Supervisor Luis A. Alejo was elected in June 2016 to represent District 1 on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Alejo is a proud native son of the Central Coast. His family originally came to work in the Salinas Valley as migrant farmworkers in the 1950s.
Alejo graduated with honors from University of California at Berkeley, receiving dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and Chicano Studies. He continued his education at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.)., and later Harvard University, where he finish academic career in 2003 by obtaining his Masters of Education degree (Ed.M) in Administration, Planning and Social Policy.
Alejo began his legal career by championing the rights of working families as a staff attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) in his hometown of Watsonville and later as a staff attorney the Monterey County Superior Court where he provided free legal assistance to thousands of self-represented litigants in family and civil law.
Alejo would later pursue politics and served as Mayor and Councilmember of his hometown of Watsonville. Alejo was first elected to the Assembly in November 2010 at the age of 36 to represent the 28th Assembly District, which consisted of San Benito, Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. He became the youngest legislator to represent the Monterey Bay region in Sacramento. In November 2012, he was re-elected to the Assembly as the representative of the newly formed 30th Assembly District.
Alejo rose to serve in top leadership roles at the State Capitol as the Chair of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials (ESTM) Committee and the Chair of the powerful California Latino Legislative Caucus. He also served on the Assembly Budget, Judiciary, Labor and Employment, Veteran Affairs and Local Government Committees during his tenure in Sacramento.
Alejo also authored numerous landmark pieces of legislation. Over the six years in the Assembly, 76 of his bills were signed by Governor Jerry Brown and 16 resolutions were approved by the legislature. As a result of his work, Alejo was ranked “2013 Most Effective Democratic Assemblymember” by the Capitol Nooner and was awarded the “2015 Legislator of the Year” by the California League of Cities.