Gail Pellerin
Gail Pellerin is one of California's most experienced and distinctive legislators — a former journalist, legislative staffer, elections administrator of nearly three decades, and tireless mental health advocate who arrived in Sacramento already knowing the Capitol's rhythms intimately. She was born on June 24, 1962, in Torrance, California, and has spent most of her adult life serving the communities of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.
Pellerin graduated from Santa Ynez Valley High School in 1980 before going on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from California Polytechnic State University in 1984. After graduating, she worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer, a campaign assistant, and a community college instructor — a varied early career that gave her a broad base of communication skills and civic instincts she would carry throughout her public life.
By March 1985, Pellerin was working in the California Legislature, eventually rising to become a top aide to longtime Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. She also served as assistant director for the California State Assembly Speaker's Office of Majority Services — giving her a deep, insider understanding of how legislation is crafted, negotiated, and passed that few county officials ever acquire.
In 1993, Pellerin made the transition from Capitol staffer to county official, taking on a role that would define the next chapter of her career. She served as the chief elections official in Santa Cruz County from 1993 until her retirement in December 2020, managing all elections conducted in the county and serving as Commissioner of Civil Marriage. She first served as elections manager, then as the county's clerk from 2004 until her retirement — and was unopposed in her elections as clerk. She served as President of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials from 2010 to 2012 and as co-chair of the Secretary of State's Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee. Widely respected by election administrators across the state, she became one of California's leading voices on voting rights, election integrity, and ballot access.
She made history when she was sworn into the Assembly in December 2022 as the first woman from Santa Cruz County to serve in the Legislature. She placed first in the primary with 35.9% of the vote and defeated Republican challenger Liz Lawler with 68% of the vote in the general election. She won a rematch against Lawler in November 2024 and her current term ends in December 2026.
Her district spans Santa Cruz County from the harbor north to the county line, plus Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Willow Glen, Cambrian Village, South San José, Almaden Valley, Coyote Valley, and Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County.
In the Assembly, Pellerin serves as Chair of the Assembly Elections Committee and Chair of the Select Committee on California's Mental Health Crisis, and is a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Business and Professions, Natural Resources, and Privacy and Consumer Protection.
Her personal life has profoundly shaped her legislative priorities. Pellerin became an outspoken advocate for suicide prevention awareness and mental health resources after her husband, Tom, died by suicide on November 19, 2018. She has served on the board of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and has been involved with Girls Inc., Women's Educational Success at Cabrillo College, and helped create the Cabrillo College Local Government Fellows program to encourage first-generation students to pursue careers in public service.
She has also been active with Emily's List, Breaking the Glass Ballot, and WILDR (Women in Leadership for Diverse Representation), organizations dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected and appointed office. She has a labradoodle named Darwin and two adult children. Pellerin brings to Sacramento something rare among legislators: the perspective of someone who has spent decades on the implementation side of democracy itself — ensuring that every vote is cast, counted, and counted fairly.