In this episode, California State Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about election policies and civic engagement.

About Sabrina Cervantes:

Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes was elected in November 2016 and represents California’s 58th Assembly District. Assemblymember Cervantes earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside and completed an executive education program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She currently serves as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, leading a record-breaking 35 legislative members, which also includes a historic number of 21 Latinas. The first Latina Millennial elected to the State Assembly, she is currently a member of the Human Rights Campaign and serves on the Advisory Board for the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Public Policy.

Learn more about Sabrina Cervantes via https://a58.asmdc.org/biography

Podcast Highlights:

“One thing that I have learned, being the first Latina millennial to represent us here in the legislature... [is that] bringing these experiences to these positions of power and advocacy and having a seat at the table, that's what drives good public policy, that we each have something to bring to the table. No matter your background, no matter your experience, that's what makes the difference in the future of our communities.”

- Sabrina Cervantes on how diverse individual experiences drive good public policy.

“In 2021, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted by a vote of 4 to 1 to adopt a Supervisorial district map for the 2020 round of redistricting that was really fraught with a lot of controversy. Many individuals, organizations, and elected leaders really noted that it fractured the Latino community within our county. That means it dilutes the Latino voting power and their capacity to elect a representative of their choice. And so this failure to protect voting rights and comply with state and federal law underscores the need for an independent redistricting commission to draw fair maps for Riverside County. That is why we got to work on AB 1307 [to allow] truly independent and unbiased citizens who are empowered to draw supervisorial districts for Riverside County.”

- Sabrina Cervantes on the importance of electing an independent citizen’s redistricting board for Riverside County.

“Even in these positions of power as a woman of color and just a minority, we are still not the majority. When I step into rooms, oftentimes I'm still the only woman or woman of color, whether that's locally or whether that's in Sacramento. And we are changing that paradigm by electing more women and people of all different backgrounds. And I just really always encourage folks to lean in with the experiences that you bring to create that positive change and that ripple effect that will come with it.”

- Sabrina Cervantes on increasing diversity within the elected representatives.

Guest:

Sabrina Cervantes (California State Assemblymember)

Interviewers:

Rachel Strausman (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Vice Chief Ambassador)

Joseph Anastacio (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)

Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/57h7hjkC6ME

Music by: C Codaine
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase

Commercial Links:

https://bit.ly/spp-homeless-aid

https://www.scipolsymposium.org/

https://spp.ucr.edu/ba-mpp

https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp

This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

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