Celeste T. Rodriguez (born 1990) is an American politician who is a member of the

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

representing the 43rd district, based in the eastern

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

. Elected in the 2024 election, she previously served as a councilor and Mayor of

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...

Early life and career

Rodriguez was born in 1990, graduated from James Monroe High School and later earned an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

from

Los Angeles Mission College Los Angeles Mission College is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. History ...

. She later attended and graduated from

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

and later earned a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She started her public service at Recreation and Community Services Department and later moved to the Office of Economic Opportunity in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Political career

In 2020, Rodriguez announced that she would be running for the San Fernando City Council. She defeated Mayor Joel Fajardo by 24 votes in the general election, being elected with

Cindy Montañez Cindy Montañez (January 19, 1974 – October 21, 2023) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was an Assemblywoman from California's 39th State Assembly district, serving for four years, from 2002 until 200 ...

. In December 2022, Rodriguez was elected by the city council to become the Mayor of San Fernando, after previously losing a vote for vice mayor against Mary Mendoza. She was recommended by councilor Cindy Montañez, who had the unanimous support of the city council to become Mayor before turning down the position. In January 2024, she announced that she would be running for

for the 43rd district after incumbent

Luz Rivas Luz Maria Rivas (born February 6, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 43rd district in the California State Assembly from 2 ...

ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. She advanced to the general election with Republican Victoria Garcia, a fellow San Fernando city councilor.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Celeste 1990 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from San Fernando, California Politicians from Los Angeles County, California San Diego State University alumni USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work alumni Women city councillors in California Women mayors of places in California Women state legislators in California