Catherine Smith Blakespear (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Blake; born February 29, 1976) is an American politician and former journalist who is currently serving in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. She is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

representing the 38th Senate District, which encompasses parts of Northern

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

and Southern Orange County.

Early life and education

Blakespear was born on February 29, 1976, in

Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Encinitas, California Cardiff-by-the-Sea, usually referred to as Cardiff, is a beach community in the incorporated city of Encinitas, California, Encinitas in San Diego County, California. The Pacific Ocean is to the west of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, the rest of incorporat ...

. She graduated from

Torrey Pines High School Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School Di ...

in 1994 and graduated in 1999 from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where she earned a BS and MS degree in Journalism. In 2006, she received her JD from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

S.J. Quinney College of Law 2006.

Career

Her professional experience includes working as a journalist for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' in 1994, and the Associated Press

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

reporter, as an attorney at Ray Quinney & Nebeker, and as the traffic commissioner for the City of Encinitas. Prior to her time in elected office, Blakespear was an

estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's Estate (law), estate during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to ...

attorney.

Politics

Prior to her election to the State Senate, Blakespear served two years on the

Encinitas Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...

City Council starting in 2014, followed by six years as mayor from December 2016 to November 2022. While mayor, she also served as chair of

SANDAG The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for San Diego County, California. It is an association of local county governments, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and co ...

California State Senate

Catherine Blakespear is a member of the

, representing District 38. She assumed office on December 5, 2022, and her current term ends on December 7, 2026. Blakespear won the general election for District 38 on November 8, 2022. She previously ran for election to represent District 36 but did not appear on the ballot for the primary on June 7, 2022.

Personal life

Blakespear's family has lived in the Encinitas area for nearly a century. Catherine met her husband while reporting on the Salt Lake City Olympics. Catherine and husband Jeremy reside in

. They have 2 children.

Electoral history

References

External links

* *
Campaign website

Join California Catherine Blakespear
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakespear, Catherine Democratic Party California state senators California city council members Northwestern University alumni Living people 1976 births S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni 21st-century members of the California State Legislature