Draft:Sally Havice

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Jmorales82 (talk) 22:28, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

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Sally M. Havice
Sally M. Havice
Member of the California State Assembly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 's 56th district
In office 1996–2002
Personal details
Born	(1937-10-16) October 16, 1937 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Alma mater	Cerritos College California State University, Long Beach (BA, MA) University of Hawaii
Occupation	Educator, politician

Sally M. Havice (born October 16, 1937), also known by her married name Sally Morales Havice, is an American educator and former politician. She served as a member of the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002, representing the 56th Assembly District, and previously served on the ABC Unified School District Board of Education. A Democrat, her public service focused on education policy, school safety, and community quality-of-life issues.

Early life and education

Sally M. Havice was born on October 16, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Willard Havice and Soledad Garcia. Her mother, Soledad "Sally" Garcia.. Havice was raised in southeast Los Angeles County in a multicultural household reflecting her Mexican American heritage on her mother’s side and German, English and Irish ancestry on her father’s side.

After moving from Montebello as a child, Havice attended South Whittier Elementary School and Whittier High School before graduating from Excelsior High School in Norwalk.

Following high school, she entered the workforce and attended business school while continuing to pursue her interest in education. She later enrolled at Cerritos College, where she earned lifetime membership in the Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society and graduated with honors. She transferred to California State University, Long Beach, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics, graduating ''cum laude''. She pursued doctoral studies at the University of California and the University of Hawaii while working full time and raising a family.

Academic career

Havice served for many years as a professor of English at Cerritos College. Her experience as an educator informed her later public service, particularly her emphasis on school safety, teacher preparation, and access to education. After leaving the California State Assembly, she returned to teaching at Cerritos College before retiring.

ABC Unified School District Board of Education

In 1989, Havice was elected to the ABC Unified School District Board of Education. She served on the board until her election to the California State Assembly in 1996. During her tenure, she participated in district governance during a period of public debate over fiscal oversight, school safety, and educational quality.

Policy initiatives

While serving on the ABC Unified School District Board of Education, Havice supported legislation and district policies aimed at ending corporal punishment in schools and making such disciplinary practices illegal within the school system.

Along with fellow board members, she also supported the expansion of language instruction to better reflect the district’s diverse student population. These efforts included the introduction of courses in Hindi, Tagalog, Chinese, and Korean. Havice cited the importance of providing students opportunities to learn the languages of their classmates, as well as their own cultural heritage.

California State Assembly

Havice was elected to the California State Assembly in 1996 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2000. She served until 2002, when she was term-limited out of office.

As a legislator, she focused on education policy, child safety, environmental protection, and community quality-of-life issues. She authored or supported legislation addressing school safety and mentoring programs, child privacy protections, flood control and river protection, wildlife habitat preservation, and teacher preparation initiatives.

Legislative work

During her tenure in the California State Assembly, Havice authored Assembly Bill 1390, legislation designed to provide California schools with tools to reduce bullying on campus and improve overall school safety. The bill was part of broader efforts in the Legislature to address student well-being and campus climate. In addition to her authored legislation, Havice supported regional flood control initiatives in southeast Los Angeles County and backed programs aimed at expanding training and outreach opportunities for secondary school students, particularly those preparing for careers in education and public service.

Havice also authored Assembly Bill 1355, which enabled the creation of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, a regional conservancy established to preserve open space, protect wildlife habitat, improve watershed health, and support recreation and environmental education in southeast Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.

Later political activity

After leaving the Assembly, Havice remained active in California politics and ran in subsequent primary elections, including a 2002 campaign for California’s 39th Congressional District and a 2014 campaign for the 32nd State Senate District.

Personal life

Sally raised her family in the Cerritos–Norwalk area.

She has three sons: Edward, an infectious disease physician; Raul, a former police officer with the La Palma Police Department; and Joseph (Joe), a computer engineer. She is the grandmother of twelve grandchildren and the great-grandmother of four great-grandchildren.

Sources

• "Sally Morales Havice". JoinCalifornia. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
• "Sally M. Havice". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
• "ABC school board election results". Los Angeles Times. 1992.
• "Assembly election results, 56th District". Los Angeles Times. 1996.