The Los Angeles County Democratic Party has named Palisadian Melissa Grant and the honorable Kevin McKeown as 2013 Democrats of the Year for the 50th Assembly District.
Grant, who has served as president of the Pacific Palisades Democrat Club the past two years, will be honored at the annual Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner on Sunday, October 20, at the Sheraton Gateway LAX Hotel. A silent auction and reception starts at 6 p.m., with dinner and awards to follow at 7 p.m.
General seating tickets are $125 and RSVPs are requested by Monday, October 14. Special discounted prices are available for LACDP and DSCC members at: actblue.com/page/roosevelt2013la-members or call (213) 382-4111 or HYPERLINK “mailto:rsvp@lacdp.org” rsvp@lacdp.org. (Tickets will be held at the door.) Palisades residents who purchase tickets are advised to email HYPERLINK “mailto:info@palisadesdemclub.org” info@palisadesdemclub.org so that seating arrangements can be made.
Grant said she chose her political party as a child. “Our home had photos of the family, Mickey Mantle and President John F. Kennedy, so naturally I became a Democrat.”
“I am particularly proud of three political accomplishments,” said Grant, an attorney. “As a Washington, D.C. lobbyist, I organized a business environmental council, consisting of corporations such as Corning Glass Works that had vested interests in clean-air legislation, resulting in passage of the Clean Air Act of 1977.
“This past year, as president of the Democratic Club, I was able to heal old wounds and convince the West L.A. and Santa Monica Democratic Clubs, as well as members of the Malibu Democratic Club, to join the PPDC at the 2012 Westside Democratic Headquarters, from which we ran successful GOTV campaigns to register voters, pass Proposition 30, defeat Proposition 32, and re-elect President Barack Obama and Congressman Henry Waxman.”
Grant also wrote the Minimum Wage Workers’ Right Resolution that was adopted by acclamation by the California Democratic Party at its April 2013 Convention.
Currently, she is senior counsel with Capstone Law and leads one of the firm’s litigation teams. Her practice focuses on prosecuting consumer and wage-and-hour class actions and representative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions.
Prior to joining Capstone, Grant participated in the litigation and settlement of a class action against a nationwide hotel chain alleging its failure to properly disclose resort fees, the coupon settlement of which had an estimated value of $40.4 million.
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where she received the JFK Public Service Award and the Outstanding Senior Award, Grant attended Southwestern Law School, graduating first in her class in 1999. She then clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson, Justice, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Grant began her legal career as an associate with Sidley Austin LLP, where she represented Fortune 500 companies in commercial litigation. She also worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission as a staff attorney in the Enforcement Division, investigating ongoing violations of federal securities regulations and statutes.
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