The mayor of the City of San Fernando and her newest City Council colleague find themselves in a unique scenario: serving their local constituents while simultaneously pursuing higher office. 

In fact, Mayor Celeste Rodriguez and Councilmember Victoria Garcia are both running for the California State Assembly seat being vacated by Luz Rivas, who is making a bid for Congress.

All three candidates, who are from the northeast San Fernando Valley, are pledging to support their home communities by tackling a range of overlapping issues if elected on Nov. 5 – from public safety and homelessness to environmental equity and economic empowerment.

Luz Rivas

Rivas is running as a Democrat to fill the House seat being vacated by Rep. Tony Cárdenas, who represents California’s 29th district and is retiring at the end of his current term. Both Rivas and Cárdenas – who is endorsing Rivas as his successor – grew up in Pacoima, where she lived in a converted garage with her sister and single immigrant mother, and attended local public schools.

After graduating from San Fernando High School, Rivas earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s in education from Harvard University. She worked as an electrical engineer for Motorola and founded the nonprofit DIY (Do it Yourself) Girls to help local girls become interested in science and engineering.

Since 2018, Rivas has served in the California State Legislature, where she represents the 43rd Assembly District. As assemblyperson, she helped establish the California Interagency Council on Homelessness; supported legislation to implement a statewide free school lunch program; and co-authored the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB54).

If Rivas is elected to the House to represent California’s 29th District – which is home to more than 750,000 valley residents, from San Fernando to Van Nuys to Toluca Lake – she told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol in an interview earlier this year, “I do plan on continuing my work to address the climate change crisis, and especially how it affects disadvantaged communities.”

Rivas also said she hopes to “make sure that federal funding is reaching our communities.”

Victoria Garcia

Garcia, an attorney, wife and mother of three young children describes herself as a third-generation resident of the City of San Fernando. She was elected to serve on the local city council for the first time in the March 5 special election to fill the seat of the late Cindy Montañez, who passed away last fall.

Garcia was sworn in as the fifth councilmember on April 15 following a campaign with primary platform issues focused on improving public safety and lowering costs – that was supported in part by members of local ultraconservative groups and “parental rights” organizations. Some have been actively involved in local anti-LGBTQ protests. Many of Garcia’s supporters in the overflowing city council chambers cheered, gave her a standing ovation and spoke at the podium after the swearing-in, thanking God for her victory.

She will hold the seat until the current term ends in November when two full-term city council seats will be on the ballot. On July 1, the San Fernando City Council voted to consolidate the city’s General Municipal Election with the 2024 Statewide General Election on Nov. 5.

Garcia earned an undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a juris doctor degree from Stanford Law School. She was appointed as the Transportation and Public Safety commissioner for the city one year before she was elected.

While serving on the city council, Garcia is also running against Rodriguez, her council colleague, in pursuit of higher office – both are vying for Rivas’ current role as representative of the 43rd district of the state assembly, which includes San Fernando, Sylmar and Pacoima. 

Garcia currently does not have a website or social media page dedicated to her assembly bid.

Celeste Rodriguez

Rodriguez shares two children with her husband, Robert, a former council member, and is the daughter of Ruben Rodriguez, executive director of the nonprofit organization Pueblo y Salud. The San Fernando mayor – who has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in social work from the University of Southern California – helped establish several firsts for the city, including translation services, public engagement policy and childcare for community meetings.

On her campaign website, Rodriguez, a Democrat, said she experienced economic instability while growing up, and said she chose to dedicate her life “to public service because I don’t want anyone to struggle to meet their basic needs. Instead, I want people to have opportunities to thrive.” Her key platform issues are economic empowerment, housing justice and environmental equity.

Rodriguez’s economic goals include creating and supporting policies and programs that will assist with economic growth across the board, especially for families and small business owners in low-income or historically underserved communities. In response to California’s current housing crisis, Rodriguez said she will focus on passing legislation to help increase affordable housing options for working families, renters, senior citizens and for first-time homeowners.

Rodriguez – who Assemblymember Rivas has endorsed to fill her current assembly seat – said she is committed to “advancing environmental justice,” especially in areas disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change. She plans to spearhead initiatives to reduce toxic waste, lessen air pollution, expand green spaces and provide educational programs about the impacts of climate change.

None of the candidates were available for an interview by press time.

To learn more about the candidates, visit their websites at: www.luzforcongress.com; www.celesteforassembly.com; and www.victoriaforsanfernando.com.