From left to right:
Top row: Adrian Clark, Ash Bon-Reinhardt, Rocio Banda, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Emily Conde, Jasmine Williams and Nathalia Raygoza
Bottom row: Carol Pelletier, Jay Paz, Kevin Munoz and Elliana Escalera
Photo by Dennise Arriaza
Written by Evan Grahn
Providing a rare opportunity for direct political advocacy, ASI Student Government hosted California State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin at the April 1 Senate meeting. Students elected to next year’s student government will get to host more representatives like Irwin. Irwin is in her sixth and last-eligible Assembly term, having represented CI for all twelve years of her legislative career. Irwin is also currently campaigning for California’s 26th Congressional District seat to succeed retiring Representative Julia Brownley.
An assemblymember is one of eighty elected officials who serve in the lower house of the State Legislature, functioning much like the U.S. House of Representatives but at the state level. Members serve two-year terms, create state laws, set budgets and determine taxes alongside the Governor and the Senate, the upper house. Representing California’s 42nd Assembly District, Irwin oversees portions of Ventura County, CA and Western Los Angeles County, CA: inland from Camarillo, CA to Calabasas, CA and coastally from Point Mugu State Park to Pacific Palisades, CA.
During the Senate meeting, Irwin opened her time with a brief introduction and highlighting of her career and accomplishments, noting that she has now passed 113 bills during her tenure. She detailed the legislative process, a topic of high interest for student government following their recent Lobby Corps visit to the CA State Capitol. Of Irwin’s work, she expressed the most support for improving educational outcomes, tightening red-flag laws and regulating emissions levels, emphasizing that regardless of contention with the federal government, “California continues to believe in climate change.” Her current eighteen-bill package notably includes designations for state surfing reserves, mental health training for college coaches and increased regulations for cannabis marketing.
A strong advocate for public education, she grounded such passion in her identity as the child of immigrants and the first in her family to attend college. With a background and education rooted in systems engineering, she graduated from the University of California, San Diego and spent her early career at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and the then-named Teledyne Systems Company. Later becoming a resident of Thousand Oaks, CA, her transition into public service began locally, serving on the Thousand Oaks City Council for ten years, including two terms as Mayor, before moving to the state level.
Most relevant to CI is Irwin’s direct role in securing funding for campus infrastructure and academic growth. She recalled working with former President Rush to secure seed funding for the Mechatronics Engineering program, a direct response to the workforce needs of Ventura County. Looking forward, Irwin shared updates regarding early childhood education, having secured eight million dollars for the development of an Early Childhood Lab School at CI, similar to the facility at the University of California, Los Angeles. This program is designed to find the most effective teaching methods to serve the entire community, helping the children of farm workers, students and community members, “to make sure that every child, no matter what their economic level, is at the same starting line when they start kindergarten.” The groundbreaking is planned for March of 2027, with an expected opening sometime in 2028.
Irwin’s time concluded with an emphasis on the value of student government, citing: “most of my staff got their start in politics through student government.” She credits her preparation for a political career to an early involvement in community service: “I always think that young people who are interested in politics should really think about first doing community service, making sure that you are serving people in your area.” Her office is always looking for interns and working with students who are passionate about serving their community.
