Suzette Martinez Valladares (born December 21, 1980) is an American politician who is a member of 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. ...

since 2024, representing the 23rd district. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as 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 ...

from the 38th district, which included the

Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The western portion of the valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County. The valle ...

and

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Simi Valley borders Th ...

. Elected in 2020, she assumed office on December 7, 2020. In 2022, she ran in the newly redrawn 40th Assembly district, and narrowly lost the election to Pilar Schiavo by a 50.2% to 49.8% margin.

Early life and education

Valladares was born in

Sylmar, Los Angeles Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and the northernmost neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past t ...

and graduated from

Sylmar High School Sylmar Charter High School is a charter school in the northeast San Fernando Valley in the Sylmar, Los Angeles, Sylmar district of Los Angeles, California. Established in 1961, it is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, District 2, a ...

in 1999. A third-generation Californian, her grandfather was a farmworker who worked alongside

Cesar Chavez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

in vineyards near Bakersfield. She 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 the

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

Career

From 2009 to 2012, Valladares was a district representative for

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Buck McKeon. In 2014, she was a candidate for the 36th district in the

. In 2014 and 2015, she worked as the California Director of Hispanic Initiatives for the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. From 2015 to 2018, she was the executive director of Southern California Autism Speaks. In 2018, she was a candidate for

California's 25th congressional district California's 25th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . The district includes all of Imperial County, California, Imperial County and parts of Riverside C ...

before withdrawing from the race to run for state assembly. In 2020, Valladares became one of two Republican nominees for the 38th district in the

after incumbent Democrat Christy Smith announced that she would not seek re-election and instead focus on her run 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 ...

against Mike Garcia. Valladares placed first in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

and defeated fellow Republican Lucie Lapointe Volotzky, a furniture store owner, in the November general election. In 2021, Valladares became one of the inaugural members of the California State Legislature's "Problem Solvers Caucus," a bipartisan group consisting of members of both the State Assembly and State Senate. The Problem Solvers Caucus says that their goal is to "create a group of legislators committed more to progress than to ideology."

Personal life

Valladares and her husband, Shane, have one daughter and live in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

References

External links

* 1980 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the California State Legislature American politicians of Mexican descent California State University, Northridge alumni Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections College of the Canyons alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California People from Santa Clarita, California People from Sylmar, Los Angeles Politicians from Los Angeles Republican Party California state senators Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Women state legislators in California {{California-CAAssembly-stub