- Welcome to Inland Edition where we have community conversations with people who make decisions that affect our everyday lives.

My name is Joe Richardson.

I'm an attorney, a community member and your host.

And today, we're going to chat with a two-term California Assemblymember who serves on multiple committees from Utilities and Energy to Legislative Ethics, and more.

She's a proud daughter of immigrants, a graduate of Colton High School, San Bernardino Valley College, [background music] USC, and Loyola Law School.

Eloise Gómez Reyes was first elected to the California Assembly in 2016 and became just the fourth woman appointed as the majority leader of the California State Assembly in 2020.

You can call her determined, decisive, and a trailblazer.

They would all be true.

And, it's time for you to see for yourself.

Let's meet her.

[gentle upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Joe] I am thrilled to be here with Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes of the 50th District, State of California.

How are you?

- I'm doing great, Joe.

It's so good to be here.

- Yes!

- Back on campus at Valley College.

- Yeah, that's right.

This is a little bit of a return for you, right?

- Yes, yes.

- Oh, my gosh.

This is great.

So, tell us if there was an aha moment that got you on the path to public service.

Anything in particular or was it just a gradual thing?

- I think it's more of a gradual thing.

I think that's something that my parents instilled in us.

My mother made sure that we served the community.

No matter what it was that we were doing, we served the community.

And, I think it, rather than it being an aha moment, it was just knowing that I needed to serve.

The capacity, it was going to vary no matter what, but we always knew we had to serve.

- And, it has varied.

Among other things, you've been an attorney.

And so, tell us the things that you came across in your professional life that informed and kind of converge to make you the Assemblymember that you are for us today.

- You're right.

I'm an attorney.

I've been an attorney for over 30 years.

Served my community for those 30 years, volunteered with Legal Aid serving and represented my injured workers for so many years.

It's knowing how to read the laws, knowing how to interpret them.

Knowing how to argue them, I think helped me and informed me in what I do now.

When I get new legislation, I get to read it as opposed to just telling somebody "tell me what it says."

I get to read it and I understand it.

I think it's informed me in a great way.

- Right.

So, as an Assemblymember, give us a 101.

'Cause, you know, we're the-- you know, we have this education function here- KVCR, Inland Edition.

Give us a 101 on state government and where the Assembly fits in the larger scheme.

- This is the best job I've ever had!

- Mm.

- I've gotta tell you.

So, in government you have-- we have our local, we have our state, we have our federal, but within the state we have the Assembly, we have the Senate, and, of course, we have our governor.

So, we have bills that are introduced, ideas that are brought in, and we introduce those.

They make it through the Assembly.

They then have to go over to the Senate, make it through the Senate, and then onto the governor's desk.

And, hopefully we have a lot of people supporting us talking to the governor just as we are to finally get him to sign off on it.

But, government, state government is so important.

Making sure we write the budget in a way that brings money back into our communities, that serves the state of California especially, especially the most vulnerable.

And then, in our laws, making sure that they really do, do something that is good for all of California.

- So, what is something that someone who hasn't done your job, somethin' that they wouldn't know that you'd like for them to know?

- You have to build relationships.

I may be the best person here locally and everybody thinks I'm just the best, but if I can't make friends in Sacramento, I will not be able to get my legislation through.

I will not be able to get my budget items, my budget request through.

I have to get to know people and they have to get to know me.

When I arrived in Sacramento, that was the first thing I did.

Now, a lot of it has to do with my very dear friend, Senator Connie Leyva.

She reminded me, "you've got to know people, not just in the Assembly.

You better know your Senators, too."

So, I spent a lot of time getting to know everybody.

And, that makes a difference because when I actually needed some help from one of my colleagues, they already knew me.

They knew I would fight for my community and it made things a lot easier.

And, I got to know them too and wanted them to be successful in all of the legislation they were putting through.

- You became during your service, and you're still there, the majority leader of the Assembly, the first Latina woman to do so, I believe.

Talk about representation, how important that is, and the testament to bridge building that what you've done there, exemplified by among other things, that particular position about what that means.

- You're right.

When Speaker Anthony Rendon appointed me in December of 2020, you're right.

I was the first Latina ever to be appointed to that position and only the fourth woman in California's history.

Representation does matter.

And, many of my colleagues in the Latino Caucus and in the Women's Caucus knew that they had a friend that was making the decisions now as majority leader.

Building those bridges is so important because I may think that, again, if I don't have good relationships with the rest of my colleagues, I may think that I'm going to direct everything on the Assembly floor.

But, if I'm asking my colleagues to take care of something and they think, "eh, it's just Eloise."

But, if I have developed that relationship where we treat each other with respect, if I ask them to do something for the floor, on the floor, it's something that I know is going to be carried through for the benefit of the entire Assembly so that things work smoothly.

We get our bills through.

Everything is done in a dignified manner.

