Oak Grove High School, the Santa Clara County public defender’s office, the San Jose City Council and the State Assembly mark Ash Kalra’s route through public life. Born in Toronto to Punjabi parents from India, he came to the United States with his family in 1978 and settled in San Jose, where he has lived ever since. He taught law and spent 11 years representing people charged with felonies and misdemeanors, much of that time in drug treatment court. He won a South San Jose council seat in 2008 and moved to the Assembly in 2016. Today, he holds three positions that locate him within the Legislature: chair of the progressive caucus, chair of the labor committee and chair of a select committee devoted to the future of work and workers.
ROOTS
Kalra attended San Jose public schools and graduated from Oak Grove High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1993, followed by a law degree from Georgetown University in 1996. While studying law, he taught at inner-city schools in Washington, D.C.
His life since his family’s arrival in 1978 has remained centered in San Jose. He later taught law at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School, worked for Santa Clara County and represented South San Jose on the City Council. Kalra practices Hinduism and is vegan. His 2016 election made him the first Hindu and Indian American to serve in the California State Legislature.
THE JOB BEFORE THE JOB
Kalra’s work as a deputy public defender lasted 11 years. He handled felony and misdemeanor trials, but spent most of his time in drug treatment court, helping clients enter rehabilitation programs. That work placed him inside a part of county government where criminal cases, treatment programs and individual lives meet.
He also worked as a law professor at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School. His work combined courtroom representation as a Santa Clara County deputy public defender with legal instruction at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School.
Kalra entered elected office in 2008, winning the District 2 seat on the San Jose City Council. The district encompassed South San Jose, and he served two terms. In 2011, while on the council, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to community service and counseling.
THE PATH TO THE ASSEMBLY
In 2016, Kalra ran for the State Assembly seat held by term-limited Democrat Nora Campos. He defeated fellow Democrat and San Jose councilmember Madison Nguyen and was first elected to the Assembly in 2016.
His institutional position now runs through the Legislature’s progressive and labor ranks. He chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus, the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee and the Assembly Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers. Those posts give him formal roles in organizing progressive legislators and overseeing committees concerned with employment and changes in work.
Kalra supported Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign. When Xavier Becerra left the California attorney general’s office, Kalra was mentioned as a possible replacement; Rob Bonta received the appointment instead. The episode did not change Kalra’s office, but it placed his name in consideration for a statewide law-enforcement position.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
Kalra authored the California Racial Justice Act of 2020. That work followed an earlier public record spent representing criminal defendants, including clients seeking entry into rehabilitation programs.
His committee assignments put workers and employment within his formal reach. He chairs both the standing Assembly committee on labor and employment and the select committee on the future of work and workers, while also leading the progressive caucus.
A 2023 bill showed another side of his approach to government enforcement. Kalra authored legislation that would prohibit towing or immobilizing vehicles because of unpaid parking tickets. The proposal would remove two consequences faced by vehicle owners with outstanding tickets. It also drew a direct objection: a San Jose Department of Transportation spokesperson said the bill would make parking enforcement in the city more difficult. Taken together, Kalra’s documented work centers on criminal defendants, people directed toward rehabilitation, workers and motorists facing penalties over unpaid tickets.
- State Assembly · Assembly District 27 · former
- State Assembly · Assembly District 25 · 2022–present
Oak Grove High School, the Santa Clara County public defender’s office, the San Jose City Council and the State Assembly mark Ash Kalra’s route through public life. Born in Toronto to Punjabi parents from India, he came to the United States with his family in 1978 and settled in San Jose, where he has lived ever since. He taught law and spent 11 years representing people charged with felonies and misdemeanors, much of that time in drug treatment court. He won a South San Jose council seat in 2008 and moved to the Assembly in 2016. Today, he holds three positions that locate him within the Legislature: chair of the progressive caucus, chair of the labor committee and chair of a select committee devoted to the future of work and workers.
ROOTS
Kalra attended San Jose public schools and graduated from Oak Grove High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1993, followed by a law degree from Georgetown University in 1996. While studying law, he taught at inner-city schools in Washington, D.C.
