Anthony Rendon (politician)

Early life and career

Rendon was born on March 4, 1968 in Silver Lake, a neighborhood in central Los Angeles. His grandparents immigrated from Mexico to the United States during the 1920s. He grew up in a lower-middle-class family that frequently moved around the Los Angeles area. His father, Tom Rendon, worked multiple jobs, including for a mobile home company, and his mother, Gloria Rendon, was a teacher's aide at a Catholic school.

Rendon attended California High School, Whittier, graduating in 1986. He has stated that he was a "terrible student" who benefited from social safety net programs like affirmative action and food stamps. At the age of 20, he enrolled in and attended Cerritos College, a community college in Norwalk, California, before earning a bachelor's degree and master's degree from California State University, Fullerton. After receiving a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, Rendon earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Riverside, graduating in 2000. He completed post-doctoral work at Boston University.

Prior to becoming a member of the California State Assembly, Rendon was the executive director of Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services, an organization that provides child development and social and medical services throughout Los Angeles County. He was also the interim executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters, a lobbying organization dedicated to environmental issues. He worked with the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in early childhood education efforts. From 2001 to 2008, he was an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at California State University, Fullerton.

Political career

During his first term in office, Rendon was chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife and authored Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion state water bond, which voters approved in the November 2014 election.

In 2013, Rendon authored Assembly Bill 711, a statewide ban on lead hunting ammunition, that was signed into law.

In 2015, Rendon was named chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce.

On September 3, 2015, Rendon was selected to be the next Assembly Speaker.

The formal vote electing Mr. Rendon as Speaker occurred on January 11. The vote was unanimous, with the Republican leader seconding the motion.

Rendon has stated his intention to bring back the tradition of past California Assembly Speakers of carrying no legislation himself, but focusing on empowering the members of the chamber.

Recall effort

On June 23, 2017, Assembly Speaker Rendon announced that he would not advance California Senate Bill 562 by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to a policy hearing in his house, making it all but certain the measure would not be acted upon in 2017. Under the measure, California would have paid the healthcare costs for all residents, eliminating premiums, copays and deductibles that are common fixtures in the current healthcare system.

Protesting Rendon's decision not to advance the bill, University of Southern California law professor Stephen Elzie filed a "notice of intent to circulate a recall petition." On July 25, 2017, the notice was mailed to Rendon's office after it had collected 60 signatures, 40 of which needed to be found valid for the effort to proceed. The following week, "the organizers of the recall [...] received confirmation from the Secretary of State that the group’s Notice of Intent was reviewed for compliance with the California Elections Code and that the signatures on the Notice of Intent were verified by the County of Los Angeles." The petition drive is slated to begin sometime during the month of August.

Personal life

Rendon resides in Paramount, California. In December 2014, Rendon married Annie Lam in a ceremony officiated by former California State Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez.