Curren D. Price, Jr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Curren De Mille Price, Jr. (born December 16, 1950 in Los Angeles, CA) was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2006. Assemblymember Price represents the 51st Assembly District, which includes Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Playa Vista, Westchester, Lawndale, West Athens, Lennox, Alondra Park, West Compton, Del Aire, and Willowbrook, as well as portions of the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights.

Assemblymember Price’s commitment and involvement in the 51st Assembly District began as a student at Morningside High School in the mid '60s. Even in those formative years, he was active in community affairs and student government where in 1967 he was elected the first African-American Student Body President.

After graduation from high school, Assemblymember Price received a scholarship to attend Stanford University and in 1972 he received a B.A. Degree in Political Science. Thereafter, he studied law at the Santa Clara University where he was elected President of the Black Law Students Association and graduated in 1976 with a Juris Doctor in Law.

Following graduation, Assemblymember Price’s interest in business development activities and international trade and technology took him to Washington, D.C. There, for over ten years, he was active in the telecommunications industry (satellites, cellular, and paging). As a strong advocate for minority enterprise, he was a featured speaker at conferences sponsored by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Before returning to California in 1988, Assemblymember Price combined his ongoing interest in political involvement with his professional experience in telecommunications to serve as Executive Producer for a project entitled, “Political Empowerment: The Black Vote and Implications for the Future”. This series of four national videoconferences, was sponsored by Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, and was broadcast live, via satellite, to colleges and universities across the country. The programs explored opportunities to be involved in the political process. The project, conceived by Assemblymember Price, was underwritten with a grant from the Ford Foundation.

In transferring skills from the private sector to the public sector, Assemblymember Price has demonstrated an ability to solve problems and address the myriad of challenges associated with local government, business development, and civic participation. He served effectively as Deputy to two members of the Los Angeles City Council; and later was the Southern California Coordinator for a statewide association that provided training to assist community based organizations develop commercial real estate projects.

From 1993 to 1997 and 2001 to 2006, Assemblymember Price was an elected member of the Inglewood City Council where he initiated innovative programs designed to improve the quality of life in District 1. He was the chair of the City Council Community Economic Development Committee and served as an advocate for smart growth initiatives and the ‘arts’ as a tool for economic development. In addition to his Council responsibilities, he served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance and the Metropolitan Transit 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. He is a credentialed instructor for adult education and the community colleges.

Assemblymember Price was elected to the California State Assembly in 2006. He serves as the Chair of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee and as member to the following committees: Business and Professions, Governmental Organizations, and Jobs, Economic Development and Professions.


Preceded by
Jerome Horton		 California State Assemblyman, 51st District
2006 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent