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Headshot of Liz Ortega

Liz Ortega

Democrat, State Assembly
District 20, Hayward
Time in office:
  • Assembly: 2022-present

News coverage of Liz Ortega

Bio

Liz Ortega, 48, is a labor activist-turned-legislator who chairs the Labor and Employment Committee. She was the first Latina to be elected executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council. Before taking office, she was statewide political director for AFSCME Local 3299, the University of California’s largest employee union. She authored a law that requires public high schools to teach students their workplace rights including how to unionize. She lives in San Leandro with her husband and daughter.

Ideology

Left

Moderate

Right

Bill Activity

0

Of 35 bills:
6 Passed
10 Failed
19 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 35 bills: 6 passed, 10 failed, and 19 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

Financials

This feature tracks three sources of money intended to help a candidate win election: 1-Money given directly to a candidate’s committee, 2-Money given to an Independent Expenditure Committee, 3-Money given to a political party. (NOTE: Senators are elected every four years. Twenty of the 40 Senators are on the ballot in even-numbered years, so Senators may do little or no fundraising in the first two-year session of their Senate term).

Election

This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).

Communications & Electronics

$5.5K

Energy & Natural Resources

$6.0K

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

$21.0K

General Business

$7.5K

Government Agencies/Education/Other

$32.6K

Health

$3.0K

Ideology/Single Issue

$17.5K

Labor

$476.5K

Lawyers & Lobbyists

$24.1K

Party

$1.1K

Transportation

$2.8K

Uncoded

$122.9K

Unitemized Contributions

$191.0K

Candidate Donations

Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $5,500 for the primary and for the general elections.

Total
$911.6K

93.0% higher than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total
$315.0

100.0% lower than the average legislators

Grand Total for Elections

$911.9K

62.0% higher than the average legislators

This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.


Influence

There are three categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The three categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel, 3-Behests.

Giver
Value
Date
Description
California Democratic Party$61.78Nov 9, 2022Lunch

Gifts

Legislators are not allowed to accept gifts of more than $10 per month from registered lobbyists. Gifts from any other single source are limited to $590 in a calendar year.

Gift Received Rating
#104/120

This legislator is ranked 104th highest for the amount of personal gifts received.

Hearings

Featured Comments

Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.

Preview image for AB 5966MIN
Sep 12, 2025

AB 596

Elections: ballot disclosures.

Preview image for AB 11363MIN
Sep 11, 2025

AB 1136

Employment: immigration and work authorization.

Preview image for AB 59613MIN
Sep 11, 2025

AB 596

Elections: ballot disclosures.

Preview image for AB 68236SEC
Sep 10, 2025

AB 682

Health care coverage reporting.

Preview image for AB 13291MIN
Sep 10, 2025

AB 1329

Workers’ Compensation: Subsequent injuries payments.

Preview image for AB 11365MIN
Sep 10, 2025

AB 1136

Employment: immigration and work authorization.

Preview image for AB 59613MIN
Sep 10, 2025

AB 596

Elections: ballot disclosures.

Preview image for AB 3392MIN
Sep 8, 2025

AB 339

Local public employee organizations: notice requirements.

Preview image for AB 45554SEC
Sep 4, 2025

AB 455

Real estate: environmental hazards: thirdhand smoke.

Preview image for AB 81546SEC
Aug 28, 2025

AB 815

Vehicle insurance: vehicle classification.

Preview image for AB 6827MIN
Jul 16, 2025

AB 682

Health care coverage reporting.

Preview image for AB 11366MIN
Jul 15, 2025

AB 1136

Employment: immigration and work authorization.

View All Hearings

District

View of map with yellow overlay for Assembly District 20 boundaries.
District 20 is a Safe Democratic District
Democratic Party candidate has a very high likelihood of winning in an election

Previous Election (2024):

Liz Ortega
72.9%
WON
Sangeetha Shanbhogue
27.1%

Party Registration

Census Data

Median age0102030

Median age