District 1
Councilwoman Mary Zendejas
Committees
Arts, Culture, and Tourism (Chair)
Economic Development and Opportunity (Vice Chair)
Government Operations and Efficiency (Member)
External Committees
Gateway Cities Council of Government (Member)
Metro Gateway Cities Service Council (Member)
Biography
Mary Zendejas was elected into office for her first full term in 2023 and sworn into office on December 20, 2023. At the time of 2019 Special Election victory, she was the first Latina wheelchair user to be elected to office in the nation. She has never met a challenge she couldn’t tackle and overcome. As an infant, she was diagnosed with Polio, and later in High School started using a wheelchair daily. Her passion for living and working hard is rooted in seeing her parents, a field hand and factory worker, provide their children a better life. Their hard-work allowed Mary to go to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and become the first in her family to graduate from college.
Her advocacy dates back nearly three decades starting in high school, where she organized citizenship fairs to help community members follow their American Dream of becoming US citizens. Read the Full Bio Now.
