Rising Stars: Sean Porter, office of Assemblymember Tina McKinnor

Sean Porter describes himself as “very competitive” when working to pass bills he believes in.

Porter, who is the legislative director for Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, enjoys negotiating with the governor’s office, working with sponsors and committees and planning how best to get legislation approved.

“The bills I work on help vulnerable communities and are progressive bills,” said Porter, 28. “That’s why I want to be here. I want to help people.”

A high-profile success came last year, when as legislative aide for Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, Porter helped shepherd through Assembly Bill 2183, expanding access to unionization for farmworkers. The bill was signed by Gov. Newsom in September.

Jennifer Fearing, who advocates for mission-driven organizations, said she admires Porter’s determination.

“He inspires me for his passion for underdogs, vulnerable Californians, and those who are usually voiceless in the policymaking process,” she said. “I appreciate his humble and inclusive way of building power for such people and causes, his responsiveness, and his careful approach to the details. He’s a true asset to the legislature and I hope is just at the beginning of a long and successful career.”

“The bills I work on help vulnerable communities and are progressive bills…That’s why I want to be here. I want to help people.”

Porter is also one of many staffers deeply involved in the longstanding effort to allow legislative staff to unionize. One such measure, Stone’s Assembly Bill 1577, was approved by the Senate last year but died in the Assembly without a floor vote.

He is now leading the staffing on a new version of the bill, McKinnor’s Assembly Bill 1, which is moving forward this year. Porter is hopeful that this time it will be approved and signed by the governor.

“Legislative staff should unionize because our concerns are not valued and this is a way to improve our workplace,” Porter said. “We are underpaid, overworked and mistreated.”

AB 1 cleared the Assembly by a 68-5 vote on May 25th and is now in the Senate.

“I have heard from both Democrat and Republican staff that they are in support,” Porter said. “Of course we got some pushback from chiefs of staff and some other staff members but the overwhelming majority of the staff are in full support.”

The child of a mother from Jamaica who works as a real estate appraiser and a father from Panama who works as a systems analyst, Porter and his three siblings grew up in Brea in Orange County in a mostly white neighborhood. It wasn’t a good experience. “I got called quite a few names growing up and heard a lot of racist jokes,” he said, adding that one neighbor put a large Confederate flag in the garage.

His parents were initially Republican but switched to Democrat when Obama came on the scene. Because of the tone of their neighborhood, his mother felt she had to be quiet about her support. “My mom was afraid to put up her Obama sign because she thought something would happen,” Porter said.

Despite all that, Porter said he still grew up proud of his heritage. He gained strength from the diverse youth basketball teams in L.A. that his father signed him up for, and the family’s annual vacations to Jamaica to visit family. Porter’s grandfather on his mother’s side is the ska artist Lord Creator known for the hit “Kingston Town,” which was covered by UB40 and later believed to be copied by Paris Hilton for her hit “Stars are Blind.”  Harry Belafonte is also a distant cousin.

Porter said that none of that musical talent has rubbed off on him or his mother. “My mom can’t sing and dance and I can’t sing and dance,” he said with a laugh.

Porter traces his interest in politics to his mother, who always had the news on when he was growing up. “It was interesting to me to see what was happening and to see what her opinion was on what was happening.”

He studied political science and government at both Fullerton College and the University of California at Berkley where he earned a bachelor’s degree.

He said his biggest challenge about working in politics is maintaining all the relationships.

“I’m not a very social person,” he said. “A lot of this job is going to events and talking to people. I just love to go home.”

His favorite things to do are biking, hanging out with his girlfriend and dog and working in the garden. He tends tomato and pepper plants as well as lemon, apricot, avocado and fig trees and more.

It leaves him refreshed for the hard work of strategizing how to get bills approved. The favorite part of his job is figuring out the best path forward to get from bill to law.

“I just have to be confident in the path I choose and really trust my gut,” he said.

NOTE: An earlier version of this story credited Sean Porter with being the lead staffer on 2022’s AB 1557. The lead staffer on that measure was in fact Elle Chen. The story has been corrected.