LaShae Sharp-Collins, an alumna of San Diego State University and former adjunct professor in the university’s Department of Africana Studies, currently serves as the assembly member for California’s 79th District, which includes SDSU.
According to her campaign website, she focuses on issues such as affordable housing, accessible health care and improvements to the education system.
Since taking the oath last December, Sharp-Collins has put forward her Working for Families bill package that aims to combat affordability issues for California residents.
The package provides solutions to problems that her constituents directly asked her to address, Sharp-Collins said. “The bill itself is a reflection of you, me and the whole district.”
Her official assembly website outlines changes that the package would implement including strengthened protections for CalFresh benefits, regulations on towing fees and increased funding for community college support programs.
Sharp-Collins taught in the Africana studies program at SDSU, the very program where she earned her bachelor’s degree, delivering courses that challenged students to view issues through a social justice lens.
This marked the beginning of Sharp-Collins’ work toward building a California that her campaign website describes as, “a more affordable California with social justice at its core.”
As a San Diego native, Sharp-Collins has observed the needs of the district firsthand.
“I’m deeply rooted and my heart is in the district,” she said.
According to Sharp-Collins, her perspective as an assembly member is a unique one because she brings forth hands-on knowledge of her constituency that many elected officials can’t.
Sharp-Collins, as a single mother of two, relates directly to the issues that concern San Diego parents. When analyzing the needs of her district, she learns through her children’s experiences as well.
“I understand it not just through what I went through, but also what my kids go through and continue to go through,” she said.
Still, Sharp-Collins also makes it a priority to hear from and acknowledge the needs of her constituents no matter their background.
“I am you, you are me,” Sharp-Collins said. “We may not have the same exact stories but there’s a lot of things that we share in.”
Michael Lucien, Sharp-Collins’ chief of staff, sees her ability to connect to the public as one of her greatest strengths. He said that Sharp-Collins has a passion that shines through whenever she’s working with her constituents.
“She, more than anything else, is a person who happens to be a member, and not a member who is also a person,” Lucien said.
He also describes a typical day in her life as “a symphony of organized chaos.”
Her campaign was a true grassroots effort, and not without its challenges, especially because of the large sum of money her opponent poured into the race. In the primary, Sharp-Collins secured her place in the general election by a margin of just 0.2% of the vote, while her future opponent, Colin Parent secured nearly 10% more votes.
Despite Parent’s decisive victory in the primary, Sharp-Collins didn’t change much in preparation for the general election.
She explained that she continued “to push my clear understanding of what the issues were and, actually, still are to this very day.”
Sharp-Collins hopes to continue to serve as the 79th District’s assembly member until she reaches her 12-year term limit. Currently, she doesn’t plan to run for a higher government position.
“My main focus right now is just to make sure I do a great job serving the community in my current capacity,” Sharp-Collins said. “I’m not in this for me. I’m in this for all of us.”
As she looks ahead toward the rest of her time as an assembly member, Sharp-Collins continues to apply her class content to her own life. She stresses the importance of branding yourself and creating the image of yourself that you want to create.
“Own your brand. You have to be you,” Sharp-Collins said. “Do not change and be true to who you are. Always be yourself.”