Sacramento's new legislative leadership has Los Angeles roots

Los Angeles is basking in a rare political moment.

Democrat Anthony Rendon, the newest speaker of the Califoia State Assembly, hails from the Los Angeles area, while the top Senate leader, Kevin de León, represents L.A.

For the first time in mode history, two L.A.-area leaders - both Democrats and Latinos - are helming the State Legislature.

Marking a sweeping shift in political power in the Golden State, which has historically been concentrated up north, the Los Angeles region is atop the pyramid when it comes to representation in Sacramento.

“Southe Califoia is becoming more prominent,” said Larry Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University.

The leadership of de León and Rendon is “reflective of the incredible changes that have occurred in Califoia in a short period,” he said.

Typically the leaders of the Assembly and Senate are each from different parts of the state, either by accident or intention, said Gerston. That mix can help balance the disparate political needs of the state, be it requests from the Bay Area’s tech industry, Central Valley’s farmers or environmentalists in the Inland Empire.

In an interview, Rendon, downplayed the fact that two Los Angeles-area politicians are leading the Legislature.

“Our goal,” he said of his job and de León’s position, “is to make sure the whole state is served.”

Asked whether the Los Angeles region will have a home team advantage with the new Sacramento leadership, Rendon said the issues of Southe Califoian are conces felt by residents throughout the state.

“There’s bad air quality in the Inland Empire and there’s bad air quality in the Central Valley,” he said.

Rendon follows Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego who was elected Assembly Speaker in 2014. Before Atkin’s tenure, the last time Southe Califoians led Sacramento was in 1974, when Democrat James R. Mills of Coronado helmed the Senate and Democrat Robert Moretti of Los Angeles led the Assembly, according to the Senate Secretary’s office.

And the most recent instance of two Northe politicians leading the Legislature was in 1995, when Democrat Bill Lockyer of San Leandro served as Senate President Pro Tem and San Francisco’s Willie Brown was the Assembly Speaker.

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Most of the statewide elected leaders hail from Northe Califoia, a group that includes Sacramento resident Gov. Jerry Brown, Attoey General Kamala Harris, Lieutenant Goveor Gavin Newsom. Among those exceptions are Alex Padilla, the state controller who lives in the San Feando Valley.

With Southe Califoia having two-thirds of the state’s population of 39 million people, the area’s rise in political power isn’t surprising, believes Gerston, who also points to the increasing number of Latino voters.

“You have a state where minorities are now the majority,” Gerston said. “Sooner or later, the public officials and voting public begin to reflect that.”

From 1980 to 2014, Califoia’s Latino population grew by 10.4 million, or nearly 70 percent of the state’s total population growth of 15 million, according to a January UC Davis study. The study also found Latinos are the fastest growing block of voters in Califoia.

A Lakewood resident, Rendon grew up in Montebello, Whittier and Silver Lake. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton, he eaed a doctorate in political science at UC Riverside. He served as executive director of Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services, a social and medical services provider, before joining the Assembly in 2012.

His 63rd Assembly District, located just south of de León’s Senate District, includes Bell, Hawaiian Gardens, Long Beach and South Gate.

Besides the geographic proximity, the progressive agendas of de León and Rendon are “overwhelmingly similar,” Rendon said.

During Rendon’s swearing-in speech last week in Sacramento, he mentioned poverty and the environment as two key focus areas. He told colleagues that both he and his wife Aie grew up in Califoia, and benefited from the state’s public housing projects, food stamps, and free meal programs.

Asked to name an issue where the two men differ, Rendon said he supports the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, but that de León hasn’t staked out such a position.

Poverty is also a major focus for de León, 49, who was bo in Los Angeles, the son of a housecleaner. The first in his family to graduate from high school, de Leon repeatedly mentions his immigrant mother as a source of inspiration.

Elected to the Senate in 2010 after serving on the Assembly, de León recently aounced a $2 billion plan to help fund housing for homelessness and helped pass an extended state subsidy for the Hollywood industry.

Former Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, who hails from Los Angeles, said it’s unusual for two legislative leaders to be from the L.A.-area. But leadership means working on issues wholey unrelated to ome’s district, Pérez said, citing his work on a new Sacramento basketball stadium during his Speaker term.

“It’s a job with statewide obligation,” Pérez said.

Still, some Los Angeles-area groups are hopeful the Sacramento leadership with give Los Angeles an edge.

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, believes that having Los Angeles-area legislative leaders could help if the 2024 Summer Olympics come to the city. The city last hosted the games in 1984.

“It’s going to be a huge boom,” Waldman said of another L.A. Olympics. “Anything that’s good for Southe Califoia is good for all of a Califoia.”