Mae Cendana Torlakson might make some history as the first Filipina elected to the State Assembly

Mae Cendana Torlakson is running for the California Assembly, 14th District.

MAE CENDANA TORLAKSON could make history if she is elected to the California State Assembly. If she wins the seat representing part of Contra Costa County, the 14th Assembly District, she would become the first Filipina/American in that legislative body.

That's a big step for someone best known in her native Philippines as a recording rock artist.

I've known Torlakson since she moved to Contra Costa about 10 years ago. She immediately made it known that she wanted to be involved in her community. The issue that brought her to my attention was her interest in developing the waterfront of Bay Point for recreational purposes.

Rather than providing input from the peanut gallery, she realized that she needed to be part of the solution. That's why she ran to be a member of the board of the local park district, the Ambrose Park & Recreational District. She won.

The following is from her campaign webpage:

Mae Torlakson’s passion for providing young people with educational opportunities by building partnerships with business reflects the progressive and pragmatic leadership she brings to the issues of college affordability, environmental protection and economic opportunity.

As the Corporate Partnerships Liaison of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program, Mae Torlakson helps educationally disadvantaged students pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Mae has served several roles at MESA since joining the University of California staff in 2000, including Program Coordinator and Manager of Marketing and Resource Development.

A longtime advocate for community parks and open space, Mae chairs and is serving her third elected term on the board of the Ambrose Recreation and Park District, which provides recreation services to 28,000 residents of Bay Point and the Oak Hills community of Pittsburg.

Mae also serves as chair of the Friends of the Delta Trail, and led advocacy and fundraising efforts that secured $4.5 million for the Great California Delta Trail, which seeks to create a continuous trail network through five Delta counties while protecting sensitive habitat. She also serves as President of the Bay Point Garden Club and has been a Neighborhood Watch block captain.

Born in the Philippines, Mae sang and recorded professionally, using her earnings to pay her tuition at the University of the Philippines, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree. She immigrated to the United States in 1988 and became a U.S. citizen in 1994. Mae raised two children, both of whom graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

 Mae has long been active in Asian and Pacific Islander community organizations, including the Filipina Women’s Network. The first Filipina elected to public office in Contra Costa County, she was named one of the 100 most influential Filipinas in the U.S. 

Mae shares her passion for public service with her husband, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who represented the region in the State Assembly and Senate before winning statewide office in 2010. They live in the Contra Costa County community of Pittsburg.

Being married to Tom Torlakson, California's Superintendent of Public Instruction, has its advantages. First off, name recognition is very high because her husband was also the area's county supervisor, assemblyman and state senator before taking on the education post. 

She's also worked hard to carve out a name in her own right. She has garnered the endorsements from just about all the Democratic office holders in the county. Those endorsements come in handy in a district that is heavily Democratic. She also has been endorsed by the lone Filipino/American assemblyman, Rob Bonta, of Oakland, who was the first Filipino elected to the state Assembly.

"I will work hard to represent our community well and be a voice for the working families of my district, concentrating on improving educational opportunity and college affordability, providing good jobs and protecting the environment," said Torlakson. 

Her opponents, thus far, include fellow Democrats: another Asian American, Satinder Malhi, who is currently the chief of staff for the 14th District Assembly member Susan Bonilla, who is being termed out; and Mayor Tim Grayson of Concord. 

During college, back in the 80s, she had a rock hit on Manila's record charts, "Hoy Lalake" (Hey, Man) - considered by some as an early tribute to the women's liberation movement in the Philippines. 

“I wanted to pursue my singing — and I loved doing it,” Torlakson said in an interview with the Philippine newspaper Inquirer. “But I made sure that my two children who were with me had the benefits, and so I needed a real job.”

Since then, she has limited her singing gigs to karaoke at family get-togethers with a preference for Gloria Estefan. "Right now," jokes Torlakson, "it would be Donna Summer's 'She works hard for the money,'" referring to her campaign fundraising efforts.

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