José Luis Solache (born 1980) is an American politician who is serving 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 ...

since 2024, representing the 62nd district. A member of the Democratic Party, his district covers parts of the

Gateway Cities The Gateway Cities region, or Southeast Los Angeles County, is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange County, and the Pacific Ocean. The cluster of cities has ...

in southeastern

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

, including the cities of Lynwood, Bellflower, Lakewood, and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, as well as the more central cities of

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...

, Maywood, and South Gate. Prior to being elected to the assembly, he served as a member of the Lynwood City Council from 2013 to 2024, serving intermittently as its mayor.

Early life and education

Jose Solache was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and municipal corporation, incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

, and grew up in nearby Lynwood, attending local public schools. He attended

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in

liberal studies Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refer to st ...

. While in college, he served two terms as student body president and as the statewide chairman of the

California State Student Association The California State Student Association (CSSA), also known as the Cal State Student Association, is an "unincorporated income tax-exempt association". CSSA is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue C ...

. He is currently pursuing a master's degree 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 ...

Early career

Solache was first elected to public office in 2003, when he became the youngest Latino member of the Lynwood School Board at the age of 23. After serving two terms on the board, he was elected to the Lynwood City Council in 2013. As Lynwood operated under a

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...

, members of the city council are ceremoniously selected as mayor for one-year terms, of which Solache served multiple before retiring to run for state assembly. Solache ran for

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. ...

in the 33rd district in 2019, placing 5th in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to replace

Ricardo Lara Ricardo Lara (born November 5, 1974) is an American politician who is currently serving as the 8th Insurance Commissioner of California. Lara was elected during the 2018 election, defeating former California insurance commissioner Steve Poizne ...

California State Assembly

Solache announced his candidacy for the 62nd district in April 2023. He ran with the endorsement of then-

speaker of the assembly Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

, who was term-limited out of his seat. Positions raised during his campaign included lowering

college tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

, investing in

after school programs After may refer to: Literature * ''After'' (Elgar), an 1895 poem by Philip Bourke Marston set to music by Edward Elgar * ''After'' (Prose novel), a 2003 novel by Francine Prose * ''After'' (Chalifour book), a 2005 book by Canadian writer Francis ...

, and increasing public safety. Solache defeated Republican Paul Jones in the November 2024 general election with 66.0% of the vote.

Electoral history

2024

2019

Personal life

Solache is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solache, Jose 1980 births Living people 21st-century mayors of places in California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature California city council members California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party school board members in California Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California People from Lynwood, California Politicians from Greater Los Angeles 21st-century American LGBTQ people American gay politicians LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people LGBTQ state legislators in California