Biography

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian was elected to the California State Legislature in 2006 to serve the communities of Burbank, Glendale, Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Valley Glen, Van Nuys and Toluca Lake. 

In 2008, Paul was tapped by Speaker Karen Bass to serve as Assistant Majority Floor Leader for the State Assembly. The post is the third-ranking leadership position in the Assembly after the Speaker herself.  As Assistant Majority Floor Leader, Paul helps to lead all floor debates in the Assembly on behalf of the Democratic Caucus, and provides policy and political guidance to the Speaker. 

Paul also serves as the first Chairperson of the newly-created Select Committee on Renewable Energy, which leads the Assembly’s effort to meet at least 33% of California’s electricity needs from renewable resources like solar and wind. 

Paul is the Chair of the Select Committee on Preservation of California’s Entertainment Industry, a fitting seat for the representative of the 43rd District – the entertainment capitol of the world. Paul is fighting hard to save California’s good middle class jobs in the film, television and recording industries exemplified by legislation he wrote in early 2009 that stimulated job and economic growth for the region’s entertainment sector. Paul is also a member of the California Film Commission and host of the annual FilmFest43, a film festival of the best in high-school movies from throughout his district.

Paul has a wide range of other important assignments, including membership on the Accountability and Administrative Review committee, which helps identify the best saving mechanisms for the state; the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media committee, whose jurisdictions are programs and policies affecting a range of art, athletic and electronic programs; the Judiciary committee, the committee on Local Government, which looks after some of the state’s administrative issues and the Utilities and Commerce committee, whose primary jurisdictions are public utilities.
In his first year in Sacramento, Paul achieved remarkable legislative success, with the highest number of bills passed and signed by the governor of any freshman member. Among his important accomplishments are new laws that will reduce plastic pollution in the world’s oceans (AB 258); expand solar energy generation in California and reduce carbon emissions (AB 946); protect senior citizens who are living in residential care facilities from abusive practices and neglect when those facilities close down (AB 949); make neighborhoods safer by authorizing local officials to evict gang members and others who use their residences to store or sell illegal weapons and ammunition (AB 1013); completely revamp and modernize California’s trademark laws (AB 1484); and use prison resources more efficiently to achieve public safety by reducing expenditures on permanently medically incapacitated inmates (AB 1539).

During the 2008 Legislative Session, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass selected Paul to lead a three-member working group that will find ways to accelerate California’s adoption of renewable power.  The Renewable Portfolio Standard working group, as it is known in Sacramento, has been working with environmentalists, labor groups, utilities, electricity generators and others to ensure that California generates innovative policy and establishes world-leadership in development of renewable resources.  The bill, AB 64, is working its way through legislative channels and was recently approved by the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce committee.

Prior to his service in the Assembly, Paul served as President of the Burbank Board of Education.  He was elected to the school board during a fiscal crisis in which schools faced budget cuts that would have been devastating to the quality of education.  Under Paul’s leadership, the district was able to fix its budget problems and save many educational programs and vital jobs, while still paring administrative costs.  During his tenure, the district significantly improved student attendance and performance, increased teacher pay, launched the Burbank Priority in Education Foundation, encouraged greater student nutrition and exercise, and implemented groundbreaking programs to protect the environment and achieve energy efficiencies.  At the same time, Paul served as President of the Five Star Education Coalition, a consortium of five suburban school districts that works to shape state and federal education policy.

Paul Krekorian has always been a strong champion for children.  He was instrumental in helping to create GenerationNext, a mentorship program for at-risk youth in Glendale public schools, and he serves on the advisory board of the D&M Foundation, which offers after school programs in both Burbank and Glendale.  Previously, Paul served on the Burbank Childcare Committee.

Paul is a partner in the law firm of Fisher & Krekorian, and he has practiced as a business, entertainment and intellectual property litigation attorney for over 20 years.  He has been a leader in his profession, having served on the Board of Trustees of the LA County Bar Association, the Board of Trustees of the LA County Law Library, the California State Legislature’s Task Force on Court Facilities, and many local and state bar committees.  He served on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and the L.A. Police Commission appointed him as counsel to the Webster Commission in the aftermath of the riots in 1992.

Paul received his law degree from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from USC.  He lives in Burbank with his wife Tamar, their sons Hrag (16) and Andrew (4), and their daughter Lori, who recently celebrated her first birthday.