# Member of the State Assembly, District 53 Compare records and positions simply between Michelle Rodriguez or Rafaela Romero for Member of the State Assembly, District 53 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: California Legislature - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-53 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 97 out of 100 (Very strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Michelle Rodriguez** — Assemblymember/Mom · Democratic · Incumbent - **Rafaela Romero** — Special Education Aide · Republican Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez took 62.3% of the June 2 vote and Republican Rafaela Romero took 37.7%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Pomona and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. The winner holds one of 80 Assembly seats for a two-year term, inside a 12-year lifetime cap on service in Sacramento. An Assemblymember authors bills, sits on the policy committees that decide which bills advance, and argues for the district's share of the annual state budget. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership. The incumbent has one of the stronger enacted records on this ballot and one of the most institutional funding profiles — no small-donor total reported at all, and more than 96 cents of every dollar from committees and organizations. Weigh the record against the funding, and note that the challenger's campaign is under $4,000. ## Michelle Rodriguez Michelle Rodriguez, the Democratic Assemblymember for the 53rd District, is a lifelong resident of the area who was born and raised in Ontario (Assembly biography). Before Sacramento, she worked in public schools and health care (Assembly biography). She earned a Medical Assistant Certification from Northwest College and worked as a security professional for the Chaffey and Bonita Unified school districts (Assembly biography). She is married to former Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez and is a former member of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (Assembly biography). She describes herself as "a survivor of gun violence, a Neighborhood Watch organizer, and a dedicated public servant" (Assembly biography). She says she draws on "lived experience, compassion, and resolve" in her legislative work (Assembly biography). She authored Assembly Bill 463, which "authorizes emergency medical technicians to transport police canines injured in the line of duty" (Assembly biography). Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law (Assembly biography). She also authored Assembly Bill 943, which "modernizes insurance prelicensing education" (Assembly biography). And she authored Assembly Bill 391, which lets mobile-home residents "receive residency law contracts electronically" (Assembly biography). She serves as Assistant Majority Whip and sits on the Banking and Finance, Insurance, and Revenue and Taxation committees, among others (Assembly biography). **Strengths:** A specific enacted bill protecting injured police dogs, plus committee leadership as Assistant Majority Whip and years of work in public safety and health care. **Trade-offs:** Her record centers on public safety and insurance rules, so voters looking for a broader legislative record have less to compare it against. **Keep in mind:** She is a former member of the state board that certifies police officers, which shapes her public safety focus and is worth weighing on its own terms. ## Rafaela Romero Rafaela Romero is a Republican who works as a special education aide (Ballotpedia). They have not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. No campaign website or news coverage of Romero's platform could be located. What is known about Romero comes from Romero's ballot designation as a special education aide and Republican candidate (Ballotpedia). **Strengths:** Current experience working in special education, one documented detail about Romero's background. **Trade-offs:** No documented record in any office, and no platform information beyond their ballot designation could be found. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website or news coverage of their platform could be located. What is known comes from their ballot designation as a special education aide. ## Record in office Michelle Rodriguez (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 34 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 13 of them signed into law. Rafaela Romero has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Record details Rodriguez — AB 1781 (2026): Federal Home Loan Banks. Rodriguez — AB 2641 (2026): Sales and use taxes: exclusion: pawnbrokers: transfer of vested property. Rodriguez — AB 1571 (2026): Product safety: recreational water safety: wearable personal flotation devices: infants and children. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Michelle Rodriguez** - Primary: $839,144 raised (Individuals: $28,900; PACs & committees: $412,550; Businesses & other orgs: $396,300) - November: $24,900 raised (Individuals: $2,500; PACs & committees: $4,000; Businesses & other orgs: $18,400) - **Rafaela Romero** - Primary: $3,840 raised (Small donors: $189; Individuals: $1,571; Self-funding: $2,024) - November: No itemized funding reported yet. Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21. Rafaela Romero has no itemized contributions dated after the June 2, 2026 primary reported to Cal-Access yet. Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez — Official Biography (career background, bills, committees)](https://a53.asmdc.org/biography) 4. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) 5. [Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State](https://www.sos.ca.gov/campaign-lobbying/helpful-resources/raw-data-campaign-finance-and-lobbying-activity) ## The rest of the ballot Member of the State Assembly, District 53 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Member of the State Assembly, District 53 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/assembly-53 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.