After weeks that saw Richard Bloom’s lead in the race for the Westside’s new 50th Assembly District both grow and shrink, the former Santa Monica mayor was sworn in as a member of the California State Assembly on Dec. 3.
His lead over his opponent, Democratic incumbent Assemblymember Betsy Butler, had at one point narrowed to just 79 votes, but by Nov. 28, when Bloom claimed victory, the margin was 1,246 votes, and the final tally had him 1,700 votes ahead, beating Butler by just 1 percentage point.
Before being sworn in Monday, Bloom first resigned his post as Santa Monica’s mayor. A Democrat, Bloom takes office at a time when his party has supermajorities in both houses of government in Sacramento.
“I look forward to working on the issues that matter to my constituents: education, jobs, the economy and protecting the environment,” Bloom wrote in an e-mail to supporters on Nov. 28.
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