Leticia Castillo

Assemblymember Leticia Castillo (R-Corona) is a licensed clinical psychotherapist, mother, and grandmother who scored an upset victory in 2024 to represent Assembly District 58, which covers parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties ^[1,2]. A first-generation Mexican American and daughter of legal immigrants from Mexico, Castillo has emerged as one of the California Legislature's strongest voices for parental rights, the sanctity of life, and protecting children from harmful gender ideology -- priorities that align closely with the California Family Council's mission ^[3,4,5]. With a 85% CFC Biblical Values Scorecard rating, Castillo has been one of the Legislature's most consistent champions of the values the California Family Council defends — the sanctity of life (Chapter 6), parental authority in education (Chapter 8), religious liberty (Chapter 9), and limited, family-centered governance (Chapter 11).

Leticia Castillo (born April 27, 1971) was born and raised in Riverside, California, in the unincorporated community of Home Gardens, where she has lived for over five decades. The youngest of six siblings, Castillo is a first-generation Mexican American whose parents immigrated legally from Mexico -- her father through the braceros farm laborer program. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. Castillo graduated from Lee Pollard High School while simultaneously attending the Corona College of Cosmetology in 1989.

Professionally, Castillo is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) with extensive experience working with vulnerable populations. Before entering politics, she worked for Riverside County's Department of Mental Health, where she served families, children, and adults facing severe mental health challenges, substance use disorders, legal issues, and homelessness. She is trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has worked with children who have suffered trauma. Castillo also spent over a decade at GTE/Verizon (1995-2009), gaining experience in the telecommunications industry before transitioning to mental health work. She currently maintains a private psychotherapy practice in her community ^[1,2,7].

Castillo first ran for the California State Assembly in 2022, placing third in the primary behind incumbent Democrat Sabrina Cervantes and not advancing to the general election. When Sabrina Cervantes termed out and ran for State Senate in 2024, Castillo ran again in the open race. In the March 2024 primary, Castillo was the sole Republican on the ballot and finished first with 47.8% of the vote. In the November general election, she defeated Democrat Clarissa Cervantes (Sabrina's sister and a Riverside City Councilmember) by approximately 596 votes -- a margin of just 0.4 percentage points.

Her 86.2% Biblical Values Scorecard rating across 29 scored floor votes demonstrates strong alignment with CFC's worldview framework, reflecting consistent support for the sanctity of human life, parental authority in education, and religious liberty protections.

From a CFC perspective, Assemblymember Castillo has quickly established herself as a leading champion of the values families depend on. Her campaign motto -- Faith, Family, Freedom -- reflects priorities deeply aligned with the California Family Council's mission. Her very first bill, AB 329, seeks to ensure that high school sexual education curricula include comprehensive information about adoption as a viable and empowering option for teens facing unplanned pregnancies. The bill was inspired by a meeting with Terri Marcroft, Executive Director of Unplanned Good, a nonprofit promoting adoption as a life-affirming alternative.