, Mid-City, Palms, Rancho Park, and parts of South Los Angeles.
In 2020, Kamlager authored AB 1950, “the most transformative probation reform legislation in the country.” This bill established two year maximum terms for felony offenses and one year for misdemeanor offenses.
Prior to this legislation, misdemeanor probation terms could be enforced for up to 3 years while felony probation could have been “enforced for as long as the maximum possible prison sentence for the offense.”
Not only will this reform save millions in taxpayer dollars, but it will also “help many thousands of Californians exit the criminal justice system and stay out of the system,” she said.
Kamlager is Chair of the Select Committee on Incarcerated Women, where she reviews and reforms policies “to support the health, dignity and rehabilitation of women in prison.” In addition, she “serves on Governor Gavin Newsom’s Penal Code Revision Committee, which studies and recommends ways to simplify and rationalize the substance and procedure of criminal law in California.”
Throughout the 50-year history of the CLBC, members of the group have been “instrumental in crafting and supporting legislation to promote racial and gender equality for the State.”
Both Bradford and Kamlager agree to “continue to advance an agenda that assures quality health care, establishing a more transparent and accountable police system, increased employment and economic security, and justice for all Californians.”
Anika Khubchandani is a 4th year student at UC Davis majoring in both Political Science and Economics. She is from San Jose, CA.
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