State Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) died Wednesday night at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. She was 53.
Oropeza reportedly had difficulty breathing earlier Wednesday, spokesman Ray Sotero told the Capital Weekly, but the immediate cause of death has not been announced. She was suffering from a blood clot in her stomach and had been absent from her job for several months. In 2004 and 2005 she was treated for liver cancer.
Oropeza, who had been expected to easily win reelection, will remain on the Nov. 2 ballot in the 28th Senate District. She was elected to the Senate in 2006 after serving six years in the Assembly.
“From the time I worked with her on the Long Beach City Council, through our service together in the Legislature, I know she was a leader of conscience and compassion, and was an able and talented representative of her constituents,” Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement. “I know we will all miss her charm and cheerful smile, and my thoughts and prayers are with her family, constituents and staff at this time.”
•CLICK HERE to read a recent op-ed by Sen. Oropeza that appeared in the Los Angeles Business Journal.
