The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus John A. Pérez to join the five-member Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. Pérez was nominated for the position by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Currently serving as a Regent for the University of California, Pérez first became involved with the Board of Regents as an ex officio member during his term as Assembly Speaker. He was appointed to the Board in 2014 by former California Governor Jerry Brown and was reappointed in 2024 by Governor Gavin Newsom. Pérez chaired the Board of Regents from 2019 to 2021 and now leads the Regents’ Health Services Committee.
“Pérez is a dedicated public servant who brings decades of expertise to this important role. I worked with Mr. Pérez as we helped protect Californians and Angelenos from the greatest economic threat to the state since the Great Depression. As a labor organizer, Mr. Pérez ensured that working families received fair, living wages and made sure that concerns of workers were top of mind as we crafted policy,” stated Mayor Bass.
Furthermore, Pérez was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2008, representing Downtown Los Angeles and nearby communities. He was Assembly Speaker from 2010 to 2014, managing 1,300 employees and overseeing a US$156 million budget. He is known for his legislative focus on job growth and economic development, including authoring the bill that established the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
