James Santa Maria, Founder of the Santa Maria Group

Explicit content warning

06/25/23 • 41 min

James Santa Maria brings more than 20 years of government, political, and public affairs experience to The Santa Maria Group.

James specializes in local government, focusing on the City and County of Los Angeles as well as other municipalities and public agencies throughout Southern California.

James founded the Santa Maria Group following a ten-year career in Los Angeles City government as chief of staff to two former City Council Members. He also served as a Deputy to Mayor Richard Riordan.

James also worked collaboratively on several key public- private partnerships with many developers that have brought commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects throughout Los Angeles.

James has delivered on government procurement and contracting opportunities with the City and County agencies including Public Works, LA Unified School District, LA Department of Water and Power, LA and Long Beach Ports, and the Los Angeles World Airport.

James also was the senior advisor on a wide range of issues from local district-focused community relations to issues of citywide importance such as the creation of the Housing Trust Fund, business tax reform, public safety and the City of Los Angeles’ $5 billion annual budget.

Get Ronin Project updates at this link:
https://mailchi.mp/a3a711ffa5ce/ronin-roll-call
Or chip in $10, $20, or $50 to the Ronin Project PAC to help elect pro-choice, pro-labor, pro-clean energy, and pro-diversity Asian American candidates for local, state, and federal offices at this link
https://www.efundraisingconnections.com/c/RoninProjectPAC
Thanks for listening, see you next week!
Subscribe and follow at:
Apple Podcasts | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Spotify

James Santa Maria brings more than 20 years of government, political, and public affairs experience to The Santa Maria Group.

James specializes in local government, focusing on the City and County of Los Angeles as well as other municipalities and public agencies throughout Southern California.

James also worked collaboratively on several key public- private partnerships with many developers that have brought commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects throughout Los Angeles.

Previous Episode

Dr. Jasmeet Bains, CA State Assemblymember

Dr. Jasmeet Bains was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2022 to represent the Central Valley’s 35th Assembly District.
Assemblymember Bains worked as a family doctor providing primary healthcare to families throughout the Valley.
Dr. Bains also serves as a volunteer with Global Family, an organization dedicated to combating human trafficking and child abuse, on the San Joaquin Valley Air District’s Environmental Justice Advisory group, working to improve our Valley’s air and water quality and on the Taft College Foundation, fighting to expand access to higher education.
Dr. Bains is the daughter of immigrant parents from India. After graduating from medical school, she returned home and completed her residency at Clinica Sierra Vista in Kern County, choosing to work in underserved healthcare settings to increase access to healthcare.

Next Episode

Professor Sara Sadhwani, Pomona College

Sara Sadhwani is an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College, specializing in American politics and race and ethnic politics, and a commissioner on the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission. She is also serving as a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Bill Lane Center for the American West.

Her research examines voting behavior, elections, voting rights, public opinion, public policy, and interest groups, with an emphasis on the representation of racial, ethnic and immigrant communities.

She has been published in the Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, Politics, Groups and Identities, and Perspectives on Politics.

She earned her doctorate in political science from the University of Southern California and was the recipient of the Haynes-Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation.

She holds appointments as a senior researcher at AAPI Data, a member of the executive council for the Western Political Science Association, and a faculty fellow at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy.