Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 10

Luis Montoya's main motivation for running for city council is a genuine interest in serving the community he has called home all of his life. Having been here all his life, he has seen the ebb and flow of his community: from the disastrous days of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots to the revitalization of Mid-City and the surrounding areas. However, he feels that his community is not living up to its full potential. Being a resident of Mid-City, Luis understands how vital Mid-City is to its residents: being centrally located to Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, the beaches, and schools like UCLA and USC.

In high school, Luis took an early interest to local, national, and international politics. In journalism class, he worked his way up to Co-Editor of the school's Blue and White student newspaper and covered controversial topics like Stanford 9 standardized testing, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, and LAUSD reforms. The student body recognized his work and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among his classmates.

After graduating from Los Angeles Senior High in 2003, Luis went to pursue his B.A. in political science at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). In 2005, Luis managed to transfer to the school of his choice, UCLA. While at UCLA, Luis participated in the Pre-Law Society, where he took a keen interest in law and litigation. He secured an internship at the Los Angeles Superior Court interning at the Beverly Hills courthouse for two years from 2005 to 2007, all the while working at the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) Program as undergraduate assistant and taking preparation courses for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).

Once earning his B.A. in political science at UCLA in 2007, Luis was hired to work at UCLA's Anderson School of Managements' Global Access Program; the international field study and MBA thesis requirement for Anderson's Fully-Employed MBA students. As program manager, he provided the overall administrative direction of the program including the development of GAP's 6-month integrative, capstone course for 280 students, a faculty of 12 professors working with 50 high technology companies in 10 foreign countries. Working for the GAP program and its students and administrators taught Luis to be more outspoken and less shy when dealing with an ethnically diverse student body.

Luis was motivated to run for public office after hearing about the abuses in the Bell, California scandal and was simply disgusted at how our politicians have abused the public trust. Luis will fight to bring results, accountability and transparency from City Hall. Luis will fight to bring jobs to his district by promoting and drafting legislation that will make Los Angeles a more business friendly place. He is a stake holder and attends meetings of his local community council, the Olympic Park Neighborhood Council.

A local entrepreneur, Luis and his family set up and run a seasonal Christmas tree lot on the intersections of Crenshaw and Pico Boulevards, where he has learned sales, managerial, and customer service skills. He lives at home with his younger brother, father, his sixteen year old dog, and four year old cat.

Education: High School Diploma, Los Angeles Senior High School, 2003. B.A. Political Science, Specialization: American Government, 2007, UCLA.

Professional Interests: Entrepreneurship, High Technology, Sales, Management Consulting, International Business, Local and International Politics, Public Policy, Game Theory.