California Democrats Elect L.A. Labor Leader as Party Chair

California Democrats elected Los Angeles labor leader Rusty Hicks as the party's chair on Saturday in a vote at the party convention in San Francisco.

Hicks, the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, will be tasked with continuing the party's electoral success, while reforming the organization's internal culture after months of turmoil.

And after defeating progressive activist Kimberly Ellis in the chair election, Hicks will be in charge of healing any lingering resentment between supporters of the two leading candidates.

After the votes of more than 3,000 delegates were tallied on Saturday night, Hicks won 57 percent of the vote, while Ellis finished with 36 percent,

"Everyone, including me, thought that with seven candidates running for Party Chair that the race would result in a runoff," Hicks said in a statement. "I am humbled by the outcome."

In his role as chair, Hicks will direct the party's electoral efforts in 2020 and beyond -- leading fundraising and making decisions on grassroots organizing and campaign spending.

In his speech to delegates on Saturday, Hicks touted his experience leading hundreds of unions in fights to raise the minimum wage, increase the region's affordable housing supply, and elect new Democrats to Congress in Southern California swing districts.

"During my time in the L.A. labor movement I have been proud to organize those efforts to elect hundreds of Democrats to public office," he said.

The opening in party leadership came after the resignation of Eric Bauman in late November, following accusations of sexual misconduct.

Hicks told delegates that he did not want to wait until after the election to begin work on cleaning up the party.

"I formed a task force to develop a zero-tolerance policy to end the disgrace of sexual harassment and misconduct in our party," he said.

The chair election came two years after a bitter campaign between Ellis and Bauman culminated in Bauman's election by just 62 votes. Ellis never conceded the race, and charged that the party stifled efforts to verify the results.

In her current bid, Ellis again took on the role of an outsider -- a difficult balancing act in an election where the voters are party insiders.

"Trust requires a leap of faith, and we need to leap," she told delegates on Saturday. 

Hicks grew up in Texas, the son of a single mother. At age 11, he met his father, who was serving time in state prison. In the midst of political work in California, Hicks joined the Navy Reserves, and was deployed in Afghanistan. He was elected chair of the L.A. County Federation of Labor in 2014.