Anthony Rendon, Speaker Emeritus of the California State Assembly, shares his journey from struggling high school student to second longest-serving Speaker in California history and gives an inside look at California’s complex policies and politics.

Speaker Emeritus Rendon is 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.