PITTSBURG — Mae Torlakson announced her campaign for state Assembly Monday, pledging to use her skills building higher-education partnerships with business and expanding area parks and hiking trails to be a voice for college affordability, environmental protection and economic opportunity.
Torlakson, a Democrat, will seek the 14th District seat held by Assembly member Susan Bonilla, who leaves office in 2016 due to term limits. Torlakson currently serves as the Corporate Partnerships Liaison of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program, which helps educationally disadvantaged students pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The University of California Department of Diversity and Engagement administers the MESA program for over 28,000 students in K-12, community colleges and universities.
“A college education is a gateway to opportunity, but too many students – young and old – find their paths forward blocked by high tuition, crowded classrooms and burdensome debt,” Torlakson said. “I’m asking my friends and neighbors to support my campaign for Assembly to help keep an education within reach for students today, and help keep California’s economy growing tomorrow.”
Since joining the University of California staff in 2000, Torlakson has served several roles in the MESA program over the last eight years, including Program Coordinator and Manager of Marketing and Resource Development.
A longtime advocate for community parks and open space, Torlakson 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.
Torlakson 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, Torlakson sang and recorded professionally, using her earnings to pay her tuition at the University of the Philippines. She immigrated to the United States in 1988 and became a U.S. citizen in 1994. Torlakson raised two children, both of whom graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
Torlakson 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, Torlakson was named one of the 100 most influential Filipinas in the U.S.
Torlakson is married to 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.
