Tara Sreekrishnan’s Journey Fuels Her State Assembly Campaign

Photo: Tara Sreekrishnan is running for the California State Assembly in District 26 as a Democrat.

By REENA RATHORE

CUPERTINO, CA – Tara Sreekrishnan’s journey to public service began at an unlikely place and long before she decided to run for the California State Assembly. Growing up in Santa Clara County, Sreekrishnan started volunteering in local schools alongside her mother, a now-retired school librarian. “At times, at a young age I was voluntold,” she recalled to India-West, “but I loved it. I’m proud to carry on her legacy in public education.” This early exposure to community service planted the seeds for her deep commitment to serving others.

Sreekrishnan, who currently serves as state senator Dave Cortese’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director, is vying for the Assembly District 26 seat, which includes Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and parts of San Jose. The seat opened up when incumbent Democrat Evan Low launched a run for Congress.

Sreekrishnan’s candidacy is historic in several ways. If elected, she would be the first Hindu woman in the California Assembly and the only Asian American woman to represent the Bay Area.

Having already broken barriers as the first Indian American and South Asian American elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Education, Sreekrishnan understands the significance of representation in leadership, stating: “I understand what it means to break glass ceilings. And I’m proud to be in this fight.”

But her ambitions go far beyond symbolic milestones. She carries the weight of her community’s struggles with her, determined to be a voice for those who feel unseen in the corridors of power.

“I’m the daughter of two immigrants that came to this country (from Kerala), this district, and overcame poverty and found a better life and found access to the American Dream,” she shared, adding that her family, which includes her engineer father and physician brother, is her greatest support system. “I know the strength of this community, but I also know that families today don’t have the opportunities that my family had. That is why I’m running —to be a voice for our community.”

Sreekrishnan’s voice, gentle yet commanding, speaks with the conviction of someone who has weathered personal storms and emerged stronger. Her platform is rooted in her own life experiences, from growing up in a working-class immigrant family to overcoming personal and professional challenges as a cancer survivor and a woman of color.

“I was misdiagnosed in our healthcare system, and hospital system doesn’t always meet the needs of women. This experience taught me how critical it is for women to stand up for ourselves,” she noted, emphasizing her commitment to healthcare reform and women’s rights. “I know firsthand how quality, affordable healthcare can make the difference between life and death….I think that lack of health care and adequate mental health and addiction support with insurers repeatedly cutting off and denying treatment, I think that it leads to and it’s directly tied to our public safety crisis, our homelessness crisis, our cost of living crisis.”

And even though she has held a variety of government roles, she acknowledged she has faced discrimination in the workplace.

“As an Indian American woman, I’m often the only person that looks like me in these different decision-making rooms. I have worked at the city, county, and state, and I’m a county elected official. I’ve served as a policy director, a legislative director, a communications director, a deputy chief of staff, a chief of staff, an outreach director, and hope to serve as your next state assemblywoman. And so, I think it’s very important for folks in our community to be engaged and fight for their voices to be heard,” she asserted.

Affordable healthcare. Quality education. Housing and economic opportunity. These aren’t just political talking points for Sreekrishnan — they’re the cornerstones of a life she’s fought for, and the promises she is now making to her district. “We need experienced legislators who know how to solve problems. As a California legislative director, I’ve seen what’s working and what’s not working,” she explained. “I think it’s so important for someone who holds the seat to be a fighter for working people and to be a fighter against special interests.”

Education is a sacred mission for Sreekrishnan, who currently serves as a trustee on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, which she considers as a social safety net for students, focusing on special education, alternative education, and mental health.

Here, she’s led bold initiatives, including securing investments for mental health programs and addressing the digital divide in education. “We serve over 270,000 public school students. We manage a balanced budget of $300 million. I’m proud to say that we’ve never gone out for a new tax or bond during my time on the board. But we’ve still been able to provide high quality learning for students,” she told India-West. “We’ve launched 20 health and wellness centers across the county, built advisory groups with a focus on mental health, and we were the first county office of ed in the state to launch a school health clinic.”

One of her proudest legislative accomplishments under Sen. Cortese’s office is spearheading a bill to train educators to use Narcan to combat the Fentanyl crisis, which was signed into law.

 “We sent 15 bills to the governor’s desk last year that were signed into law. They were focused on safety, water conservation, affordable housing, workers’ rights, workplace violence prevention,” she noted. “The bill SB 10 is about training educators and staff at school sites around Narcan and Naloxone and opioid antagonists to fight our youth Fentanyl crisis. That work saved lives, and I’m honored by that.”

She is a strong advocate for expanding funding for early learning programs, childcare, and the early education workforce, saying, “These are the tools that can help uplift families into the middle class.”

Her passion for uplifting the next generation also shines through in her environmental advocacy. As the co-founder of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action — which has garnered her widespread support from climate organizations — she’s empowered hundreds of students to be stewards of environmental sustainability. “I was inspired by students that saw real time destruction of our natural planet,” said Sreekrishnan, who has taken on corporations like Lehigh Cement. “They have been more anxious than ever dealing with the onslaught of environmental challenges that they face. And what I found is giving them a pathway to creating change in their community and simply giving them a little bit of guidance has given our young people hope. And it’s expanded their horizons.”

Sreekrishnan’s campaign is as diverse as the district she aims to represent.

“I’m the only woman and person of color in this race. I’m running in a majority-minority district,” Sreekrishnan told India-West. “I’ve overcome tough challenges in my life. And that’s only strengthened my resolve to take on the biggest problems in California.”

She highlighted that the district is composed of fifty percent Asian Americans, 7 percent Latinx, and 3 percent African Americans, making it one of the most diverse in the state and the nation, stating, “My path and my story relates to folks across this district. I think we can be a model of diversity and diversity in thought and leadership for the nation.”

For voters feeling disconnected from state politics, she urged engagement: “It’s so important to follow what your local candidates and politicians are doing, because it will directly impact you… do your research, follow the money that’s flowing into these races, and to make sure you’re making an educated decision at the ballot box,” she said.

As she runs an energized grassroots campaign, bolstered by educators, nurses, caregivers and working families, Sreekrishnan remains laser-focused on her mission. “I’m honored by the diversity in our support of the campaign. We’re fighting a lot of powerful special interests, including utilities, big banks, big oil and so much more,” she said. “But I will always fight for what’s right, and I’ll always stand up to those powerful special interests.”