Assemblymember Richard Bloom will be stepping down from political office come November, after announcing he was ending his campaign for LA County’s Third Supervisorial District.
Bloom’s campaign spokespeople made the announcement on Tuesday evening, Feb. 1, stating that “Bloom will not appear on the June primary ballot.”
Sources confirmed Bloom would not be campaigning for a sixth and final assembly term, representing a newly drawn 51st District.
“After a great deal of thought and discussion with my family and advisors, I have decided to end my campaign for Supervisor and focus on serving my constituents for the remainder of my final term in the State Assembly,” Bloom said in a prepared statement provided by his campaign. “I am very proud of the campaign we ran, and I am grateful to everyone who helped to build it. I believe that the future of Los Angeles County is bright, and that our communities can and will solve the challenges we face. I am as committed as ever to working for that future, but I am going to take some time to decide how I can best be of service.”
The announcement means 2023 will be the first year this century that Bloom has not held political office; he was first elected to Santa Monica City Council in April 1999, serving 13 years including numerous stints as mayor, before going on to represent Santa Monica in Sacramento. Bloom was elected to the State Assembly in 2012. Because of term limits, he would have lost his seat in 2024 had he been elected to a final term this November.
Bloom has represented the 50th Assembly District since he was first elected to the seat in 2012. For the past 10 years, the District has included Santa Monica, Malibu, Agoura Hills and West Hollywood. The drastically redrawn 51st District will include Santa Monica and inland communities from Hollywood all the way to Griffith Park.
Bloom declined to speak to the Daily Press for this story.
Progressive Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur, who is aggressively campaigning to fill the 51st District seat, said he considered Bloom a friend and said his legislative priorities would align with what Santa Monican voters have come to expect from their representative in the State Assembly.
“I consider myself a progressive champion. I think if you look at the organizations that are supporting me, it’s really the progressive organizations that I think Santa Monicans respect — everything from Planned Parenthood to California Environmental Voters to Equality California,” Zbur said. “I think every single union that’s endorsed has endorsed my candidacy so far. And so, I think my perspective is aligned with the values of people in Santa Monica. It would be an honor and a privilege to represent them and I’m going to be an energetic member of the community and I think, you know, very much aligned with the perspective that Richard Bloom has had as a member of the assembly, as well.”
Bloom’s decision to drop out of the race came as competitors like West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath and California Senator Robert Hertzberg continued to gather high-profile endorsements from politicians and labor groups. California Senator Henry Stern is also campaigning to fill the Third District seat, which will be left vacant by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. Another candidate, LA County Controller Ron Galperin, announced he was dropping out of the race in early January.
emily@smdp.com
