California State Senate Chambers. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
Is Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes Serving as an Elected State Senator or Not?
Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes hasn’t been seen at the Capitol since Jan 1 – was she even sworn-in?
By Katy Grimes, June 24, 2025 3:04 pm
California State lawmakers and bureaucrats are appearing more and more like members of the Stalinist-era political elite in Eastern Europe, which enjoyed a gratuitous level of luxury, power and privilege.
Our lawmakers and appointed bureaucrats certainly are, as they snub requests for any government accountability. May 29, 2025 I sent a California Public Records Request to the Secretary of the State Senate Erika Contreras requesting information about Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Colton), Senate District 29, because she was not at the swearing-in session in December 2024, and has not shown up once since the beginning of the year – no committee hearings, no Senate floor sessions.
10 working days later, as required by the Legislative Open Records Act, I had not receive a response. I re-sent the records request, and received an acknowledgment. By 15 days, I re-sent the records request again. Finally I received a response to my request June 19.
Sen. Gomez Reyes’ official Senate website shows photos of her staff attending all kinds of district events, but not the Senator. Senate District 29 encompasses a large portion of San Bernardino County, including the cities of San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, and Upland.
I asked, “is the seat vacant?” Because all the information I have, including videos of committee hearings, is that Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes has never shown up for anything, including swearing-in, since swearing-in day, or the beginning of the year.
Every day the Senate Daily Journal has her absent. Her Senate seat in Senate Chambers is vacant. On swearing-in day Dec. 2, 2024, the Daily Journal says “absent due to family emergency.” It appears that she has never come to the Capitol since the election. All of the other days the Daily Journal says “absent due to illness.”
Was Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes even sworn-in?
I did not ask about the Senator’s health or medical information – just if she is serving or not. Senate Secretary Contreras pretty much blew off my request, attempting to hide behind the Senator’s right to personal privacy, and directing me to the Senate Daily Journal, which I already had. But Secretary Contreras’s response does not answer the question – every day the Daily Journal has her absent.
On swearing-in day Dec. 2 the Daily Journal says “absent due to family emergency.” All the other days it says “absent due to illness.”
I asked, “Is Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes serving as an elected State Senator or not?” for which I did not receive an answer.
The Globe finds no evidence of Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes being at the Capitol or committee hearings at all in 2025. And it appears that she was not sworn in. We sincerely hope she is well, but there are 1 million constituents who are not being served if she is not serving as the elected State Senator.
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Has anyone in the Building filed a missing person’s report? Where’s the one party state media on this?!
Astonishing!
How bizarre.
I hope she is okay too.
Does this stuff happen in any other state?
Remember a while ago the Secty of State who was found to be “living in a van down by the river” and (I think) also not showing up for work? Can’t remember her name.
Debra Bowen, SOS 2007-2015, Democrat; had been battling depression.
Hmmm, very interesting? It’s annoying that Democrat Secretary of the State Senate Erika Contreras blew off Katy Grimes’ request for information about Democrat Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes? Democrat lawmakers and their appointed bureaucrats not only snub requests for any government accountability but they also act like criminal thugs who are above the law?
Who is Democrat Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes? She graduated from Colton High School, earned an A.A. in liberal studies from San Bernardino Valley College in 1976, earned a bachelor’s in public administration in 1978, and a J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1981. According to her bio, she worked as an attorney who sued big corporations on behalf of injured workers.
She was first elected to the 47th Assembly district in 2016 by defeating fellow Democrat Cheryl Brown who she claimed was not progressive enough. She represented the 47th Assembly District from 2016 to 2022 and then the 50th Assembly District from 2022 to 2024 before being elected to the 29th Senatorial District in 2024 after beating Republican Carlos Garcia. She raised $1,569,997 in contributions during the 2024 election primarily from unions. She received endorsements from the public employee unions like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and far left groups like the California Working Families Party. Not surprisingly she’s a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus which is composed of radical far-left Democrats.
So where is she? Maybe she’s ill? Maybe waring cartels took her out like they do with politicians in Mexico? Whatever the reason for her absence, Democrat Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes and her staff need to be up front and honest with her constituents as to her whereabouts?
I did some research and read that she was diagnosed with cancer of some type a number of months ago.
Where did you see that? An AI search using ChatGPT and others couldn’t find any credible, up‑to‑date information indicating that Democrat State Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes has cancer. Official sources, including her Senate and Assembly websites, recent biographies, and press releases, make no mention of any cancer diagnosis.
When high-profile public figures receive serious health diagnoses—especially cancer—they or their offices typically release statements? In this case, there’s nothing like that available. It appears the senator should be actively representing Senate District 29 since there is no indication of illness?
If they all stayed home all the time the state would be better off.
Given the D/R margins, her absence will probably not matter, but if she was there, she would vote wrong ~100% of the time. Her absence is not hurting her constituents.
I am certainly not losing any sleep over a Democrat not showing up. Now if we can have the rest of the Democrats go MIA, the state could start heading in the right direction.