Luis Angel Alejo (born March 27, 1974) is an American politician who served 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 ...

representing the 30th Assembly District, encompassing the Pajaro and Salinas valleys.

Biography

Early life

Born and raised in Watsonville, Alejo's family came to work in the agricultural fields of the Salinas, Santa Clara and

Pajaro Valley The Pajaro River (''pájaro'' is ''bird'' in Spanish) is a U.S. river in the Central Coast region of California, forming part of the border between San Benito and Santa Clara Counties, the entire border between San Benito and Santa Cruz Coun ...

s as migrant farmworkers in the 1950s. Alejo graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with dual bachelor's degrees in political science and Chicano studies, and obtained his master's of education degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in administration, planning and social policy. He received his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall), where he won the "Maggie Schelen" scholarship for public service. After finishing his graduate and professional studies, Alejo returned to his hometown of Watsonville to work as a legal aid attorney where he championed the rights of working families throughout the Monterey Bay area. He then worked as a staff attorney for the Monterey County Superior Court, where he assisted thousands of self-represented litigants throughout Monterey County who couldn't afford private attorneys. He has also worked as a high school teacher, focusing on "at-risk" children.

Career

Before his election to the State Legislature, Alejo was the mayor of

Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self ...

. He was elected to District 2 of the Watsonville City Council with nearly 80% of the vote and became mayor in November 2009. He had become Vice Mayor in March 2009. Prior to his public service, Alejo served as a Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow where he worked as a legislative aide for Assemblymember Manny Diaz (D-San Jose). He attended the

, the

University of California, Davis School of Law The University of California, Davis School of Law (Martin Luther King Jr. Hall), referred to as UC Davis School of Law and commonly known as King Hall, is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school rece ...

(King Hall), and

. Alejo was elected in June 2016 to represent District 1 on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.

2014 California State Assembly

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alejo, Luis 1974 births Living people California lawyers Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Mayors of places in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Watsonville, California UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni UC Davis School of Law alumni 21st-century American politicians