Lots of first-term legislators want to make their mark on Sacramento. Corey Jackson is poised to do so just by being there.
Barring a drastic late-hour shift in the vote count, the 40-year-old Democrat from Perris is set to become California’s first Black openly LGBTQ state lawmaker and the first African American to represent Riverside County in the Assembly.
He currently leads Republican Hector Diaz-Nava by more than 6,100 votes — 54.6% to 45.4% — in the 60th Assembly District, which includes Perris and Moreno Valley and parts of Riverside, San Jacinto and Hemet.
Countywide, about 67,000 ballots and 10,000 provisional ballots remain to be counted as of Thursday afternoon, Nov. 17. Jackson has led since election night in a district where Democratic voters make up a solid plurality.
See the latest election results.
Jackson, a Riverside County Board of Education trustee, said he plans to resign from the board at the end of the month.
“(I’m) extremely grateful to be able to take my service to the community to another level,” Jackson said. “(I’m) just grateful to the fact that my service to the community (and) my leadership to the community was recognized and (I) appreciate it.”
Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, an LGBTQ civil rights group, called Jackson’s win “an incredible, long overdue victory for our community, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
“Corey is a leading social justice advocate and nonprofit leader who has dedicated his career to combating poverty and violence,” Hoang said in a news release. “He will continue to fight for vulnerable communities and working families in the Assembly and bring transformational leadership and a unique policy perspective to the Legislature.”
A former student member of the California State University Board of Trustees, Jackson, who founded a nonprofit group aimed at lowering poverty and violence, said his win proves that “representation matters.”
“Whenever you’re the first in anything, before then, people didn’t think it would be possible,” he said. “And so hopefully this breaks down people’s thoughts about what’s possible for them. And then also making sure everyone understands the continued need … to bring various groups to the table.”
Jackson added: “Everyone deserves to be at the table when it comes to running for these types of offices … So my hope is that my tenure here will prove that nobody loses when someone other than yourself is at the table. It’s about their ability to serve people.”
Growing up in the Inland Empire, Jackson questioned whether people like him could win elected office.
“Before, being a part of the LGBTQ community in some places, being African American, would be a hindrance for you to win these offices,” Jackson said. “As a matter of fact, you could have had hit pieces on you if you were identified with these communities. And so what I think is that the Inland Empire is a new place of opportunity, It’s a new place of inclusion.”
Jackson, who said he’ll prioritize “making California affordable” in the Assembly, said he wants to be known “as a servant first and someone who continues to prioritize fighting for the most marginalized and oppressed populations in our region, and in our state.”
The Inland Empire could have at least one other LGTBQ lawmaker — Democrat Christy Holstege — in Sacramento.
Holstege led Republican Greg Wallis by 1,239 votes in results posted Wednesday night, Nov. 16, in the race for the 47th Assembly District, which includes the San Gorgonio Pass and cities in the Coachella Valley and High Desert along with parts of Redlands, Highland and San Jacinto.
