Darshana Patel Sworn-in as State Assembly Member From California’s 76th District
- The Indian American research scientist and Poway Unified School District board member defeated Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane in a tight race in the Nov. 5 election.
Darshana Patel took the oath of office as a new member of California’s State Assembly for the 76th District last week. “I was sworn in as the Assembly member for AD 76, ready to serve our community and champion the issues that matter most,” Patel wrote in a Facebook post on Dec. 2. “Every voice in our district deserves to be heard, and every concern deserves thoughtful action. I have already gotten to work, turning our shared values into policies that create real, lasting impact. Together, we will shape a future we can all be proud of.”
Patel, a research scientist and Poway Unified School District board member, defeated Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane in a tight race in the Nov. 5 election. The Indian American was “ far from a shoo-in for the seat, which represents a district with stronger Republican voting power than just a couple of years ago,” The Coast News reported at the time. The state’s 2021 district redrawing effort moved much of the 77th district into the 76th, which now represents San Marcos, Escondido, Rancho Santa Fe, Carmel Valley, Carmel Mountain Ranch and Rancho Bernardo.
The daughter of immigrants, Patel moved to California when she was a teen. She was drawn to the medical and health research fields, after losing her mother suddenly at age 14, according to her website. She earned a B.A. in Biochemistry at Occidental College and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, Irvine. Following a successful career in biotechnology research, she worked to find other ways to give back to her community.
Patel ran for the Poway Unified School District in 2016, “when it struggled because of financial mismanagement and criminal embezzlement,” her website says. As an elected trustee, she has “helped restore effective governance and fiscal responsibility to the school district, while guiding local schools through the COVID-19 pandemic,” the website adds. She was re-elected in 2020. She lives in San Diego with her husband their three daughters.