Jose Medina

For other people with the same name, see José Medina.

Jose Medina (born March 29, 1953) is an American educator and politician who served in the California State Assembly.^[1] He is a Democrat who represented the 61st Assembly District, which encompassed parts of northwestern Riverside County and includes the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris and Mead Valley.

Jose Medina
Member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 7, 2025
Preceded by	Kevin Jeffries
Member of the California State Assembly from the 61st district
In office December 3, 2012 – November 30, 2022
Preceded by	Norma J. Torres
Succeeded by	Tina McKinnor (redistricted)
Personal details
Born	(1953-03-29) March 29, 1953 (age 72) Panama
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Riverside, California
Alma mater	University of California, Riverside (BA) (MA)
Profession	Teacher

Medina was the Chair of the Higher Education Committee^[2] and a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he was a teacher at Riverside Poly High School and a Riverside Community College District Trustee.

In 2018, Jose Medina secured $9.7 million in state funds^[3] through a budget allocation in the 2019 State Budget, signed by then California Governor Jerry Brown^[4] to support the development of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture and Industry of the Riverside Art Museum, also known as "The Cheech." The Cheech will reside in the City of Riverside and be a permanent home for Cheech Marin's collection of Chicano art, making it the most prominent collection of its kind in the United States.^[5]

2014 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2014

California's 61st State Assembly district election, 2014

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	13,631	43.8
	Republican	Rudy Aranda	12,942	41.6
	Democratic	D. Shelly Yarbrough	4,549	14.6
Total votes			31,122	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	34,160	58.8
	Republican	Rudy Aranda	23,973	41.2
Total votes			58,033	100.0
	Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly election, 2016

California's 61st State Assembly district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	45,888	67.3
	Republican	Hector Diaz	22,281	32.7
Total votes			68,169	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	90,663	65.9
	Republican	Hector Diaz	46,924	34.1
Total votes			137,587	100.0
	Democratic hold

2018 California State Assembly

See also: California State Assembly election, 2018

California's 61st State Assembly district election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	36,442	99.4
	Republican	Ali Mazarei (write-in)	212	0.6
Total votes			36,654	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	75,327	67.8
	Republican	Ali Mazarei	35,821	32.2
Total votes			111,148	100.0
	Democratic hold

2020 California State Assembly

2020 California's 61st State Assembly district election

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jose Medina (incumbent)	51,402	66.2%
	Republican	Ali Mazarei	26,250	33.8%
Total votes