Titans are reaching higher in Sacramento.
Today’s unanimous vote by Assembly Democrats will elevate Anthony Rendon, a two-time CSUF graduate, to speaker of the California State Assembly.
When the gavel is passed to him in January, Rendon will be the first Titan to lead the 80-member body of lawmakers.
“I am deeply honored to have the support of my colleagues to become the next Assembly Speaker,” Rendon announced on his website. “The Assembly remains focused on doing the people’s work over the last week of this legislative session and finding solutions to the challenges Californians face every day.”
Rendon earned a B.A. in political science-public administration in 1982 and an M.A. in political science in ’94 at CSUF. He went on to earn a Ph.D. at UC Riverside, then completed postdoctoral work at Boston University.
First elected in 2012 and currently in his second term, Rendon represents the 63rd Assembly District, which includes the cities and communities of Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, north Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount and South Gate, where his district office is located.
He chairs the Utilities and Commerce Committee and serves on the following other standing committees: Appropriations; Water, Parks and Wildlife; Natural Resources; and Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security.
During his first term in office, Rendon chaired the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and authored Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion state water bond, which voters passed by a 67 percent to 33 percent margin in the November 2014 election.
Prior to being elected to the Legislature, Rendon was executive director of Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services Inc., a Los Angeles nonprofit agency, and taught political science at his alma mater from 2001-08. The following year, he served as interim executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters.