Incumbents are seeking re-election in all but one local legislative race on next Tuesday’s primary election ballot, making the 50th Assembly District seat the most competitive.

Democratic incumbent Hector De La Torre of South Gate is being termed out of office and is running for state insurance commissioner, leaving four Democrats and two Republicans hoping to replace him.

The four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination all can boast of experience in elected office or working in one.

Carmen Avalos is the South Gate city clerk and a former Cerritos College trustee.

Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens worked for the late Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-South Gate, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and now is an aide to Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Lincoln Heights.

Downey Mayor Pro Tem Luis Marquez is an aide to state Sen. Allan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach.

Art Olivier of Bellflower was on the City Council there and ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2000.

The winner of the Demcratic primary Tuesday will face the winner of the Republican primary in November.

Besides her elected offices, Avalos is a teacher, mother and a former biomedical researcher at several county hospitals.

She was elected city clerk in 2001. She was honored in 2002 as Woman of the Year for the 30th state Senate District by Sen. Martha Escutia and in 2003 she was honored as Woman of the Year for the 50th Assembly District by De La Torre’s predecessor, Firebaugh.

Avalos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and immigrated to the United States at the age of 2. She graduated from South Gate High School and was the first student ever to deliver the graduating speech in Spanish.

Avalos attended East Los Angeles College and then went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Cal State Dominguez Hills in biology with a minor in chemistry.

She taught those subjects at South Gate High School and later earned a master’s degree in education with an administrative credential from Cal State Long Beach.

Avalos is endorsing the California Fair Elections Act, proposition 15 on Tuesday’s ballot; and wants to extend the current three-month moratorium on foreclosures to six months. She also has several ideas for balancing the state budget with long-term and short-term ideas for generating revenue.

Lara has made several campaign vows.

“I will fight to raise the minimum wage so people can support their family,” he said. “I will fight to make sure every young person can go to college. I will fight for everyone’s right to a family doctor when they’re sick and I will fight for the American dream — good jobs for every Californian.”

He said he follows a work ethic taught to him by his parents, Venustiano and Dolores Lara, Mexican immigrants who came to California seeking a better life.

He attended San Diego State University, where he earned bachelor of art degrees in journalism and Spanish with a minor in Chicano studies.

He is currently working on a master’s degree in leadership from USC.

“California can’t be a place where prisoners get better health care than veterans, prisoners get better educational programs than honest people, prisoners get better recreation facilities than our youngsters,” Lara said.

Marquez cites his legislative experience with Lowenthal and his actions on the City Council as reasons he is qualified to be an Assembly member.

He has the endorsement of his boss, Lowenthal as well as De La Torre, whom he seeks to replace, and several past and current area elected officials.

“Luis has done an exceptional job helping Downey flourish even during tough economic times, and has the commitment, vision and guts to stand up for us in the Legislature,” De La Torre said.

Marquez grew up in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles, after moving at a young age with his parents from Mexico. After graduation from Fremont High School in South Los Angeles, he went on to Cal State Northridge.

He was elected to the Downey City Council in November 2008 and has represented the city on several boards including the California League of Cities.

Marquez also is a member of the Downey Police and Fire Foundation, Rotary Club of Downey, Friends of the Downey Library, Downey YMCA, Orange Line Development Authority, and serves as the vice chair to the city-appointed Green Task Force.

He and his wife Alma are parents of twins.

Olivier and his wife, Joyce, have four children. He was an engineer at Boeing for 20 years and currently does engineering work for his own company and sells homes.

He has a degree in design technology from Cerritos College and a certificate in advanced computer technology from UC Irvine.

Olivier served on the Bellflower City Council from 1994 to 2000, serving terms as mayor and chairman of the Bellflower Redevelopment Agency.

During his stint on the City Council, Olivier referred to himself as a Libertarian. He ran for vice president on the national Libertarian ticket in 2000 and was the Libertarian Party nominee for governor in 2006.

Although running as a Democrat, he has not lost his Libertarian philosophy.

“The state budget is out of control,” he said. “We should not be raising taxes, laying off teachers and cutting programs for the poor before we address the unsustainable pension system where there are 12,175 retired state and local employees making between $100,000 and $500,000 a year.”

On the Republican ballot, first-time candidate P.J. Mellana of Bellflower is opposed by frequent candidate Gladys Miller of South Gate.

“Californians need representation that believes in them,” Mellana said. “I firmly believe that the people of California will benefit most when the government’s spending, size and regulations in their lives decrease, allowing them to pursue happiness as they choose.”

A recreation department employee in Bellflower, Mellana said his priorities are to let Californians stimulate the economy by returning more of their hard-earned money through lower taxes for individuals and businesses, spending controls without raising taxes, and making government more accessible and accountable to the people it represents.

He grew up and resides in Bellflower. He and his wife Kari married in 2002 and have two children.

Mellana graduated from Bellflower High School in 1997; received his bachelor of science degree in recreation and community services from Cal State Hayward and his master of science degree in organizational leadership from National University.

He also is a part-time faculty member for Axia College of the University of Phoenix where he teaches general education subjects.

His opponent, Miller, was born in Italy and raised in Michigan. She and her
husband Wayne have been married more than 35 years and have lived in the district the entire time. She is a member of Downey First Christian Church.

Currently employed as an insurance analyst, Miller previously worked for 42 years in city government and has a background in purchasing, accounting, payroll and insurance.

She has been a member of the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee since 1992 and is current chairwoman for the 50th District Central Committee.

She has run for the 50th Assembly District seat several times since 1992.

She says jobs, education and lower taxes are her main issues. She calls for less regulations on businesses to create a more business-friendly climate and a school curriculum controlled by parents and local educators.

The 50th District includes southern Downey, Bell, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Commerce, Lynwood and South Gate.