Meet LaMar
A Lifelong Advocate for Working People and economic development
As President of the San Pedro Central Neighborhood Council—representing the Port of Los Angeles—he remains at the heart of critical issues: labor, environmental sustainability, infrastructure, and equity. His work with organizations like the Advance Foundation and Community Childcare Development Services further reflects his lifelong dedication to children, families, and seniors.
LaMar Lyons brings a lifetime of lived experience in solidarity with California’s working people, and a foundation in the private sector, having owned a business. He understands the struggles of feeding a family, running a business, and meeting payroll. This dual experience makes him exceptionally qualified to address the economic challenges. He knows how to attract investment, spur job creation, and develop sustainable, inclusive economic growth—while keeping working families at the center of his mission. He is ready to be the voice of Assembly District 65 in Sacramento.
Even as a young man, LaMar’s leadership was evident. In high school, he served as class president, earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and captained his varsity baseball team. He was elected Student Body President at UCLA and served as Commissioner of Community Services. As a founder of the University of California Student Lobby, he built bridges between student activism and broader social issues, planting the seeds of civic engagement.
He carried that passion into government, working as Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Elihu Harris, where he led efforts to establish the Martin Luther King Jr. state holiday. He also held roles with a U.S. Senator, a State Legislator, and a Los Angeles City Councilman, gaining hands-on experience in legislative policy and the government’s potential to improve the lives of marginalized and justice-impacted communities. LaMar’s tenure in the Chief Legislative Office for the City of Los Angeles and the California State Assembly Select Committee on Fair Employment Practices deepened his expertise in budgeting, municipal governance, job creation, and economic planning.
LaMar Lyons brought his public policy experience into the private financial sector, applying his knowledge to affordable housing, infrastructure, education, public works, and transportation. He worked with major Wall Street firms before founding his own boutique investment firm—recognized in the 1990s by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the most successful Black-owned firms in the country. He later co-founded a double-bottom-line private equity firm focused on generating both financial returns and social impact.
His transition into municipal finance reflects a deep understanding of how the public and private sectors intersect. From structuring investment deals to building public-private partnerships, LaMar has helped align capital with community needs. His unique background enables him to bridge government policy and private investment to deliver real-world results.
LaMar Lyons embodies the journey of California’s working class. Raised in South Central Los Angeles, his first job selling and delivering newspapers laid the groundwork for a lifetime rooted in labor and the private sector—from flipping burgers at McDonald’s and bagging groceries at Safeway to assembling aircraft at Douglas Aircraft and working in trucking warehouses to owning a company. With both parents and himself as members of the AFL-CIO, LaMar’s bond with the labor movement runs deep. These were more than just jobs—they shaped his deep respect for the dignity of work and gave him firsthand insight into the everyday struggles of working families and the challenges of the private sector small business owner. That connection only grew stronger as he entered public service and built on his private-sector experience as a business owner. Lyons has spent his career fighting for those often overlooked—people doing essential work, raising families, and striving for a better future, while advocating for underserved communities to access opportunities in the private sector.
His personal life has also shaped his commitment. After losing his wife, who was a bilingual Hispanic, a Carnegie Fellow, a National Merit School instructor, and an elementary school principal, and taking on the responsibility of raising their children, Lyons channeled that personal pain into a deeper public and private purpose—fighting for policies and financial resources that support real families and communities facing real challenges.
For more than 30 years, LaMar has called San Pedro home. He is a graduate of UCLA, where he studied Philosophy and Mathematics, and earned his law degree from Howard University with a focus on Legislative Law. He was admitted to UCLA through the High Potential Program, designed for Black students from working-class, economically impacted communities.
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