Ann Ravel has dedicated her life to public service and to the fight for justice and equality. A leader shaped during the Civil Rights era, Ann’s commitment to public service and fighting for justice at every turn was cemented at an early age.

Ann was raised in Chile by her Brazilian mother and her American father, and they came to San José when she was eleven years old. While attending Willow Glen High School, Ann worked in the Salinas Valley picking fruit and on an apricot assembly line at a fruit cannery in San José, where she saw firsthand the issues of racial inequality and gender wage disparity.

She graduated from UC Berkeley at the height of its activism, and later, she worked her way through law school at UC Hastings by waiting tables. Ann organized her fellow waitresses to unionize, and everyone involved was fired. She filed a complaint with National Labor Relations Board, and further fueled her commitment to fairness and workers’ rights.

A tireless advocate for women and marginalized communities, Ann was the second chair in the pioneering affirmative action case for women in the workplace (Johnson v. Transportation Agency) – the only U.S. Supreme Court case on this issue.

Ann served as the Santa Clara County Counsel for eleven years. During her time as the county’s top attorney, Ann took on Big Tobacco; protected consumers and children from lead paint companies; challenged Prop 8 in court to defend marriage equality; created the Educational Rights Project to support at-risk foster youth; and created the first-in-the-country program that protected seniors from financial abuse.

As a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, she held oil giant BP’s accountable after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. She stood up to pharmaceutical companies who were breaking the law and taking advantage of the vulnerable.

As Governor Jerry Brown’s appointment to Chair the Fair Political Practices Commission, she led the first-in-the-nation fight against the Koch Brothers network when they used dark money to try to pass Proposition 32, the paycheck deception ballot measure. Her work – and her integrity – earned the attention of President Barack Obama who nominated her to the Federal Election Commission. Ann received unanimous consent of the United States Senate, and continues to advocate for fair elections.

In 2014, she was named a California Attorney of the Year by California Lawyer magazine for her work in Government law, and in 2007, the State Bar of California named her Public Attorney of the Year for her contributions to public service.

And now, Ann is again fighting for women in the workplace as one of the lead counsels in a case to hold Silicon Valley companies accountable to shareholders for their actions around sexual misconduct and retaliation against female employees.

Ann and her husband Steve are residents of Los Gatos, and they are proud to have raised their three children in this district. Her experience and accomplishments are deep-rooted in true, honest leadership that our community needs in Sacramento. Ann will fight every single day for a brighter future for all of California’s families.

I deeply believe that government transparency and integrity is essential. I have devoted my career to the public good through public service and believe that our elected officials should be responsive to the very people they represent – and should listen. 

My track record of holding the powerful accountable, fighting the corruption of money in politics, and working on behalf of the people demonstrates what I will do in the California State Senate to continue the fight for social justice and economic opportunity for all Californians.

For further detail on my political philosophy on specific issues critical to the state of California and Senate District 15, please go: https://ravelforca.com/issues/