By Stephen Witt, Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando, Pacoima, Sylmar, Arleta, Panorama City, Sun Valley, North Hollywood, Mission Hills, North Hills) celebrated the grand opening of her new district office in the Northeast San Fernando Valley this weekend, telling constituents in an invitation that the space was designed specifically to be accessible — close to public transit, with ample parking, in the heart of the community she represents.
The open house, held Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the office’s new location at 501 S. Brand Blvd. on the corner of Hollister Street in San Fernando, drew residents, local organizations and state and local resource partners for a free, family-friendly event featuring community resource tables, refreshments and activities.
“This open house was specifically to make sure people know that we’re here to represent them and service their needs, connect them to their department,” Rodriguez told LACP at the grand opening. “Anything that is a challenge for them or a barrier for them, we’re able to take to Sacramento and create laws or vote accordingly. The community is always first. Sacramento is a tool to serve the community.”
For residents unsure of where to direct a given problem, Rodriguez offered a practical breakdown of what her office handles directly versus what falls under city or county jurisdiction.
Two state agencies generate the bulk of the office’s casework, she said: the Employment Development Department, which residents often turn to when navigating leave from a job or applying for disability insurance, and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Her office also works closely with Cal Fire, offering education and support for foothill and Sylmar-area communities that face heightened wildfire risk, and fields a steady stream of Caltrans-related concerns tied to freeway on- and off-ramps, which frequently sit at the intersection of city, county and state jurisdiction.
Even when an issue technically falls outside her office’s authority — a broken streetlight, a request for a speed bump — Rodriguez said her team still takes the call and routes it to the right city partner rather than turning residents away.
“We recognize our role is still a connection,” she said, adding that if a problem goes unresolved, her office will follow up directly with city contacts on a constituent’s behalf. She credited her own background in local government, including prior service in San Fernando city government, with shaping how seriously she takes that connective role.
“I know how important those things are to constituents, and how important their local council members are,” Rodriguez said. “Even today, we had someone talking to us about speed bumps. While we can’t help them specifically get those speed bumps, we can connect them to the office so that they can get that ball moving. That’s what they want — they want to be heard.”
Rodriguez grew up in Mission Hills and Pacoima and now raises her own family in San Fernando. She is a mother of three — an 11-year-old, a 6-year-old and a 5-month-old.
She traced her path into public service back to one of her first jobs, working for the City of San Fernando, where she said she first saw firsthand how much constituent services mattered to the people her office was meant to serve.
“That’s where I started,” she said, crediting her tight-knit support network of family and friends in the Northeast Valley, along with her husband, for making the balance of public office and parenthood possible.
