Connie Leyva (born February 19, 1967) is an American politician and union organizer, previously serving as a member of the

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

in the 20th Senate District from 2014-2002. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Leyva was raised in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...

, where she attended public schools. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in communicative disorders from the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...

Career

Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2014, she was president of the California Labor Federation. Leyva was elected to the

in 2014, receiving the endorsement of the local

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

chapter. On January 6, 2022, Leyva announced that she would not run for reelection to the State Senate as newly approved redistricting maps put state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) in the same district as state Sen.

Susan Rubio Susan Rubio (born December 25, 1970) is an American politician serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represents the 22nd Senate District in eastern Los Angeles County. Prior to being elected to the California Legislature in 201 ...

(D-Baldwin Park) and the two would have had to face off in the fall. On January 26, 2022, Leyva announced that she would be a candidate for the

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agen ...

, seeking to unseat

Curt Hagman Curt Hagman (born January 2, 1965) is a former Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing the 55th district. Prior to serving as state assemblyman, Hagman was the Mayor of Chino Hills and also owner of Apex Bail Bonds. Ed ...

. She was defeated by a wide margin. In late October, 2022, the

San Bernardino Community College District The San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) is a public community college system in Crafton Hills College and San Bernardino Valley College in southern California. It part of the California Community Colleges System. Since 1926, SBC ...

announced appointing Leyva as executive director of KVCR, when she completes her current elected term as state senator December 5. KVCR is a

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

dual licensee that also operates First Nations Experience, a digital multicast channel for Native American and Indigenous programming.

Personal life

Leyva and her husband, Al, live in

and have twin daughters.

References

External links

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Campaign website
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Join California Connie Leyva
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyva, Connie Democratic Party California state senators University of Redlands alumni 21st-century American politicians Living people 1967 births People from Chino, California Women state legislators in California 21st-century American women politicians