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Politi-Cal

Labor groups back different candidates in race for new congressional district seat

By Jean Merl
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In the early battle for the new 44th Congressional District seat, Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach) has picked up support from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, her campaign announced this week. Until now, the lion’s share of labor endorsements have gone to Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro). Hahn announced three more this week — Unite HERE, United Steel Workers and the Transportation Communications Union. Assemblyman Isadore Hall (D-Compton) also is running for the seat in this district, which includes the Los Angeles Harbor Area, Carson, South Gate, Compton, Lynwood, parts of Long Beach and Walnut Park.

Labor support is likely to be an important factor in this largely working-class district. The district was drawn earlier this year to favor the election of an African American, but the citizens commission charged with creating the new political maps put Hahn’s home here after decimating the mainly coastal South Bay district she was elected to represent in a July special election. Hahn is white with strong ties to the area’s black community through her father, the late longtime Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. Richardson and Hall are black.

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-- Jean Merl

Politi-Cal
Jean Merl

Jean Merl, a hopeless news junkie, covered regional politics for the Los Angeles Times until 2015. She was raised in southern Ohio but moved with her family to Los Angeles at a tender age, which practically makes her a California native. She holds a master’s degree from UCLA and remembers when Otis Chandler was publisher of The Times and Tom Bradley was mayor of L.A.

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