Councilwoman Lorena González Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star
April 10, 2017
Seattle City Councilwoman Lorena González Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Seattle City Councilwoman Lorena González is a 2017 nominee for their Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.
Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, and Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016.
“Lorena is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “Her focus on pragmatic solutions and commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans is needed now more than ever. She has been an extraordinary trailblazer in the city of Seattle and the EMILYs List community could not be more excited to nominate her for the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”
In 2015, Lorena made history as the first Latina elected to the Seattle City Council. She is a champion for women, immigrants, and workers. The daughter of once undocumented immigrants, Lorena earned her first paycheck at age eight and worked multiple jobs to attend college and law school. She spent a decade defending everyday people against powerful interests as a nationally recognized civil rights attorney. She is currently advocating for paid family leave and legal aid for undocumented immigrants.
The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input.
Lorena González is nominated alongside:
- Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Nevada Assembly Majority Leader
- Coral Evans, Mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona
- Nicole Galloway, Missouri State Auditor
- Helen Gym, Philadelphia City Councilwoman
- Jennifer McClellan, Virginia State Senator
EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have trained nearly 10,000 women to run and helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILY’s List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.
