The Los Angeles County Democratic Party presented the 2023 Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Awards on Oct. 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The party recognized 48 Democrats of the Year from 24 Assembly districts. Among the honorees were Frank Aurelio Yokoyama from Assembly District 67 and Jennifer Kumiyama from Assembly District 69.
Yokoyama was elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2017, served as mayor pro tem in 2019, and was re-elected to the City Council in 2022. A Cerritos resident since 1976, he previously served on the Cerritos Planning Commission from 2011 to 2013.
Yokoyama is a member of the League of California Cities Asian Pacific Islander Caucus and was appointed to the league’s Environmental Quality Policy Committee and Community Services Policy Committee in 2021 and 2022. He was appointed vice chair of the Governance, Transparency & Labor Relations Policy Committee for 2023 and chair of the committee for 2024. He was elected 2023 secretary to the National League of Cities Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials (APAMO) constituency group.
The 67thDistrict consists of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma and Fullerton in Orange County; Artesia, Cerritos and Hawaiian Gardens in Los Angeles County.
Kumiyama was born with arthrogryposis and uses a wheelchair daily. She earned a spot on the Warner Bros. reality TV show “Popstars 2” and received national accolades. Shortly after that, in 2002, she was cast in Disney’s “Aladdin; a Musical Spectacular” at Disney California Adventure Theme Park, where she performed four times a day for 8,000 guests a day until January 2016.
In addition to singing, Kumiyama’s passion is being a voice for people living with disabilities by breaking attitudinal and architectural barriers. She was crowned Ms. Wheelchair California in 2010 and Ms. Wheelchair America first runner-up in 2011. She was cast in the Sundance Film Festival hit and Academy Award-nominated film “The Sessions,” MTV’s “Awkward,” and “Celebrity Undercover Boss.”
Kumiyama has worked for State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, and is an elected delegate in the California Democratic Party. She is the City of Long Beach citywide ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) coordinator.
The 69thDistrict consists of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Santa Ana.
Keynote speakers included Rep. Adam Schiff, a candidate for U.S. Senate; Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; California Democratic Party Secretary Diana Love, a Democrat of the Year; California Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Unite Here! Local 11 Co-president Ada Brice?o.
“I was happy my mom came with me,” Yokoyama commented. “My mom was excited to meet Adam Schiff. Thanks to Catherine and her parents, Danny Hom and the Duvalis for celebrating this special night with my mom and me.”