Gail Pellerin

Gail L. Pellerin (born June 24, 1962) is an American election administrator and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly from 28th district since 2022. The district includes about half of Santa Cruz County and part of Santa Clara County. She previously served as Santa Cruz County Clerk from 1993 until her retirement in 2020.

Early life and education Pellerin was born in Torrance, California. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism in 1984.

Political career Santa Cruz County Elections department Pellerin spent more than 27 years working for the Santa Cruz County elections department from 1993 until her retirement in December 2020. She started as an elections manager then served as the county's clerk from 2004 until her retirement. She was unopposed in her elections as clerk. Pellerin served as President of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials from 2010 to 2012 and as co-chair of the California Secretary of State’s Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Pellerin twice served as an international election monitor in Nagorno-Karabakh, during the 2015 parliamentary and 2017 constitutional referendum elections.

California State Assembly Elections On the last day of candidate filing for the 2022 election, Pellerin filed to run for the California State Assembly in the 28th district, where incumbent Mark Stone had been redistricted from the 29th district and was term-limited. She placed first in the blanket primary with 35.9% of the vote and advanced to the general election against Republican former Monte Sereno mayor Liz Lawler. She defeated Lawler with 68% of the vote in the general election.

In the 2024 election, Pellerin again faced Lawler in a rematch. She defeated Lawler in the general election with 66.9% of the vote.

Tenure In January 2024, Pellerin signed onto a California Legislative Jewish Caucus letter to fellow California state legislators asking for their "support and solidarity" following the October 7th attacks and a pro-Palestine demonstration by the Jewish Voice for Peace.

In August 2025, Pellerin endorsed Proposition 50, part of the broader 2025-2026 United States redistricting effort.

Personal life Pellerin moved to Santa Cruz in 1993 and resides in unincorporated Santa Cruz County. She is Jewish. Her husband, Tom Chaffin, died by suicide while they underwent divorce proceedings in November 2018. They had two children, Jacob and Emily.

Electoral history 2022

2024