Raul Bocanegra
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Raul Bocanegra
|image = Raul Bocanegra (2012).jpg
|alt =
|state_assembly = California
|district = 39th
|term_start = December 5, 2016
|term_end = November 27, 2017
|predecessor = Patty López
|successor = Luz Rivas
|term_start2 = December 3, 2012
|term_end2 = November 30, 2014
|predecessor2 = Felipe Fuentes
|successor2 = Patty López
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|07|13}}
|birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|spouse =
|children =
|residence = Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|alma_mater = University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelors and Masters)
|occupation = Legislative staffer, college professor
|profession =
|religion =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Raul Justo Bocanegra (born July 13, 1971) is an American politician, and a former member of the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat who represented the 39th Assembly District, encompassing northeastern San Fernando Valley.
Bocanegra was first elected to the assembly in 2012, but was narrowly defeated in his 2014 bid for reelection by political outsider and fellow Democrat Patty Lopez. He reclaimed his previous assembly seat after defeating Lopez in 2016. Before being elected to the assembly, he was an urban planner and chief of staff to his predecessor Felipe Fuentes. A native of the San Fernando Valley, he graduated from San Fernando High School.
On November 27, 2017, Bocanegra announced he would resign, effective immediately, as a result of sexual harassment allegations.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/melmason/status/935199452922396672|title=Breaking: Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra has resigned effective immediately, following sexual harassment allegations. Statement below and story posting soonpic.twitter.com/qdPuh1AoSz|last=Mason|first=Melanie|date=2017-11-27|website=@melmason|language=en|access-date=2017-11-27}}
2009 groping incident
{{See also|Me Too movement}}
In 2009, Bocanegra worked as a staff member for then assembly member Felipe Fuentes.
In October 2017, Elise Flynn Gyore, who worked as a staffer for a state senator at the time, alleged that Bocanegra "put his hands into her blouse" outside of a bathroom at a night club in Sacramento. Flynn Gyore did not know Bocanegra at the time. The next day, she reported the incident to the Senate sergeant who conducted an investigation which concluded that it was "more likely than not that Mr. Bocanegra engaged in [that] behavior that night". In October 2017, Flynn Gyore made her allegation public.{{cite news|url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/11/01/assemblyman-apologizes/|title=LA Assemblyman Apologizes for Groping Fellow Staffer in 2009|agency=Associated Press|date=November 1, 2017}}
The revelation of the incident prompted the California Legislative Women's Caucus to call upon the legislature to review the incident and "immediately enforce, for once, the bodies’ zero-tolerance policies."{{Cite web|url=http://womenscaucus.legislature.ca.gov/news/2017-10-27-womens-caucus-leadership-condemns-sexual-assault-capitol-community|title=WOMEN'S CAUCUS LEADERSHIP CONDEMNS SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE CAPITOL COMMUNITY {{!}} California Legislative Women's Caucus|website=womenscaucus.legislature.ca.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-11-03}} An editorial in the Los Angeles Daily News called for Bocanegra's resignation and condemned those who knew about the groping yet helped him rise in his career.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.com/2017/10/30/assemblyman-raul-bocanegra-should-resign-over-sexual-misconduct/|title=Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra should resign over sexual misconduct|date=2017-10-31|work=Daily News|access-date=2017-11-03|language=en-US}} The group, We Said Enough, called on him to resign.{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/20/now-california-lawmaker-accused-of-groping-fellow-staffer-will-not-run-for-re-election/|title=California lawmaker accused by 7 women of sexual harassment will not run for re-election|date=2017-11-20|work=The Mercury News|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en-US}} Local activists, including former assembly member Patty López, who defeated Bocanegra in 2014 and lost to him in 2016, demonstrated outside Bocanegra's district office.{{cite news|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article181992686.html|title=California lawmaker faces calls to resign over Capitol groping incident|date=November 1, 2017|first=Alexei|last=Koseff|publisher=Sacramento Bee}} Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Kelly Gonez issued a statement saying "It’s not enough to admonish a staffer or legislator to stay away from his victim," and commending Gyore for speaking out.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Kelly4LASchools/status/926196800624541696|title=I'm deeply troubled by the news regarding @AsmBocanegra. My full statement below.pic.twitter.com/YTDImM5uEN|last=LAUSD|first=Kelly Gonez|date=2017-11-02|website=@Kelly4LASchools|language=en|access-date=2017-11-03}}
Elections
= 2014 =
{{see also|California State Assembly elections, 2014}}
{{Election box open primary begin no change
| title = California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2014
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Raul Bocanegra (incumbent)
| votes = 13,069
| percentage = 62.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Patty Lopez
| votes = 4,940
| percentage = 23.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Kevin J. Suscavage
| votes = 2,876
| percentage = 13.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Republican Party
| candidate = Michael B. Boyd (write-in candidate)
| votes = 36
| percentage = 0.2
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 20,921
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box open primary general election no change}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Patty Lopez
| votes = 22,750
| percentage = 50.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Raul Bocanegra (incumbent)
| votes = 22,284
| percentage = 49.5
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 45,034
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change
| winner = California Democratic Party
}}
{{Election box end}}
= 2016 =
{{see also|California State Assembly election, 2016}}
{{Election box open primary begin no change
| title = California's 39th State Assembly district election, 2016
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Raul Bocanegra
| votes = 30,119
| percentage = 44.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Patty López (incumbent)
| votes = 18,472
| percentage = 27.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Joel Fajardo
| votes = 6,831
| percentage = 10.1
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Joanne Fernandez
| votes = 4,538
| percentage = 6.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Mina Creswell
| votes = 4,418
| percentage = 6.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Kevin James Suscavage
| votes = 3,489
| percentage = 5.1
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 67,867
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box open primary general election no change}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Raul Bocanegra
| votes = 74,834
| percentage = 60.12
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = California Democratic Party
| candidate = Patty López (incumbent)
| votes = 49,649
| percentage = 39.88
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 124,483
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change
| winner = California Democratic Party
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.raulbocanegra.com/ Campaign website]
- [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/13389 Join California Raul J. Bocanegra]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bocanegra, Raul}}
Category:Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Category:Politicians from Los Angeles
Category:American politicians of Mexican descent
Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in California politics
Category:People from Pacoima, Los Angeles
Category:Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:21st-century members of the California State Legislature