Luz Maria Rivas (born February 6, 1974) is an American politician from the state of California. 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 ...

, she serves in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

for California's 43rd State Assembly district, which includes San Fernando,

Sylmar Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...

, and Pacoima.

Background

Rivas is from Los Angeles. She earned a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, worked for Motorola, and then earned a Master of Education from the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

. She founded a non-profit organization based in Pacoima, Los Angeles, to encourage school age girls to pursue careers in

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. She also served on Los Angeles' City Public Works Commission.

Political career

Following

Raul Bocanegra Raul Justo Bocanegra (born July 13, 1971) is an American politician, and a former member of the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat who represented the 39th Assembly District, encompassing northeastern San Fernando Valley. Bocanegra w ...

's resignation from the California Assembly, Rivas declared her candidacy in the special election to succeed him. Rivas won the special election on June 5, 2018, and was sworn into office on June 11. Rivas has opposed legislative proposals that would reduce the stringent regulations on affordable housing construction along California's coast (which includes many of the state's most affluent and segregated areas). She has sought to limit the ability of religious institutions to build more housing. Rivas is a candidate in the

2024 United States House of Representatives elections The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections, to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as ...

, running in California's 29th congressional district.

2018 California State Assembly

2020 California State Assembly

References

External links

Join California - Luz Maria Rivas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivas, Luz 1974 births 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians American electrical engineers Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Engineers from California Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people MIT School of Engineering alumni Politicians from Los Angeles Women state legislators in California 21st-century California politicians