Bonnie Garcia (born August 13, 1962) is a California politician. She was the representative for

California's 80th State Assembly district California's 80th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently vacant after Democrat Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego resigned on January 5, 2022, to become leader of the California Labor Federation. ...

, serving eastern

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

and all of

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

, from 2002 through 2008. In 2014 she was a candidate for 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. ...

to represent the 28th district, centered in Riverside County but lost the Republican primary to Jeff Stone. She is a Republican and lives in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

. Assemblywoman Garcia was elected to the post in 2002, being the first

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

woman to represent the district and the first Puerto Rican elected to statewide office in California. By 2004, Garcia had become a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's transition team after the recall election against

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

and was named as one of California's delegates to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. Garcia was one of five children born in Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

to a young Puerto Rican couple who divorced soon after her birth. At age thirty-eight, after years of night classes, Garcia earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in workforce development from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

. Schwarzenegger made an off-the-cuff comment on September 7, 2006 describing her as having a "hot Latina temperament", which brought him some criticism. But Garcia, a fellow Republican, stated that she was "not offended by the Governor's comments." She was ineligible to seek reelection to the State Assembly in 2008 due to term limits. On December 31, 2008, Schwarzenegger appointed Garcia to the state's Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. She also runs her own public affairs firm. In 2014, she ran for the

, but lost a close election to

Supervisor Jeff Stone, a fellow Republican.

References

External links

Join California Bonnie Garcia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Bonnie Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Women state legislators in California American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Southern Illinois University alumni Politicians from New York City People from Cathedral City, California Living people Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from the Lower East Side Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California 1962 births