Biography

Elected in 2002, Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is the first Latina woman to represent the 80th Assembly District, and is the only Latina Republican in the State Legislature.

She represents eastern Riverside County and all of Imperial County, including eight Sovereign nations, stretching east from the Coachella Valley to the Arizona border and south to the Mexican border. The area covers 10,000 square miles and includes the tourism belt around Palm Springs, the Salton Sea, thousands of acres of farmland, and Indian Casinos.

Assemblywoman Garcia serves this term as the vice-chair of the Committee on Housing and Community Development. She also serves as a member of the Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy, the Committee on Governmental Organization, and was appointed to the Select Committees on California-Latin American Affairs, Community Colleges, Workforce Investment, Mobile Homes, and Children’s Physical and Mental Well-Being.

Her diverse and multi-faceted career as a businesswoman and public servant span more than a decade, during which time she acquired expertise in small business development, public administration, public safety, education and quality housing.

Working for local cities, she led teams to address the escalating crime wave targeting blighted areas, secured grants to assist low-income families with purchasing homes, and helped establish crime prevention programs.

She was a key member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Transition Team and was named as a California delegate to the 2004 National Republican Convention.

Her legislative priorities include increasing access to healthcare and higher education, improving school nutrition for children, protecting children from sexual predators, and increasing homeownership opportunities for Californians. This year, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law her bill making $75 million in funds available to assist low-income homebuyers.

One of five children, she was born on the Lower East Side of New York to teen parents who later divorced. Early in life, she called upon her indomitable spirit to overcome crushing poverty and a crime-ridden neighborhood. After many years of taking night and weekend classes, she earned her BS degree from Southern Illinois University. Assemblywoman Garcia currently teaches night courses at a local university, educating hardworking students and granting the same opportunities that has made her career successful.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is excellently positioned to win reelection in the 80th State Assembly District.

Her district includes all of Imperial County and the eastern portion of Riverside County. It stretches from Coachella Valley, east to Blythe and south to the Mexican border.

When the 80th Assembly District was redrawn by redistricting mapmakers in 2001, they established a 12-point Democratic registration advantage. In recent years, however, GOP registration has trended upwards while Democratic registration has trended down with Democrats now only holding a seven point advantage. There is clear evidence that this district votes much more conservatively than what might appear in the registration numbers.

AD 80 has voted Republican five out of the past five Assembly elections, the last two being Bonnie’s nearly four point victory over Joey Acuna, and 17 point victory over Mary Ann Andreas. Republicans have also won every election since 1994 in the two overlapping congressional seats.

As a district, the voters of AD 80 voted 62.2% in favor of the October 2003 Recall and Governor Schwarzenegger received 50.5% of the vote.

Flashback 2004

After the 2004 primary election, the Democrats to anointed Mary Ann Andreas as their nominee, another Acuna-style liberal whose views are not reflective of the 80th Assembly District. Andreas currently garnered her support from special interest groups such as big labor unions, trial lawyers and other anti-business organizations.
This was a costly mistake on election day

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is a Republican Latina who has combined her compassion for the underrepresented community with her commitment to fiscal responsibility in the Legislature. She stood up against Democratic pressure to raise taxes and voted no on the state budget that passed on an $8 billion deficit into the next fiscal year. She has fought for the health care needs of seniors and wrote legislation to protect children by extending Megan’s Law and making it easier for the public to access information about sex offenders.

Bonnie holds a BS degree in Workforce Development from Southern Illinois University. She has had a multi-faceted career, working both in public service and as a small business owner. She has also served on many community boards to increase access to education, healthcare and small business opportunities, including serving on the executive board of the Inland Empire Lenders Community Development Corporation, the FISH food bank, and the DCA energy task force.
In a 60% Latino district dominated by public safety and economic issues, Bonnie’s proven leadership, ability to problem solve, and success working with people of all backgrounds have made her a valuable Assemblywoman for the people of the 80th District. She is a living example of the American Dream.

Election 2006

Assemblywoman Garcia faces no Republican opposition in the June 2006 primary. This will be to her advantage as her Democratic opponents will be exhausting their resources in an intense election battle. No matter which Democratic opponent is ultimately the winner in the primary they will face a popular incumbent Assemblywoman who has delivered for her district in November.

The two potential opponents for the General Election include former Assemblyman Steve Clute and current Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden. Despite Assemblywoman Garcia's proven ability to fundraise and her popularity among her constituency, she will face yet another battle against well-funded and connected opponents.

Legislative Highlights

Assemblywoman Garcia has focused her legislative priorities on the most pressing needs of her district: job creation, quality education, and affordable healthcare. In that capacity, she has applied her expertise in community development to forge strong bonds and partnerships with local governments, business, and community groups. Below are some of these issue areas:

• Keeping Families Healthy--Obesity is a problem that plagues the children of our state. Garcia's legislation has addressed the issue through legislation requiring healthy standards on food served in schools and expanding a healthy breakfast program for schools in need. Additionally, she has proposed increased early screening for diabetes in schools.
   
  Garcia's legislation has included emphases on protecting victims of domestic abuse and ensuring that women are provided information on risk factors and testing options for HIV/AIDS.
   
• Economic Development and Renewable Energy--She has been an instrumental advocate of helping the County of Imperial attract, retain, and expand opportunities that provide high paying quality jobs for those seeking prosperity and economic stability. She was successful with the county in urging Gov. Schwarzenegger to open the Enterprise Zone process and award Imperial with a new zone.
   
  Her legislation also includes an incentive program for an increase in the use of renewable energy--providing local governments a tool to attract clean energy facilities and high-wage jobs.
   
• Quality Education--Garcia's legislation includes proposals that help with teacher credentials--putting more teachers in our state's classrooms. In addition, she proposes allowing 9th graders the opportunity to take the high school exit exam early to encourage a focus on the exam and ample time to prepare.
    
• Keeping Communities Safe--For her last two terms, Garcia has carried legislation that appropriates funding for Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Forces. These teams are comprised of representatives from local and state law enforcement to perform compliance checks of registered sex offenders. In addition to her legislation expanding use of GPS devices on offenders, the SAFE Task Force proposal has recently garnered the support of Gov. Schwarzenegger, who has included several million dollars in his proposed budget for the teams.

Working with Governor Schwarzenegger, she was a staunch advocate of worker’s compensation reform and as a former small business owner, has worked hard to put government back in a partnership role with California entrepreneurs.