"I want to provide resources for business, and providing an educated, well-trained work force is an important resource," Cendana Torlakson, a Democrat, said on July 20, 2015.
Mae Cendaña Torlakson, the chairwoman of the Ambrose Recreation and Park District board in Bay Point and wife of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, announced last July that she will seek the California State Assembly seat now held by Susan Bonilla, who is scheduled to "term out" of the 14th District seat in 2016.
She is the corporate partnerships liaison of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program helping educationally disadvantaged students pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program is administered by the University of California Department of Diversity and Engagement. She has been a UC staffer since 2000.
She is currently serving her third term on the board of Ambrose, a district that operates nine parks in the unincorporated community of Bay Point and a small section of Pittsburg, and recreation services within the district. She is the first Filipina elected to office in Contra Costa County. She also serves as the chairwoman of the Friends of the Delta Trail, working to raise $4.5 million for the Great California Delta Trail.
To read more on her announcement, click here.