And, that was my goal: to make sure everyone's bills made it through the floor and onto the Senate.

And, also to make sure that they all had the opportunity to present themselves in the most dignified way because all of their constituents were also watching.

- So, on that theme of representation, you are in the Inland Empire.

The show is "Inland Edition" and one of the things that's so important that we try to pay attention to is drawing attention to the needs of the Inland Empire.

And, you can start with the makeup of the Inland Empire, which is majority/minority, et cetera.

This large, huge land area, couple of the biggest counties in America, but perhaps a bit more neglected than they ought to be as it pertains to resources.

So, talk about the things that you do as a ambassador for the Inland Empire and how that figures in for both the Inland Empire in general and for its people who often are underrepresented.

- Representation matters, as we talked about earlier, but also making sure that we receive our fair share.

Making sure that when the budget is put together, there are some things that are going to come to us because we're part of the state of California.

But, there's extra money we can bring into the community, specifically into our communities.

Working with a partner makes a big difference knowing that the other representatives in the Inland Empire are trying to do the same thing makes a difference.

So, having us work together- specifically here I think in San Bernardino County and my colleagues in Riverside County, as well- to make sure that the governor when he signs that budget, it's a budget that includes a whole lot of extra money specifically for the Inland Empire.

And, making sure that whatever projects we put together in our budget also are going to come-- that, that money's going to come to the Inland Empire.

One great example is child care.

Finally, we've had-- we've been fighting for this.

The Women's Caucus has been fighting for this- and I go back to my dear friend, Senator Connie Leyva- she fought for this the whole time she was there.

And, I finally get to introduce the legislation that finally brought it to fruition.

We now are going to have $2.6 billion for child care reform.

This is something that has been worked on for years and years, and I get to write the legislation for it.

That makes me feel good, not just for the state of California, but we have so many childcare workers here in the Inland Empire that are going to benefit from a 25% increase in their salary.

Family fees are going to be waived.

These are things that although it's for the state, the Inland Empire specifically is going to benefit.

And, that's a lot of what we work on.

- [Joe] Talk to me a bit about the interplay between local government, state government, and federal government, kind of where they all fit.

You know, sometimes I'm sure you come across a constituent that is looking for this service or that service, but maybe it's in the purview of the county, or maybe it's in the purview of the state, or maybe the state Assemblymember and Senator are pulling on getting federal dollars to deal with that issue.

Talk a little bit about the interplay and how they kind of work together.

- Well, first of all, local control is something I keep hearing about and I want to make sure that we protect it.

I want to make sure that our elected officials locally are able to make those decisions that take care of all of the residents.

But, when it's not done correctly, or there's more that can be done, I think the state needs to step in.

And, we've done that on a number of occasions.

And then, if the state isn't able to take care of it, then it goes to the federal level.

In the end, it isn't a competition.

It's making sure that our local residents are taken care of.

The funding is another thing.

I mean, I talked about the fact that for-- for internet connection, broadband?

We passed laws for broadband for all, but if we don't have the money to connect people, it doesn't matter.

And so, the federal government stepped up and brought in some of the funding that we needed for that, as well.

Then, the state had to make sure that we put in our funding and there is more funding from the state.

- So, I wanna talk a little bit about-- jobs is what I'm getting to.

But, you know, you want economy to grow.

Hopefully, it's growing because people are spendin' money.

People are spendin' money because they have jobs and people have jobs or are willing because there are jobs to have!

So, I'd love to talk a bit about what you see particularly for the Inland Empire in terms of our growth industries.

You know what I mean?

The things that will get people working and again, continue to have folks working in a robust fashion with good wages.

Things that are really, you know, maybe some frontiers that we haven't seen a lot of or that we haven't seen many of, I personally think, of course, the Inland Empire is really very much the engine for the state to go between its land area and its possibilities-- - Yes.

- cheaper land, and some things like that.

Talk about some of the areas that you would like to see development, or maybe we have seen growth and development in.

- [Eloise] Health is one of the biggest areas.

Hospitality industry perhaps not as much.

Logistics is another area.

I think that whatever area that grows, we have to make sure that we protect the people who are working there.

Not just those who come in and say, "I'm going to invest here."

I want them to invest well and I want them to have a great rate of return, but let's make sure that the workers are also protected.

Because, it isn't enough to just have a job.

You want someone to have livable wages so they can take care of all of their needs without having to ask for public assistance.

That's one of the greatest disservices I think in our-- not just in our community, but specifically in our community, where you say, "well, you got a job."

"Yeah, but I can't pay my rent."

"Well, you got a job."

"Can't put food on the table."

We need to have livable wages.

We need for families to be able to send their kids to college and do whatever it is that they want to do to take care of their family.

If it's just a job, it is-- it's insufficient.

It has to be a good-paying job.

So, those jobs are here.

