Friday, September 24, 2004
Page 3
Governor Names Former Antelope Valley Lawyer Loa to Housing Post
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday named a former deputy in the Los Angeles Alternate Public Defender’s Office as deputy director of the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Richard Loa, 55, of Palmdale, has been serving since April on the Board of Prison Terms, a post to which he was also appointed by Schwarzenegger. His new position does not require Senate confirmation and pays $94,000 yearly.
Loa was with the APD’s office from 1994 until his appointment to the parole board. He was with the Alternate Defense Counsel for five years before that.
Loa kept his seat on the Palmdale City Council while serving on the board. Among his legislative efforts was an attempt to bring a hospital to the city, one of the few California municipalities of more than 100,000 people without one.
His criminal defense background was rare for a member of the BPT. In an interview following his appointment, he attributed the selection to the governor’s desire to have persons of diverse backgrounds working in his administration.
Loa was a strong supporter of Schwarzenegger, taking 40 days’ worth of vacation and unpaid leave to work on the new governor’s campaign.
He began his legal career in 1977 with the Legal Services Corporation in Corpus Christi, Texas. Upon returning to Los Angeles, the UCLA School of Law graduate engaged in private practice from 1977 through 1989.
He is also a licensed real estate broker and a Republican activist, chairing the Antelope Valley chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and serving on the state and national executive boards of the RNHA. He is also a member of the California Republican Party Central Committee, and was a delegate to last month’s Republican National Convention.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company