Claremont Councilor Jed Leano running for California State Assembly in ‘24

Claremont City Councilmember Jed Leano will be in a three-way race for the State Assembly. (City of Claremont)

Claremont, California Councilmember Jed Leano, the city’s second Filipino American mayor in history, threw in his hat for the 41st State Assembly seat in 2024, as longtime Assemblyman Chris Holden terms out.

Leano will run against Pasadena City Councilor Felicia Williams and former Pasadena Police Lt. Dr. Phlunté Riddle.

Leano was elected to the council in 2018, and in 2021 became Claremont’s second Filipino mayor.

“As Mayor during the pandemic, I fought for small business owners, renters, home owners, and seniors during this time of crisis,” Leano said in a video release. . He said his priorities would be mental health issues and affordable housing.

“Too many Californians live on the edge,” he said. “People are working harder than ever, but can barely keep up – let alone get ahead. Wages have hardly risen as prices skyrocket, especially rents. It’s hard to pursue the American Dream when you’re struggling to keep a roof over your head.”

Leano is the chair of the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust Board and the Tri-City Mental Health Board, which partnered with the Claremont Police Department in 2021 to create a team of psychiatric first responders, the Whittier Daily News reported.

Leano is a longtime Pasadena, California immigration lawyer specializing in defending deportation cases of people seeking refugee protection.