and became a resident of Bell Gardens. 2010 State Assembly campaign Lara faced three primary challengers in his 2010 Assembly bid, two of whom had held elected office in the district. With the support of the state and local Democratic parties as well as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Lara prevailed handily. He faced a Republican opponent in the general election and won overwhelmingly. In the State Assembly Lara was sworn in as an assemblyman on December 6, 2010, and was appointed the chairman of the joint legislative audit committee. He also serves on the following committees: appropriations; banking and finance; higher education; and water, parks, and wildlife. He also chairs the select committee on financial empowerment. When Bell's entire city council was fired or resigned in disgrace, it left no majority in the city council to swear in the newly elected council in March 2011. Lara authored Assembly Bill 93, which was an emergency action empowering an appointed alternate to swear in the new council. On April 7, 2011, Lara swore in the entirely new city council. In order to prevent another Bell, Lara established the Local High Risk Audit Program with the passage of Assembly Bill 187 in 2011, allowing the California State Auditor to identify cities at high risk for waste, fraud, or mismanagement. 2012 State Senate campaign On October 19, 2011, Lara announced plans to run for the California Senate in the newly drawn 33rd district in 2012. The district, which has a Hispanic majority, includes many of the communities he currently represents in the Assembly as well as much of the city of Long Beach. Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (D–Long Beach), ex-wife of current senator Alan Lowenthal, had already announced her intention to run for the seat, setting off a high-profile contest between two Assembly Democrats. Lara swiftly lined up a number of endorsements, including from Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, the California Nurses Association and the California Latino Legislative Caucus, the last of which declared the race their number one target seat. An opinion poll also showed Lara favored to win the seat, giving him a 6-point lead over Lowenthal. Two weeks after Lara's entry into the race, Lowenthal dropped her bid for the Senate and announced that she would instead seek re-election to the Assembly. Senator Lara was reelected to the Senate in 2016 with 78.6% of the vote. In the State Senate Senator