I know that it may be a little controversial, but best jobs are going to be union jobs because you've got somebody fighting for you to make sure that collectively you all have a good contract.

You have benefits, you have medical benefits, you have a retirement and, of course, a good salary.

That's important.

I mean, you have somebody else fighting for you, things are a whole lot easier to be doing it that way.

So, those are two areas that I know have had great growth here in the Inland Empire.

- Let me ask you about, as a leader, not only as someone in government, but as somebody recognized as a leader in government, I'm sure you bump up against the premise of compromise.

(Joe chuckles) And, not necessarily compromising principles, but how do you get to "yes" when you are trying to get something done in whatever the challenge may be?

You know what I mean?

Some would think that because even though this is not necessarily a quote, "political discussion," the idea that there's many more of one party than another would mean that everything just gets done without some arguments and some fights!

You know?

So, how do you build the bridges to have folks come together, and compromise to get from point A to point B?

- Something you said that's probably the most important is "how do you get to 'yes?'"

- Yeah, sure.

- I have to recognize, and that goes back to my early-- my first year when I spent time with all of the Assemblymembers and then with most of the Senators, to get to know them.

What's important in their community, too?

Not just what's important in my community.

What's important in their community, because there may be something I'm going to support in their community that to me, I don't think it's important.

But, it is to them.

And, I want them to recognize that when I ask for support in my community, it's because it's really important in my community.

I want them to get to "yes."

And, sometimes it is compromise.

Sometimes it means that you have to talk to other stakeholders that you may feel like you disagree with everything they're going to say, but you want them to be part of the solution.

Because, there may be a few of our Assemblymembers or a few Senators, they look to them for guidance on those issues.

And so, I want to be sure that I'm talking to all of the stakeholders.

And, sometimes you have to give a little, but as you said, you never compromise your morals, of course.

Never.

But, you also don't compromise what the bill really is all about.

You've got to get it to the governor's desk and it's got to be in a form that makes a difference, and is very much in line with what you had first introduced.

So, compromise is part of what we have to do.

And, that comes from having those relationships so that you're not just asking somebody to compromise who they are at their core.

You're saying, what if I amend the bill to include this?

That takes care of something that's happening in your community.

Those are the sorts of things that I think are very helpful.

- I had an 11th grade English teacher, Ms. Arsano.

Maybe she's out there.

Hi!

(Eloise chuckles) And, she used to say about every story, "what's the dramatic irony?"

It would seem this way, but it's actually this way.

The circumstances would suggest this, but in fact here's where you ought to be.

I wanna talk about civic engagement.

The whole idea is that, you know, people go through a lot.

We're coming off COVID.

It changed a lot of folks' lives.

People are struggling.

You know, California is not cheap.

And, it would suggest to many people that perhaps civic engagement is less important because it's not an as much of a priority, but in fact it makes it more important.

Talk about that, and encourage folks that when circumstances may suggest that you run from civic engagement, or maybe it's disillusionment with what they're seeing on television, but in fact we ought to be running to it.

- Oh, my goodness.

Civic engagement is so important, at every level.

We want our kids at a young age to realize that their voice matters.

To realize that their ideas matter.

I have a particular bill right now that I introduced that came from the Girl Scouts here locally, San Gorgonio troop.

They came to my office and said, "Here's an idea for a bill."

I liked it.

They had done their research.

They went to Loma Linda University Medical Center.

They had a doctor come in and talk about the idea.

And, it was about providing menstrual products for third through fifth graders because young girls are entering puberty at a younger age.

I thought "I wouldn't have thought about that 'cause I don't have a young daughter."

But, they had done their research.

They were so involved and they brought the idea, they pitched it and we went with it.

Every committee it's gone through, whether it's in the Assembly, in the Senate, everybody loves the bill.

Our Lieutenant Governor has already asked if she could be a supporter, a sponsor of the bill.

Of course, we've got her on.

But, it's these girls that came to talk to us about the idea.

We have also had, when my district was 47, we used to call it "Policy 47."

And, we had a number of community groups, individuals who came in and talked about whether it was veterans, education, seniors, housing, homelessness, jobs, and they all met in various groups.

And then, they gave me the ideas for bills.

For education, the idea to require FAFSA to be filled out before graduation?

That came from the group!

- Mm hm.

- They had the idea that we were leaving a half a billion dollars on the table because our students weren't applying for financial aid.

So, that is now the law.

It was signed into law by the governor.

Our veterans came to me and said, "You know what?

"Our veterans are entitled to go to Veterans Court "instead of having to go to the regular court.

"But, they're not told that they have that right.

"Or for whatever reason, they're not sent to the Veterans Court."

I didn't know that.

So, we then do our research.

We talked to Ledge Counsel, and we were able to introduce the legislation.

That's now the law.

If one of our veterans is arrested, right from the beginning it's put on the record so that the public defender knows, the DA knows, the judge knows, everybody knows and that would be offered to that veteran.

