Anthony Rendon: Speaker, California Assembly.

• Author: Andrade, Jane Carroll
• Position: THE FINAL WORD

Anthony Rendon has worn many hats: educator, nonprofit executive director and environmental activist, to name a few. Elected to the California Assembly in 2012, Rendon was sworn in as its 70th speaker in March 2016. He attended Cerritos Community College before earning bachelor's and master's degrees from California State University, Fullerton. As a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, Riverside and completed postdoctoral work at Bostor University. Rendon served as adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at Cal State Fullerton. Under expanded term limits, Rendon, who won't term out until 2024, could lead the Assembly for eight years with the support of his party.

What is your leadership philosophy? I believe in empowering my colleagues to pursue issue areas they are passionate about. That often means taking a "hands-off" approach toward guiding policy in the house. Instead, I try to provide committee chairs the opportunity to drive policy proposals as they see most fit. Giving power to my colleagues gave us a historically successful session last year.

You've described yourself as a "terrible student." What turned it around? How do you account for your success, including earning a Ph.D.? It was all about finding a passion. I never found my high school classes very interesting. My intellectual curiosity wasn't sparked until a philosophy class I took in community college. That spark lit a fire that kept me going all the way to a Ph.D.

California is now the world's fifth largest economy. What are the main factors that contributed to the state's economic growth and what can other states learn from your experience? California has shown investing in our people is key to economic growth. We continue to support our world-class public higher education system, successfully implemented the Affordable Care Act to cut our uninsured rate in half, and created a state earned income tax credit that puts more money back in the pockets of the working poor. We've managed to do all that while also building financial reserves of upwards of $17 billion, larger than the general funds of 34 states.

Voters approved increasing the term limits in the California Legislature. How is that impacting the work and culture of the Assembly? I managed the campaign for an Assembly member who...