Robert Rivas is now speaker of the California Assembly. It’s a celebration for the Central Coast.

Sara Rubin here, writing from Sacramento on a historic day. This morning, Robert Rivas was sworn in as the 71st speaker of the California State Assembly. It was an event featuring some amount of pomp and circumstance, but it’s about much more than that—it’s a day that ushers in a new chapter of leadership for all of California. 

Rivas is now assumed to be the second-most powerful person in the state, second only to the governor. He is a unique person to fill the role, who comes from humble beginnings and who represents a rural area, Assembly District 29, which includes the Pajaro Valley and Salinas Valley. 

I was on the Assembly floor this morning to listen in. There, I joined many members of the Assembly. Also present were farmworkers, organized by groups like Mujeres en Acción, Líderes Campesinas and Center for Community Advocacy. Their presence is not just a symbolic reminder of Rivas’ roots in a farmworker family. It also shows Rivas’ explicit desire to make sure vulnerable Californians—people who may seem anonymous but are unique and hardworking and have their own stories—matter in Sacramento.

This was explicitly mentioned in remarks by some of Rivas’ colleagues, who shared words of congratulations. 

“Robert grew up in and lives in a rural community,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg. “He brings a lived experience to this job that we haven’t seen in a very long time. There are people in this state who sometimes feel forgotten. In this body, we pass a lot of laws, and they are often one-size-fits-all. That doesn’t always work for the people I represent and Robert represents.”

The people Rivas represents are overjoyed about his ascension. Hundreds of people from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties were in attendance; many waited in a line down the block to enter the Capitol this morning, and many waited in a line two blocks long to attend a reception last night. Many elected officials were there to mark the occasion, from school board members and city councilmembers to Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose—her congressional district overlaps with Rivas’ Assembly district. “Every member of the California delegation is thrilled,” Lofgren said last night. California, she added, is a place where “you can actually get something done.” 

One theme throughout the remarks is that California must be a leader for a more inclusive and progressive world as the country continues to slide backward. (Look to Supreme Court rulings as recently as today for evidence of that backward slide.) 

Today was a day of celebration, and now the real work begins. Rivas gave a few hints as to what that work might look like, addressing his Assembly colleagues. He said it was time to stop focusing on the number of bills passed, and instead on passing those that have the most impact. 

“Sometimes this will mean going back and fixing something, rather than passing a new law,” Rivas said. “It may mean saying no to an interest group that has had our back in the past. It may mean reaching out to a colleague whose beliefs are different from our own…This approach will allow us to make measurable progress on the most critical issues facing Californians and it will show the rest of the county that progressive government works.”

Another theme for Rivas is that he is a product of the California Dream. He shared the story of his own beginnings and his farmworker family—grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins—pooling their savings to buy a house in Hollister in 1988, for $140,000. “It was a massive investment, but it was doable,” Rivas said. “The house was ours. It gave us a sense that our future was not so precarious, and that there was a place for us in California.”

The question now is whether that dream can continue to be available for future generations. “I often wonder if our story would still be possible today,” Rivas said. He spoke about his daughter, Melina, and how he hopes she will be able to choose to make her own life in California. 

There was a lot of optimism expressed about solving California’s biggest challenges—housing, cost of living, climate change. “Thank you for keeping us inspired to fight for the California dream,” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro. “No solamente si se puede, pero si se pudo.” 

It’s not only yes we can, but yes we did. The setting of goals and making progress toward those goals starts now.