Curren Price

Curren De Mille Price, Jr. (born December 16, 1950, in Los Angeles, California) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, currently serving as a Los Angeles city council member for District 9. Price was a California State Senator, representing the state's 26th Senate District which he won in the May 19, 2009 special election to fill the seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas. He previously served as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the state's 51st Assembly District. He was first elected to that position in 2006, and was re-elected in 2008. Price resigned as state senator on July 1, 2013, to be sworn in as Los Angeles city councilman. Holly Mitchell was elected to succeed him in the state senate.

Price attended Morningside High School and in 1967 became the first African-American to be elected as the school's student body president.

After graduation from high school, Price earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University, and in 1972, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the school in political science. Thereafter, he studied law at Santa Clara University. He graduated in 1976 with a Juris Doctor in law.

Following law school, Price worked for an export management company that represented companies in the sales of industrial products in Asia and the Middle East. From 1979-1989, Price lived in Washington, D.C., where he was active in the telecommunications industry (satellites, cellular, paging, and cable). As an advocate for minority enterprise, he was a featured speaker at conferences sponsored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Price returned to California in 1988, serving as a deputy to two members of the Los Angeles City Council. Later, he was the Southern California Coordinator for a statewide association that provided training to assist community-based organizations develop commercial real estate projects.

Price is a lifetime credentialed instructor for both adult education and the community colleges.

From 1993 to 1997, Price was a member of the Inglewood City Council, representing the city's District 1. In 1997, he was defeated in a bid to become the mayor of Inglewood. In 2001, he reclaimed his former city council seat and held it until his election to the state assembly in 2006. As a council member, he was the chair of the City Council Community Economic Development Committee.

In addition to his council responsibilities, Price served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's South Bay Governance Council. For several years, he also served as a consultant with the Small Business Administration-sponsored Small Business Development Center.

Curren Price was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2006 to represent the 51st District, and was re-elected by an overwhelming margin to a second term in 2008. He served as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting as well as the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization. Mr. Price won a special election in May 2009 to represent the 26th District in the State Senate, which includes South and West Los Angeles as well as the entirety of the City of Culver City.

During his first year in the Senate, Senator Price was chosen by Senate Leadership to serve on a range of important legislative committees that reflect his priorities and interests. Senator Price chaired the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts as well as the Senate Select Committee on Procurement. Furthermore, Senator Price served on the following committees: Appropriations, Banking Finance and Insurance, Education, Governmental Organization and Local Government. He also served on the Select Committees focusing on Autism Prevention, California’s Horse Racing Industry, California’s Wine Industry, Constitutional Reform, the Census, Improving State Government and Obesity and Diabetes. Senator Price also sits on the California Science Center Foundation Board of Trustees.

In 2010, Price was selected by his colleagues to serve as the Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. He was also chosen by Senate leadership to serve as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development. In addition, Price served as Chairman of the Legislative Joint Committee on the Arts and Senate Select Committee on Procurement and was a member of the following Standing Committees: Appropriations, Education, Public Safety, and Insurance. He also serves on the following Senate select committees: Autism, Air Quality, California’s Horse Racing Industry, California’s Wine Industry, College and University Admissions and Outreach, High Speed Rail, Obesity and Diabetes, Restoring California’s Middle Class, Sports and Entertainment, Workforce Development, School Environment and Student Wellness.