Congressman Tony Cárdenas, the first person of color to represent the San Fernando Valley in the U.S. Congress, has announced he will not seek reelection in 2024.
On Monday morning, the teary-eyed congressman said his decision is based on a desire to spend more time with his family and usher in the next generation of leaders after 28 years of public service.
His departure will open up a race for a seat in the heavily Democratic 29th District, which includes the cities of San Fernando, Van Nuys, Pacoima, Arleta, Panorama City, Sylmar, and parts of Sun Valley and North Hollywood.
Cárdenas has endorsed as his successor state Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who is seeking to follow in his footsteps by becoming the first Latina to represent the district.
“I want to take this moment to thank so many people who believed in me, supported me and helped me be a representative of the Northeast San Fernando Valley,” Cárdenas said, “a community that I love, a community that gave so much to me and my ten brothers and sisters and that welcomed two immigrants from Mexico to make a life in the imperfect, but the greatest country on the planet.”
At his Monday press conference attended by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, he delivered a heartfelt speech reflecting on his career, surrounded by his family at Andrés and María Cárdenas Elementary School in Van Nuys. Cárdenas helped open the school in 2010 while serving on Los Angeles City Council. He requested it be named after his parents who immigrated from the U.S. to Mexico in pursuit of a better life for their family.
Although his parents never studied beyond the second grade, he says they were his greatest teachers.
“(They) taught all of us 11 children ‘Always be good,’ ‘If you give your word, you keep it,’ ‘Always help others,’ ‘Never, ever believe that you cannot do the right thing’,” he said. “Those are the values that have allowed me to be awarded the honor to be voted into office, time and time…
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