His life since his family’s arrival in 1978 has remained centered in San Jose. He later taught law at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School, worked for Santa Clara County and represented South San Jose on the City Council. Kalra practices Hinduism and is vegan. His 2016 election made him the first Hindu and Indian American to serve in the California State Legislature.
THE JOB BEFORE THE JOB
Kalra’s work as a deputy public defender lasted 11 years. He handled felony and misdemeanor trials, but spent most of his time in drug treatment court, helping clients enter rehabilitation programs. That work placed him inside a part of county government where criminal cases, treatment programs and individual lives meet.
He also worked as a law professor at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School. His work combined courtroom representation as a Santa Clara County deputy public defender with legal instruction at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School.
Kalra entered elected office in 2008, winning the District 2 seat on the San Jose City Council. The district encompassed South San Jose, and he served two terms. In 2011, while on the council, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to community service and counseling.
THE PATH TO THE ASSEMBLY
In 2016, Kalra ran for the State Assembly seat held by term-limited Democrat Nora Campos. He defeated fellow Democrat and San Jose councilmember Madison Nguyen and was first elected to the Assembly in 2016.
His institutional position now runs through the Legislature’s progressive and labor ranks. He chairs the California Legislative Progressive Caucus, the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee and the Assembly Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers. Those posts give him formal roles in organizing progressive legislators and overseeing committees concerned with employment and changes in work.
Kalra supported Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign. When Xavier Becerra left the California attorney general’s office, Kalra was mentioned as a possible replacement; Rob Bonta received the appointment instead. The episode did not change Kalra’s office, but it placed his name in consideration for a statewide law-enforcement position.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
Kalra authored the California Racial Justice Act of 2020. That work followed an earlier public record spent representing criminal defendants, including clients seeking entry into rehabilitation programs.
His committee assignments put workers and employment within his formal reach. He chairs both the standing Assembly committee on labor and employment and the select committee on the future of work and workers, while also leading the progressive caucus.
A 2023 bill showed another side of his approach to government enforcement. Kalra authored legislation that would prohibit towing or immobilizing vehicles because of unpaid parking tickets. The proposal would remove two consequences faced by vehicle owners with outstanding tickets. It also drew a direct objection: a San Jose Department of Transportation spokesperson said the bill would make parking enforcement in the city more difficult. Taken together, Kalra’s documented work centers on criminal defendants, people directed toward rehabilitation, workers and motorists facing penalties over unpaid tickets.
The record
5,417 events, each with its sourceAB 518 Ward Assembly Third Reading
AB 348 Krell Assembly Third Reading
AB 771 Macedo Assembly Third Reading
AB 668 Lowenthal Assembly Third Reading
AB 769 Wilson Assembly Third Reading
AB 523 Irwin Assembly Third Reading
AB 1510 Public Employment and Re Assembly Third Reading By McKINNOR
AB 1416 Ta Assembly Third Reading
AB 1162 Bonta Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 2 Lowenthal Assembly Third Reading
AB 943 Michelle Rodriguez Assembly Third Reading
AB 712 Wicks Assembly Third Reading
AB 1507 Banking and Finance Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 663 McKinnor Third Reading Urgency
AB 1246 Hoover Assembly Third Reading
AB 446 Ward Assembly Third Reading
AB 1075 Bryan Assembly Third Reading
AB 574 Mark González Assembly Third Reading
AB 1109 Kalra Assembly Third Reading
AB 1369 Ramos Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 774 Bauer-Kahan Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 978 Hoover Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1178 Pacheco Assembly Third Reading
ACR 75 Alanis Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 611 Lee Assembly Third Reading
AB 737 Quirk-Silva Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 354 Michelle Rodriguez Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 76 Alvarez Assembly Third Reading
AB 606 Quirk-Silva Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
SCR 47 Niello Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 320 Bennett Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 594 Solache Assembly Third Reading
AJR 10 Rogers Assembly Third Reading
AB 36 Soria Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1152 Patterson Assembly Third Reading
ACR 36 Carrillo Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1327 Aguiar-Curry Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 583 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading
AB 732 Macedo Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 808 Addis Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 817 Nguyen Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 544 Davies Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 308 Ramos Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1273 Patterson Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 545 Davies Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
ACR 67 Sharp-Collins Consent Calendar Second Day
AB 1009 Blanca Rubio Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session