About Jacqui
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin is a mother, engineer, and community leader with two decades of leadership in our community.
Jacqui Irwin works across party lines to help create jobs, balance our local and state budgets, and she works to keep our communities safe.
Jacqui Irwin was first elected in 2014 to represent California’s 44th Assembly District, which included the cities of Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and the communities of Casa Conejo, Channel Islands Beach, El Rio, Lake Sherwood, Oak Park, and Santa Rosa Valley.
Assemblymember Irwin currently Chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and is a member of the Agriculture Committee, Business and Professions Committee, Higher Education Committee, and the Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee. Assemblymember Irwin also Chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Cybersecurity, and Co-Chairs the National Conference of State Legislatures Task Force on Cybersecurity. These roles have allowed her to help lead national and statewide efforts to improve our cybersecurity policies.
During her Assembly tenure Irwin previously served as the Chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee as well as the Chair of the Revenue & Taxation Committee.
As the former Mayor of Thousand Oaks, Irwin understands the importance of working across party lines at the national, state, and local level to help make her community one of the safest places to live and raise a family.
In her first term in the Assembly, Irwin successfully authored numerous pieces of legislation into law and brought vital state funds back to her community. Through her leadership funding was allocated for the creation of the CSU Channel Island School of Engineering and for innovation centers on UC campuses to transform UC research into products. Her legislation created tax-free savings accounts for the disabled, increased the cybersecurity of state agencies, and removed barriers for military service members seeking mental health services.
Irwin continued her focus on ensuring safety for California families with laws that protect children from unsafe products, assist law enforcement investigating online crime, and empower parents to safeguard their child’s identity. Irwin also championed the environment with laws that expanded the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, promoted renewable energy resources, while also leading efforts to utilize the local brine line to bring purified water to local farmers.
In her second term in the Assembly, Irwin successfully authored important policies into law with reforms to community college placement policies that have increased transfers and degrees, expansions to consumer protections for active duty military, and protections to prevent serial workplace sexual harassment that earned the “Job Creator” designation from the California Chamber of Commerce. Her leadership secured important funding for critical district infrastructure projects including the Rice Avenue Grade Separation and the Oxnard Wastewater Treatment Plant. Irwin's efforts also have resulted in laws that expanded access to mental health treatment for veterans, streamlined bureaucracy related to California corporations, and supported LGBTQ seniors.
In her third term in the Assembly, Irwin focused heavily on gun violence prevention legislation in response to the Borderline Shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA. Her legislation strengthened Gun Violence Restraining Orders, in part by allowing them to extend up to five years. She also required law enforcement agencies to have policies about using Gun Violence Restraining Orders. Irwin also secured $3 million to support local law enforcement efforts to recover firearms from individuals listed in the Armed and Prohibited Possessors System.
Irwin also authored ACR-17 which renamed a portion of U.S. Route 101 in Thousand Oaks after Sgt. Ron Helus, from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office who died in the line of duty during the Borderline Shooting.
In 2020, Irwin shifted the majority of her efforts towards assisting her district's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Irwin spearheaded efforts to collect personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line health care workers and organized blood drives during a local shortage.
Irwin also brought together local governments, academics, private businesses, and non-profits to conduct a COVID-19 antibody testing study in Ventura County. Irwin worked with the group to acquire reliable and available serology tests to be used for the study. She also helped identify and secure locations that would be utilized as testing sites for the countywide study which offered free COVID-19 antibody testing to residents. The antibody testing study was developed to not only understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in Ventura County, but was also modeled to understand the prevalence in targeted groups including first responders, low-income households, and those experiencing homelessness
Her career in public service began on the Thousand Oaks City Council, where she was first elected in 2004. Irwin served two terms as mayor of Thousand Oaks. On the City Council she was a strong advocate for the preservation of open space and responsible development, while working tirelessly to ensure that families had a safe community.
Prior to her public service, Irwin worked as an engineer at Teledyne Systems and at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab.
She has been honored as Assemblymember of the Year by TechNet, the Woman of the Year for the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Champion for College Opportunity and Student Success by the Campaign for College Opportunity, and received the California Bear Award for her service to the California National Guard.
Assemblymember Irwin holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from UC San Diego. While earning her degree Irwin was an All-American swimmer and competed in the national championships all four years. A proud mother of three young adults, Jacqui Irwin and her husband Jon have lived in Thousand Oaks for nearly 20 years.
In addition to her work in the Assembly, Irwin has been appointed by the Assembly Speaker to serve on the Cradle to Career Data System Governing Board and previously held appointments on the Governor’s Military Council, the State Public Works Board, the Inter-Agency Council on Veterans, and the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin has a record of putting our communities first to deliver real local results. Like you, Jacqui works and raises her family in this community.
State representatives write and vote on state laws and the state budget. Each represents a district in the legislature's lower chamber, which is called the House, the Assembly, or the House of Delegates depending on the state. Most serve two-year terms.