Commentary Letters

Over the last six years, the number of women serving in the legislature has grown to its largest in the history of our state, and Rendon has appointed more women to lead policy committees than ever before. Rendon’s advocacy was also key to the Assembly achieving pay equity for women employees for the first time.

But Rendon’s style didn’t mean there weren’t things he cared about and fought passionately for.

Rendon first ran for the legislature in 2012 because of his outrage at devastating budget cuts to child care and early childhood education during the Great Recession. He wanted a seat at the table in Sacramento to be a voice for the kids and parents who relied on those programs.

In the last six years, restoring these cuts and expanding opportunities for more young people to have a better start in life has been a key priority for Rendon.

That’s what true leadership is – not chasing TV cameras for the sake of becoming famous or chasing legislative victories for the sake of self-promotion. It’s about getting the job done and truly not caring who gets the credit.

Rendon leaves a legacy those coming after him would be wise to learn from, both his style and his successes.

—Kevin Liao is a political and public affairs consultant based in Los Angeles. He served as Assemblyman Anthony Rendon’s press secretary from 2015 to 2019.