NEIGHBORHOOD ADVOCATE
& CITY COUNCIL MEMBER
MEET LISA
Lisa Middleton is a neighborhood advocate and City Councilmember who has delivered pragmatic, common-sense solutions to some of our region’s greatest challenges. Now, Lisa is running for State Senate to fight for hard-working families across Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Lisa grew up in a working-class community and understands the challenges that families are facing from inflation and rising housing costs. She comes from a family of union members and went on to become the first in her family to graduate from college and earn a Master’s in Public Administration.
After graduation, Lisa worked as an auditor for California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund, where she helped investigate fraud and waste. She worked her way up to becoming Senior Vice President of Internal Affairs and served as Chair of California’s Fraud Assessment Commission. In the Legislature, Lisa will use this expertise to eliminate wasteful spending of our tax dollars.
In 2017, Lisa was elected to the Palm Springs City Council, where she has helped improve local transportation and infrastructure, combat climate change, build more affordable housing, invest in public safety, and address the Coachella Valley’s homelessness crisis. As Mayor of Palm Springs in 2022, Lisa led the City’s economic recovery from the pandemic — helping small businesses reopen and create good-paying jobs.
Lisa also represents Palm Springs on the Riverside County Transportation Commission, where she is known as a hard-working, nonpartisan leader who invests in rebuilding roads, bridges and public transportation throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, while creating good-paying, middle-class jobs.
In April 2019, Lisa was appointed to the Board of Administrators of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), which helps build retirement and health security for 1.5 million California state and local school employees, retirees, and their families. She serves as Chair of the organization’s Risk & Audit Committee and Vice Chair of the Governance Committee.
Lisa Middleton has long been a leader in the LGBTQ+ community for decades, fighting to protect and advance civil rights. She serves on Equality California Institute’s Board of Directors and will be the first out transgender person to serve in the California Legislature if elected.
Together since 2000, Lisa and her wife Cheryl married in 2013 shortly after they moved to Palm Springs. Lisa is also the proud parent of two accomplished educators.