Pedro Nava

Pedro Nava was elected to the State Assembly in 2004, representing the 35th Assembly District, Santa Barbara and Ventura. He has shown a strong commitment to public safety, consumer protection and the environment.

The Ventura County La Conchita tragedy cost 10 people their lives and buried 30 homes under a tsunami of mud. Nava became responsible for coordinating emergency response and recovery legislation in the State Assembly. He has served as the Chair of the Joint Senate/Assembly Committee on Emergency Management, and during his 5 years on the committee, merged two departments -the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security -- into one, CalEMA (the California Emergency Management Agency). He is a member of the California Emergency Council, which serves as the official advisory body to the Governor during times of emergency and on matters pertaining to preparedness.

As a prosecutor in Fresno County, he headed the Targeted Narcotics Prosecution/Asset Seizure program, served on the Rape Crisis Center board of directors and was the first non-peace officer named “Peace Officer of the Year” by the Latino Peace Officers Association. In Santa Barbara he worked in the Consumer Business Law Section of the DA’s office. As a lawmaker, he has authored bills to protect victims’ personal information from sexual violent predators and give prosecutors the tools to keep these criminals off our streets.

Following his career in law enforcement, Pedro was a civil litigator, primarily representing health care practitioners in medical cases.

Nava has distinguished himself for his record on animal protection legislation. In 2009, he authored and successfully passed three animal anti-cruelty bills.

He’s well respected in the environmental community, earning one of the highest environmental protection voting records while on the California Coastal Commission. Since his election, he has introduced important legislation to protect the environment. Some of his work includes banning the use of lead ammo in the endangered California Condor habitat, the establishment of a comprehensive oil spill prevention program, and opposition to offshore oil.

Before becoming a prosecutor, Pedro worked on behalf of the hard core unemployed, helping them find jobs.

Born in 1948, and living in Santa Barbara, Pedro attended public schools in Southern California. He graduated from California State University, San Bernardino, and obtained his law degree from the University of California, Davis’ Martin Luther King Jr. School of Law.

Pedro has a long history of community involvement, having been President of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, and the Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and serving as a Board Member of Santa Barbara Women Lawyers, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Santa Barbara Jewish-Latino Roundtable and as an Honorary Board Member of the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. Pedro was also a recipient of the first Women's Economic Ventures "Man of Equality" award.