Juan Arambula is a former California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

man. He represented the 31st district. Arambula was elected to the Assembly in 2004. Arambula had announced that he would retire in 2008; however, he decided to run for his last term. He was a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 until June 2009, when he became an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

. He was term limit

Term limit

A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...

ed in 2010.

Education and Background

He graduated with high honors from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, and went on to earn a Master's degree in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from the Stanford University School of Education

Stanford University School of Education

The Stanford University School of Education , is one of the seven schools of Stanford University. It is the second-oldest school of education in the United States, after NYU...

 and a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 (J.D.) from the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

.

Arambula is the son of immigrant farm workers. In his youth, he harvested crops with his family throughout California. He lives in Fresno with Amy, his wife of 30 years. He has four adult children: Joaquin, Carmen, Diego and Miguel. His religion is "decline to state."

Pre-Assembly Career

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Arambula served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors

County board of supervisors

The Board of Supervisors is the body that supervises the operation of county government in all counties in Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Sussex County, New Jersey as well as a handful of counties in New York...

 from 1997 to 2004. He earned the Rose Ann Vuich

Rose Ann Vuich

Rose Ann Vuich served as a member of the California State Senate from 1977 until 1993. She was the first female member of the California State Senate....

 Award for Ethics in Leadership in 2002 for his public service.

From 1987 to 1996, Arambula served on the Fresno Unified School District

Fresno Unified School District

Fresno Unified School District is a school district in Fresno, California, U.S.A.-Facts and Figures:*California's 4th largest school district*79,383 students *$869 million budget...

 Board, where he worked to meet the needs of a diverse student population while maintaining financial stability during lean budget years. Arambula also served on the Board of Directors for the California School Boards Association and the California State Association of Counties.

Priorities

Juan Arambula has stated that his top legislative priorities include efforts to improve California's business climate, to encourage job creation and retention, as well as efforts to improve the health care system, student academic achievement and school accountability. He is also working to tackle air pollution in the Central Valley, the shortage of health care professionals, and California's infrastructure challenges.

Recognition

Juan Arambula was recently named "Legislator of the Year" by the California Small Business Association.

Retribution for party change

Democratic Speaker Karen Bass

Karen Bass

Karen Ruth Bass is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to her election to Congress in 2010, she had served as a member of the California State Assembly representing the 47th district since 2004...

stripped Arambula of his chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee in retribution for Arambula leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent.