Rivas re-elected as Assembly Speaker

Robert Rivas, who represents 29th California district, was re-elected this week as Speaker of the California State Assembly. 

Rivas, of Hollister, now begins his second year as Assembly Speaker following a unanimous vote by his Democratic colleagues on Dec. 2. 

“I am filled with great pride and honor to represent California’s Central Coast,” Rivas said. “As Speaker and as your Assembly member, we can truly make a difference for our coastal communities, especially when we work together.”

The 29th district encompasses areas in four Central Coast counties, including all of San Benito and portions of Santa Clara. Rivas, a former San Benito County Supervisor, was re-elected in the Nov. 5 general election to his second term as Assemblymember. 

A number of Rivas’ colleagues in the Assembly spoke in his support during a ceremony at the “In his first term as Speaker, [Rivas] earned our trust and proved himself to be a leader that listens, knows how to compromise and who can bring people together from both sides of the aisle, and from all corners of our state, to move California forward,” said Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, a Democrat from Merced.

Rivas, who grew up in farmworker housing near Paicines, urged his fellow lawmakers to focus on solutions to lower the cost of living and truly help working families, says a press release from Rivas’ office.

“Our constituents don’t feel that the state of California is working for them. That’s their lived experience in this moment,” Rivas said in his Dec. 2 speech. “Californians are deeply anxious about our state’s cost of living. Our task this year is urgent and it’s clear: We must chart a new path forward and renew the California Dream by focusing on affordability.”