New Assemblymember Greg Wallis Sworn In at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

It’s been nearly five weeks since Election Day. Now, California’s 47th Assembly District officially has a new face: newly sworn in Assemblymember Greg Wallis. Monday, local mayors, officials and Wallis’ wife all gathered at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens to welcome Assemblymember Wallis into his new seat. The one who swore him in was Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. "We missed the swearing in on December 5th because the race was still too close to call," Republican District 47 Assemblymember Greg Wallis said. "We were able to do a ceremony here in the desert with Sheriff Chad Bianco swearing me in and it is very, very exciting and just an honor." This race was a nail biter. After weeks of meticulous counting, the final vote margin was less than a tenth of a percent. The closest State Assembly race since 1980. In a series of tweets, Democrat Challenger Christy Holstege shared her congratulations to Assemblymember Wallis and thanked her voters saying in part, "I’m proud of the nearly 85,000 votes we earned in this race and I’m grateful to voters for responding to our message, caring deeply about the issues we highlighted, and participating in our democracy." "She was extremely gracious in her phone call and congratulated me on being elected," Assemblymember Wallis shared. "We committed to working together over the next two years to bring real results for our community and I’m just extremely appreciative of that. I think it was a really classy move on her part." Now, Assemblymember Wallis is working towards his big plans for District 47. "First order of business is going out in the community and listening to members of our community and community leaders on how we can solve problems facing Californians," he explained. "Whether that’s making our streets safer, our schools better, and California more affordable. I’m open to working with Republicans, Democrats and Independents to achieve those results." But more importantly, Assemblymember Wallis is thankful for this community. "I just appreciate our community for placing their trust in me and I’m looking forward to doing the work over the next two years to make sure our voices are heard in Sacramento," he said. If you’re wondering why he was sworn in at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, it was actually where Assemblymember Wallis and his wife got married six and a half years ago. Despite Democrats losing this seat, they still maintain the majority in both state chambers.