Senator Kevin De Leon Opens Office in Echo Park

We caught State Senator Kevin De Leon and some of his staff at their new Echo Park field office Thursday morning.

Boxes were still arriving, staffers were still setting up their desks, office hours have yet to be established.

But things looked near ready to roll.

The double storefront features a reception area, a suitably-imposing office for the senator and cubicles for staff.

A conference room looks out on the street.

It should soon be available for community meetings a la Jackie Goldberg's former office.

Senator De Leon told Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch that he and his staff thought hard about where to put the new field office.

His District 22 runs from San Marino to Central L.A. 

The field office was most recently in Downtown Los Angeles.

But De Leon said Downtown parking for staffers got expensive, with tickets and tows too often.

Echo Park is centrally located," he said, noting that they had also looked at space in the Citibank Tower but decided to be at street level where restaurants, clubs and record and vintage stores are neighbors.

The landlord on Sunset is

No grand opening party is planned yet, but several mentioned August as a possibility.

De Leon represented the 45th Assembly District before winning a Senate seat in late 2010, and is known for his work to improve schools.

Many expected De Leon to run for the Council District 13 seat opening next year, but he has not entered the race.