Full Biography for Cruz M. Bustamante

Candidate for
Lieutenant Governor

Biography:

Cruz M. Bustamante was born in the town of Dinuba January 1953, to Dominga and Cruz Bustamante Jr. The oldest of six children, Cruz grew up in the small rural town of San Joaquin, just south of Fresno.

After graduating from Tranquility High School in the town of Tranquility, Cruz attended Fresno City College and then Fresno State University, where he served in the Student Senate. While attending Fresno State, he had the opportunity to intern in Washington, D.C. for Congressman B.F. Sisk, which first sparked his interest in public service. Cruz's family worked extra hours in the fields of the Central Valley so he could afford to accept the internship.

Cruz worked for the Fresno Employment and Training Commission. Later, he became the Program Director of the Summer Youth Employment Training Program, which was responsible for employing over 3,000 Central Valley teenagers each summer. Cruz then worked as a district representative for Congressman Rick Lehman and Assemblyman Bruce Bronzan. In 1993, Cruz won the special election for Bronzan's open seat.

Cruz has served on the Assembly Appropriations, Budget, Insurance, Utilities & Commerce and Higher Education committees, and was also Democratic Caucus Chair. He was elected Speaker of the Assembly in December 1996 and served as Speaker until February of this year. Under his leadership, the Assembly cut middle class taxes, lowered class sizes, cut university and college fees 5%, moved 462,000 people off welfare, and took on gangs and illegal guns. In this last session of the Assembly, Bustamante authored legislation providing $1 billion for textbooks for California students, protecting job seekers from having to pay application fees and providing stable funding for higher education.

Cruz is married to the former Arcelia De La Pena. They have three daughters, Leticia, Sonia, and Marisa, a grandson, David, and a granddaughter, Lauren.