Anthony Rendon (born March 4, 1968) is an American politician serving as the 70th and current Speaker of the California State Assembly since 2016. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he is the fifth-longest-serving speaker in California history (and the longest-serving speaker to serve his first term after the adoption of California's term limits). Since 2012, he has represented the 63rd district, located in the southeastern part of Los Angeles County, including the cities of South Gate, Lynwood, and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

Early life and career

Rendon was born on March 4, 1968 in

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

, a neighborhood in central

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. His grandparents

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during the 1920s. He grew up in a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

family that frequently moved around the

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Cou ...

. His father, Tom Rendon, worked multiple jobs, including for a mobile home company, and his mother, Gloria Rendon, was a teacher's aide at a Catholic school. Rendon attended California High School, Whittier, graduating in 1986. He has stated that he was a "terrible student." At the age of 20, he enrolled in and attended

Cerritos College Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local ra ...

, a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census and an estimated 103,949 in 2019. It is the 58th most densely-populated city in California. Founded in the late 19th century, Nor ...

, before earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. After receiving a

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

fellowship, Rendon earned his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, graduating in 2000. He completed post-doctoral work at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

. Prior to becoming a member of the California State Assembly, Rendon was the executive director of

Plaza de la Raza The Plaza de la Raza (Place of the People) is a multidisciplinary cultural arts and educational center located in Lincoln Park in East Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1970 by actress Margo Albert and trade union activist Frank S. Lóp ...

Child Development Services, an organization that provides child development and social and medical services throughout Los Angeles County. He was also the interim executive director of the

California League of Conservation Voters California Environmental Voters (also called EnviroVoters), formerly the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), is a lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California. It is affiliated with ...

, a lobbying organization dedicated to environmental issues. He worked with the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in early childhood education efforts. From 2001 to 2008, he was an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at

Political career

During his first term in office, Rendon was chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife and authored Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion state water bond, which voters approved in the November 2014 election. In 2013, Rendon authored Assembly Bill 711, a statewide ban on lead hunting ammunition, that was signed into law. In 2015, Rendon was named chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce. On September 3, 2015, Rendon was selected to be the next Assembly Speaker. The formal vote electing Rendon as Speaker occurred on January 11. The vote was unanimous, with the Republican leader seconding the motion. Rendon brought back the tradition of past California Assembly Speakers of carrying no legislation himself, but focusing on empowering the members of the chamber. Despite this, he has made certain priorities of his known, including wildfire planning, and continuing to address poverty and educational deficits in California. On February 19, 2021, '' The Sacramento Bee'' reported that nonprofit organizations associated with Rendon's wife, Annie Lam, had received over $500,000 in donations and event sponsorships from over a dozen companies that had business interests at stake with the legislature. On Thursday, November 10, the California Democratic Caucus voted for Assemblymember Robert Rivas to be the next Speaker of the California State Assembly. Assemblymember Anthony Rendon will remain as Speaker until June 2023.

Career

2012 California State Assembly

2014 California State Assembly

2016 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

2020 California State Assembly

Personal life

Rendon resides in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, ...

. In December 2014, Rendon married Annie Lam in a ceremony officiated by former California State Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez.

References

External links

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Join California Anthony Rendon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rendon, Anthony 1968 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Mexican descent California State University, Fullerton alumni California State University, Fullerton faculty Cerritos College alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Living people People from Lakewood, California Politicians from Los Angeles Speakers of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly University of California, Riverside alumni People from Whittier, California