Represents: Corporate donors, his old friends in law enforcement, and Carson, Compton, and parts of Long Beach
Supports: Free gifts, of which he was the second-highest recipient in the state legislature in 2018
Opposes: Protecting vulnerable communities from pollution
Shameful Vote: Asm. Gipson failed to cast a vote on AB 2709 to mandate that state prison inmates be provided with up to three in-person visits a week to strengthen their connections to family and community. As a former cop, he should know that more social connection and humanity in the criminal justice system is better for everyone involved, but his law enforcement donors are getting exactly what they pay for.
What were they thinking?: During a 2022 town hall, Asm. Gipson went on a minutes-long rant after a local student activist questioned his commitment to environmental justice and called out his big dollar donations from the fossil fuel industry. He concluded his comments by remarking that constituents in his district don’t care about air quality or environmental concerns. It’s no secret that the climate and environmental crisis disproportionately impacts communities of color, which results in higher rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses. But maybe Asm. Gipson forgot that he represents a district that is over 83% Black and brown and whose residents live close to oil refineries and one the nation’s largest ports. It’s probably hard to maintain focus on the unique needs of AD-65 residents when corporations are filling his campaign coffers.