This press release was sent out Friday, this is why blogging as been pretty sporadic and not even close to routine.
Assemblyman Knight Announces Staff Changes
PALMDALE – After two successful years in the Legislature with the same staff that he started with, Assemblyman Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley) begins his second term of office with a slightly different staff line-up.
In Knight’s Palmdale Office, District Director Larry Grooms chose to retire from Assembly service. Grooms, 65, served for six years as Senior Field Representative and District Director for Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, and continued as District Director throughout Assemblyman Knight’s first two-year term.
Grooms’ retirement caps a more than 40-year career in which he worked as a news reporter and editor, chamber of commerce executive, businessman and founding president and CEO of the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance. Grooms and his wife, Diane, continue to live in Lancaster.
Knight selected Isaac Barcelona, his Senior Field Representative in the Palmdale office to step-up to fill the District Director responsibilities.
Sarah Tyndall, of Lancaster, was then named to fill the Field Representative vacancy. Tyndall previously worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, whose district includes southeastern Kern County and much of the city of Lancaster.
More recently, Tyndall was the manager of the Antelope Valley Republican Campaign Headquarters through the November elections. She is a second generation native of Lancaster and a graduate of Lancaster High School. She is a graduate of Mary Baldwin College in Virginia with a B.A. degree in communications.
Knight said, “Although we greatly miss the vast experience and knowledge Larry Grooms brought to the 36th Assembly District over the past eight years, I am fortunate to have Isaac Barcelona remain with my District team, along with Victor Valley Field Representative Rebecca Tennison.”
Chief of Staff David Orosco will continue to head Assemblyman Knight’s staff from the Capitol Office, with Legislative Aide/Scheduler Alicia French keeping the office running smoothly. Knight’s Legislative Director, Megan Aboudara also departed the office in March to be with her husband who was transferred out of Sacramento.
Knight has brought in Heidi Jensen to fill the Legislative Director position. Jensen was a Legislative Aide with Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, and before that with Assemblywoman Sharon Runner’s office. She is a graduate of Cal Poly with a Bachelors in Agribusiness, and is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Policy Administration at CSU Sacramento. Knight also has a cadre of interns and volunteers in the Capitol and District offices who add enthusiasm and energy.
“I am fortunate to have a well-respected and dedicated team that is focused on serving the constituents of the 36th Assembly District,” Knight continued. “Without an efficient office, we couldn’t provide the level of service our constituents expect and deserve.”
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Assemblyman Steve Knight, (R-Antelope Valley), represents the 36th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities throughout the Antelope and Victor Valleys.