Those are the sorts of things that are really important to me.

We have an organization, ICUC, here locally only engaged in civic engagement.

That's the big deal for them.

State of California through- I'll take the credit- through my efforts was able to bring in millions of dollars to them.

Non-partisan civic engagement.

They go to the schools to try to talk to the students to tell them how important their voice is.

We do Senior Advocacy Week every year for one week.

We go see our seniors, senior housing, senior centers, and talk to them about the issues that matter to them.

We take some of those ideas back to Sacramento.

Civic engagement is extremely important.

Not everybody has to be the elected, but we all have a voice.

And, that voice is important because it's that voice that's going to help us to introduce the legislation that may become the law that everybody else is going to follow.

Civic engagement is very, very important.

- Tell me about, you know-- if we'd look into a crystal ball and if you had your druthers, you know, 5 to 10 years, what will California be doing?

Often we lead the country, right?

- Yes.

- And, sometimes the things that we do- I can name it in a lot of different areas- kind of become templates for what happens elsewhere.

So, what will we be doing hopefully in 5 to 10 years that's another thing that becomes a template?

How will that benefit the Inland Empire and what will be the related challenges that we gotta get past to make sure we get there?

- [Eloise] Wow, that's a loaded question!

(Joe laughs) The future has to be a future that is equal for everybody.

And, right now it's not.

And, we can't say "let's give everybody equal chances."

That's not where it is.

We have to-- there are some people who are here, some people who are here.

We need to bring those who are here, up to here, and then everybody gets equal chances.

But, until we have equity, we can't talk about equality.

- That's right.

- So, that's what the future holds to make sure that everybody has opportunities.

I want all of our kids, all of our kids to be able to have the same opportunities to be told about a college program, to be told about a trades program, to be told how to become a journeyman, to be told how to become a doctor, to whatever they want to do.

I want every opportunity for every child.

That's not the way it is right now.

Some are given greater opportunities than others, and that's okay.

Keep giving them greater opportunities, but let's bring everybody up to those greater opportunities.

And, once you do that, then everybody can start growing together.

But, that isn't where we are.

And, I think it starts with our children.

I want them all to know that they matter, that they are enough, that whatever they want to be, they get to be.

How do we get there?

That's a tough one.

A lot of it has to do with the very people that we hire.

If it's people who are interested in our children, they're gonna give it their all.

And, if they're doing everything, then we need to make sure that we fund those programs that are giving everything to the children.

The government doesn't need to reinvent the wheel every time.

Like, if we're talking about homelessness, we don't have to say, "well, "let's put a program together and let's then open up this homeless facility."

No!

We don't need to do that.

We have lots of organizations that are already doing it and doing it successfully.

Let's fund those programs so that they can do more in the community.

- So, if you allow me, I'll make a couple assumptions here.

I assume that your love of people and that your passion is comin' across here, and folks are getting it.

I will further assume connected to that, that people are going to want to know more.

And so, with that, I want you to give us a homework assignment for the person that's looked and that's inspired by what you're saying.

What-?

How can they check, get more information on you, get more information on state government?

Give us some homework assignments that will allow us to take advantage and build on this conversation.

- First, I want them to know I work for them.

I'm the state Assemblymember, the Majority Leader Emeritus.

None of that matters.

I work for my community.

So, my office is always open to the community.

We're on Vanderbilt.

I'm sure you'll put the address on there!

And, call our office.

I have the best staff, the absolute best staff.

And, they work hard to make sure that we take care of the needs of the community.

We have taken care of thousands of cases that have come into our office where somebody calls in, "I have a problem with DMV."

"I have a problem with whatever department of the state."

We'll help you any way that we can.

Remember, you are enough.

You deserve everything that the state of California has to offer to you.

And, we wanna help you get that.

So, call our office.

Let us know how we can help.

And, if you have an idea for something that will make our community better, or the state of California better, reach out to us.

We want to know.

Your homework is to know that California is for you.

The Inland Empire's for you.

San Bernardino's for you.

Assembly District 50 is for you.

And, we want to help in any way that we can.

So, your homework is call us.

Let us know what your ideas are.

Let us know how we can help.

We want to be there for you.

- Fantastic!

- That's it.

- That's some pretty good homework right there.

I wanna thank you Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes.

Thank you so much.

It was everything that I thought it would be and I appreciate it.

And, I know that we're all runnin' off inspired doin' our homework because we know that that's the thing to do.

So, I want to thank you for joining us again on Inland Edition.

Keep joining us as we go down the road to greater understanding through our public leaders and civic engagement, encouraging of both, one conversation at a time.

See ya next time.

Thanks.

[singers vocalizing/ bold drums] [uplifting music and vocals] ♪ ♪ [softer music] ♪ ♪ ♪ [music fades]