Local Assemblymember Puts Out the Call for Future Politicians

High school seniors with a craving for public service are invited to participate in the Young Legislators Program — 2021, beginning early next year.

Although the program, sponsored by Assemblymember Chris Holden, a graduate of Pasadena High School and a former mayor of Pasadena, begins in February, the deadline to register is Dec. 15.

The Young Legislators Program is described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that offers high school seniors in Holden’s 41st Assembly District a front-row seat to the public policy and political arena. 

During the four-month program, students will meet virtually once a month to become better advocates on issues they care about, gain valuable leadership skills, and learn about the legislative process.

Applicants are required to be high school seniors with at least a 2.5 or higher unweighted grade point average, or GPA.

To qualify for the free program, applicants must also live or attend school in the 41st District and commit to four monthly, two-hour Saturday meetings.

According to the tentative schedule, session one is Saturday, Feb. 20. Session two is Saturday, March 20. Session three is Saturday, April 17, and session four is Saturday, May 15.

The deadline for applying is Dec. 15.

When he was elected to the state Assembly in 2012, Holden brought to the Legislature a lifetime of experience in public service and business garnered during his many years on the Pasadena City Council and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. 

Assembly members serve two-year terms, and Holden, a lifelong Democrat, was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 from a district that stretches from Pasadena in the west to Upland in the east and includes the communities of Altadena, Claremont, La Verne, Monrovia, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena.

While in office, Holden has authored legislation to save developmental disability services, protect public health, and preserve civil rights. He supports legislation that grows the economy, protects the environment, strengthens infrastructure, and supports working families.

Holden owns CHMB Consulting, a real estate firm, and is a former owner of a Subway franchise. He is a lifelong resident of the district and a graduate of San Diego State University. The son of former state Senator and Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden, Chris Holden lives in Pasadena with his wife Melanie and children Nicholas, Alexander, Austin, Mariah and Noah. 

For more information, contact Cat Del Rosario at Catherine.DelRosario@asm.ca.gov, or by calling (626) 351-1917.

To apply, visit https://a41.asmdc.org/young-legislators-program-2021y.