Sasha Renée Pérez

Sasha Renée Pérez (born September 16, 1992) is an American politician who is a member of the California State Senate for the 25th district. A Democrat, she is the youngest State Senator in California. Pérez previously served as mayor and city councilor of Alhambra.

Early life and education

Pérez was born in Alhambra and was raised there and in Glendora. Her father is a union electrician and her mother is a social worker.

Pérez graduated from Mark Keppel High School and is a first-generation college graduate, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from California State University, Los Angeles.

Career

Pérez began her career running an after-school program at Roosevelt High School for the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs. In 2018, she left to work at the Campaign for College Opportunity a non-profit focused on improving college access, success and affordability for California students. Pérez led efforts to expand financial aid to 150,000 more students through the passage of the Cal Grant Equity Framework and created reports on the needs of diverse student populations in colleges and universities.

Alhambra City Council In 2020, Pérez challenged incumbent Alhambra mayor David Mejia, unseating him after winning 58.49% of the vote. Upon being elected to the Alhambra City Council in 2020, Pérez was selected to serve as Mayor. This made her the first openly LGBTQ+ person and renter on the council and the youngest woman to serve as Mayor in San Gabriel Valley history.

Pérez was honored as Outstanding SGV Elected Official of the Year in 2021 for her work to reduce plastic waste, create dedicated bike lanes and provide hazard pay to grocery store and pharmacy store workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

California State Senate In 2023, Pérez announced her candidacy for the California State Senate seat being vacated by Anthony Portantino, who was terming out and running for the U.S. House of Representatives. In her announcement, she expressed her commitment to "ensuring a future where everyone can achieve the California dream."

During the primary election, Pérez's main opponent Monterey Park City Councilwoman Yvonne Yiu, self-funded her campaign with over $2.9 million, making her California's top campaign donor at the time. Despite being outspent 3-to-1, Pérez defeated Yiu by more than 15 points in an upset. Pérez advanced alongside Republican Crescenta Valley Town Council member Elizabeth Ahlers to the general election, where Pérez ultimately defeated Ahlers to secure the seat.

Pérez is the youngest member of the California State Senate and the 2nd youngest woman to ever serve in the California State Senate.

Electoral history 2020

2024