Sandré R. Swanson was born November 28, 1948 in Oakland, California. A Democrat from Oakland, he was elected to the Assembly in 2006. He served three terms in the Assembly where he was Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee, the Budget Committee, the Subcommittee on Education Finance, Committee on Utilities and Commerce, and the State Workforce Investment Board. Prior to the Assembly he served his community as Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Chief of Staff after working for 25 years as the District Director and Senior Policy Advisor to former Congressman Ron Dellums. He is an expert in the fields of labor, education, and budget reform. Following his work in the Assembly, he served as Deputy Mayor for the City of Oakland.