Maria Grijalva is focused on the issues families and educators are experiencing right now - and on building a school district where people feel valued, welcomed, and heard.
Issue 1: Valuing & Retaining Our Educators
Our teachers deserve the pay, support, and respect necessary to build lasting careers in our schools.
Issue 2: Protecting Every Family’s Voice
Every family, regardless of language, immigration background, or circumstance, deserves dignity, fair treatment, and responsive representation from district leadership.
Issue 3: Safe Schools with Parents at the Table
School safety and parent involvement should work together, with clear policies that protect students while keeping families connected to their schools.
Grijalva doesn’t wait for permission to serve - she steps up.
In her twenties, long before she ever held a government position, Grijalva became known as the person who would step forward whenever someone needed help. Whether waiting in line at a grocery store, a bank, or a government office, she would hear the question, "Does anyone speak Spanish?"—and without hesitation, she would raise her hand. She translated restraining orders, eviction notices, and many complex legal forms, because families in crisis shouldn't have to face bureaucracy alone.
What began as simple acts of kindness became a lifelong mission.
At the courthouse, Grijalva translated for residents struggling to understand legal documents, volunteering her time at self-help workshops to explain the system in language people could trust. She stood with laborers cheated out of their hard-earned wages, helping them file claims with the California Labor Commissioner. She walked alongside domestic violence survivors—escorted by police—so they could safely reclaim their belongings from dangerous situations. And when she saw immigrant families unfairly targeted by a landlord, she didn't stay silent.
While living in family student-housing at Sacramento State, she witnessed residents being disciplined for minor issues while others committing serious violations were overlooked. Grijalva stepped in to help families respond to eviction notices, guided them through unlawful detainer proceedings, and made sure they understood their housing rights.
She assisted entrepreneurs with business license applications, helped accident victims communicate with auto insurance companies, and guided countless families through government paperwork that would otherwise have been impossible to navigate. That same can-do spirit came in handy when she worked at Opening Doors Inc., where she implemented West Sacramento's Housing and Community Development Economic Development Block Grant. There, she directed the Microenterprise Technical Assistance program and ran the Business Development Academy—teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to build effective business plans from the ground up.
Maria turned compassion into action. She served 13 years as a state analyst. During the devastating floods of '97, she wrote a procedural manual for the Office of Emergency Services and served as Interim Director of Individual Assistance. At the Department of Motor Vehicles, she was a true change-maker—writing administrative law/regulations, volunteering as an EEO counselor to resolve workplace conflicts by promoting fairness and transparency. She united the community by chartering the DMV Toastmasters club and launching the agency's annual Cinco de Mayo celebration. The Toastmasters club still thrives today, helping employees develop leadership and public speaking skills.
When Grijalva realized that illiterate applicants couldn't access the driver's license manual to prepare for the oral exam, she didn't wait. She developed an audiobook app herself—and in 2016, the DMV adopted an online statewide audio version, opening doors for thousands of illiterate applicants.
She has served on the Board of Directors of: Yolo NAMI, Yolo Chapter ACLU, Sacramento Festival de la Familia, Sacramento Washington Neighborhood Center, and was founder of the annual West Sacramento Dia de los Muertos festivities. She served many years under former Senator Deborah Ortiz and former Assemblymember Kevin McCarty. Grijalva received certificates of recognition from: Senator Dr. Richard Pan’s Community Advisory Committee, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Yolo County Juror, and the Justice Cruz Reynoso Voter Registration Project. She is a union member of SEIU 2015 and former member of the West Sacramento League of Women Voters. She is politically registered as No Party Preference.
Today, Grijalva continues the same mission that began decades ago: solving problems for families, advocating for fairness, and making government work for the people.
She lives on Michigan Boulevard on a quarter-acre with twenty fruit trees she shares with her community. She has been married to her husband Jose for decades. She raised three children—one at home with mental health disabilities—and is a proud grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two. She knows exactly what is at stake for our families, because she has lived it.
Maria Grijalva — an action-oriented leader who protects families, delivers results, and is ready to serve.
