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LA County to rename Grand Park for groundbreaking politician Gloria Molina

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to rename the iconic Grand Park, which lies across the street from Los Angeles City Hall, after the storied Southern California politician Gloria Molina. 

Molina was the first Latina to serve not only in the L.A. City Council but also in the state Assembly. Following her terms in those two legislatures, Molina joined the Board of Supervisors and represented the county's First District for over two decades.

The 74-year-old announced last week that she was battling terminal cancer. While she had been fighting the disease for three years, she announced the diagnosis in a Facebook post addressed to her "dearest friends and beloved community."

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(credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

"I've lived a long, fulfilling and beautiful life," Molina said in the post. "You should know that I'm not sad. I enter this transition in life feeling so fortunate. I have an amazing and caring family, wonderful friends, and worked with committed colleagues and a loyal team. Throughout my life I've had the support of many people." 

While she had long been part of the Chicano movement, Molina began her elected-political career in 1982 after being elected to the California Assembly. She then transitioned to a more local political atmosphere, representing L.A. City's First District beginning in 1987. She transitioned to the county-wide Board of Supervisors after winning the seat in 1991. She stayed on the board until 2014. 

The unanimously-approved motion was introduced by the woman that succeeded her, Supervisor Hilda Solis. Soon, the park will be renamed "Gloria Molina Grand Park."

"She wanted a park for all the people that was in the middle of the city," Solis said.

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