Devon John Mathis (born September 21, 1982) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

serving as a member of the California State Assembly from the newly drawn 33rd District, which is located in Kings County, western

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...

, and a small part of southern

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

. He serves as the Republican Whip for the California State Assembly Republican Caucus.

Early life and education

Mathis was born in

Porterville, California Porterville is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. Since its incorporation in 1902, the city's population has grown as it annexed n ...

. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

from Porterville College and

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 year ...

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

from

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. Mathis graduated from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

earning a

Master of Professional Studies Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans * Grandmaster (chess), National Maste ...

in Strategic Public Relations in 2021.

Career

Before joining the Assembly, Devon served for 10 years as a Sergeant in the Army National Guard, including two tours in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. During his second tour in Iraq, Devon was severely injured in a roadside bomb attack, for which he was awarded a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. In 2014, he unexpectedly defeated Woodlake Mayor Rudy Mendoza, a fellow Republican who was better known and had more support from established Republicans. Mendoza sought a rematch in 2016, but Mathis defeated him again in the primary. Mathis, who had no previous political experience, ran on his status as a former Army National Guard sergeant and veterans advocate. In July 2017 Mathis, along with four other Republican assemblymen, voted "Yes" on AB 398 to extend California's

Cap and Trade Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission t ...

program. In 2018, Mathis faced a serious Republican primary challenge, winning only 30% of the vote, narrowly defeating Republican

Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

Mayor Warren Gubler. But in the November runoff, he rallied and defeated Democratic Tulare

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

man Jose Sigala with 58% of the vote. Mathis was not seriously challenged in 2020. Devon Mathis currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture. He also serves on the Assembly Committee on Rules, the Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Health and Human Services, the Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs, the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Government Organization, and the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. To date, Mathis has successfully chaptered 17 bills and 15 resolutions; he is also listed as a joint author to 46 other measures and 9 other resolutions.

Personal life

Devon lives in Porterville with his five children.

Allegations of sexual assault

In October 2017 it was announced by the

Sacramento Police Department The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) is the police department for the city of Sacramento, California. On August 11, 2017, Daniel Hahn was sworn in and became the city's first African American police chief. History The founding of the City of S ...

that Mathis was being investigated for an alleged sexual assault against a female member of his staff. A conservative political blog, American Children First, reported that sources had informed them that Mathis and several staff members had gone out drinking and returned to the home of one of the staff members. There, it was alleged and later disproven, an inebriated female staff member had gone into a bedroom and passed out on the bed, and Mathis was alleged to have "digitally penetrated" her while she was unconscious. Regarding the incident, Mathis' office released this statement: “We have a policy of not responding to unsubstantiated, random social media posts.” A spokesman for the

. said that “information of a possible sexual assault was brought to our attention. We are starting to follow up with the information we have." Following an investigation, none of the accusations were substantiated clearing Mathis of any wrongdoing regarding this event. California Assembly officials required Mathis to take remedial sexual harassment training after a claim that he engaged in the utterance of coarse language (locker-room talk) and made sexual remarks about fellow lawmakers.https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article212132079.html

Elections

2014 California State Assembly

2016 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

2020 California State Assembly

References

External links

*
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Devon Living people People from Visalia, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly 21st-century American politicians 1982 births