25-Year-Old Jocelyn Yow Is Youngest Woman Of Color to Serve As A Mayor In California

EASTVALE (CBSLA) — Eastvale Councilwoman Jocelyn Yow was officially sworn in this week as the mayor of Eastvale in Riverside County – the youngest woman of color to ever serve as mayor of a California city.

Yow, 25, was elected to the Eastvale City Council in 2018 and served as mayor pro tem before becoming mayor this year. She is the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee and a Malaysian immigrant who brought their family to settle down in Eastvale in 2011. Yow is also a new mother of a 6-month-old baby boy.

"Being a new mom to a 6-month-old further fuels my passion to serve my community," she said in a statement. "Local government makes decisions that affect our daily lives and is where we can directly see democracy in action."

Yow is a graduate of Norco College and UC Berkeley, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in government at Harvard Extension, according to the city's website. She may be only 25 years old, but has served as district representative for the California State Senate and as an aide for the U.S. House of Representatives. Yow is currently the policy manager for IGNITE, a national nonprofit working to elect more women to positions of power, according to city officials.

"It is crucial that we include the perspectives of young women and mothers while making important decisions that impact the families we serve," she said. "While I will be the youngest woman of color and one of the very few young mothers to serve as a mayor in the state of California, I am hopeful that more young women and mothers will follow suit."

Eastvale itself is a relatively new city, having only been formally incorporated in 2010.

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