The Policies and Politics of California
![Anthony Rendon](/sites/default/files/styles/event_image_teaser/public/2024-02/rendon_050.jpg?h=a4955d0b&itok=jnCpF_xe)
Anthony Rendon is Speaker Emeritus of the California State Assembly, representing an Assembly district in Southeastern Los Angeles County. He served as Speaker from 2016 until 2023, the second-longest speakership in California history. In his seven years as Speaker, he helped build a three-quarters Democratic supermajority in the legislature—what he called a “gigamajority.” Rendon also led some of the most progressive and productive legislative sessions in the state’s history, solidifying California’s reputation as a national leader on a range of policy issues. Politico described his speakership as “one of California’s most consequential” which presided over a “progressive policy bonanza.”
Rendon is a native Southern Californian. After graduating from high school he worked in warehouses and other manual jobs, then pursued higher education, eventually earning a Ph.D from U.C. Riverside. Prior to serving in the Assembly, he worked as an educator, non-profit executive director, and environmental activist.
Speaker Emeritus Rendon's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Rose Institute for State and Local Government at CMC.