Nick Schultz was among the two dozen new lawmakers who were sworn in to the California Legislature in December. Although he’s a freshman assemblymember and one of the younger faces in Sacramento, he brings to the job a strong background in government; extensive knowledge of local, state and national issues; and the dedication and selflessness needed to serve his communities in the 44th District, including Toluca Lake, Burbank, Glendale and other cities across L.A. and the Valley.
Building off his experiences as a deputy attorney general, Burbank councilmember and Burbank mayor, Schultz ran a successful campaign that resonated with voters, prioritizing housing affordability, climate change, criminal justice and other quality-of-life issues within the district and the state.
During election season, Schultz set up his campaign office on Riverside Drive — across the street from his go-to Trader Joe’s — and became a familiar and friendly face in the neighborhood, often engaging in spirited conversations with residents about their concerns for the area. While he resides in Burbank with his wife and two young children, he adores Toluca Lake. “I think it’s emblematic of every reason people love L.A. and come to live here,” he says. “I also think that Toluca Lake is facing our most pressing issues, from housing to homelessness, in a way that we all are. It’s like the quintessential neighborhood that is grappling with all of these big issues. It’s a good case study of what we’re trying to deal with in every part of L.A.”
We caught up with Schultz to talk about the issues, what he’s working on and how he’s dedicated his entire professional life to serving others.
COMMITTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE
Schultz’s motivation to help and advocate for others can be traced to his working-class upbringing. Raised by a single mother, he learned the value of responsibility early on, stepping up to help with everything from caring for his younger brother to cooking and cleaning. “My mom poured everything that she had into my brother and I,” he shares. “She really was like any other incredible mom there is out there in the world who just did and sacrificed everything so that her two little boys could have an amazing future and be whatever they want to be. That’s where I get my inspiration for being not just a good parent, but a good community leader.” Another major influence in his life was his grandfather, a machinist for the railroads in Montreal and a union leader. “He would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need,” Schultz recalls. “Between my mom and my grandpa, I was really taught at a young age the importance of helping others who need help, giving back and really leading a selfless life — seeing it as a good and admirable thing.”
Schultz became the first in his family to graduate college, earning both his bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor from the University of Oregon. In law school, he asked himself two pivotal questions: “How do I want to spend my life?” and “What’s a life well lived?” In answer, “I settled on what I had been taught at an early age, and that is wanting to serve others,” he recalls of his decision to forgo working at a prestigious law firm for a hefty salary.
He started working as a district attorney, fighting in the courtroom for victims of domestic violence, attempted murder and other crimes. In 2016, Schultz joined the California Department of Justice and began working in its Health Quality Enforcement Section to protect health care consumers who had been aggrieved by negligent or incompetent medical professionals. Two years later, he transferred into the Special Prosecutions Section, where as a deputy attorney general he investigated and prosecuted criminal cases related to human trafficking, financial crimes, public corruption and more. “As a lawyer, I’m very proud of the work I did — the big cases, the small cases, everything in between,” he says. “I really felt that I worked every day to protect Californians from dangerous people, violent criminals, people who were trying to defraud and steal from them everything they had, and I think we had some great results.”
Despite these victories, Schultz believed he could take his work even further if he could confront the underlying social and economic issues that were contributing to crime and craft policy that invested in people and increased their quality of life. “I saw a justice system in a world where people like me were trying to do the right thing, and yet, we still had all these societal ills,” he explains. “No matter how many police officers we seem to have, or how much prosecutors are doing in the courtroom, our communities are still dealing with housing insecurity, food instability, gangs, rising crime, and I just felt like I wanted to do more to really address the root cause of these problems that we face in society.”
The opportunity arose to do just that when a seat on the Burbank City Council became vacant. Schultz ran and was elected in 2020, garnering the second-highest number of votes in the city’s history at the time for a city council race. His first term was beset by numerous challenges brought on by the pandemic, including maintaining the city’s economy while protecting public health. As pandemic concerns lessened, Schultz and his colleagues helped the city rebound by reopening the local economy and balancing the municipal budget.
From 2022 to 2023, he served as vice mayor, and in 2023, he became the city’s youngest mayor at the time at age 35. In his four years on the council, he focused on entitling more units of new housing, driving down violent crime rates, decreasing homelessness and passing landmark environmental measures like the greenhouse gas reduction plan. “I loved every minute of being mayor of Burbank,” he says. “When I think about why I ran and what I hoped to accomplish… I really felt like my colleagues and I got in there and we got to work and did what I wanted to do.”
A GOOD PERSON IN GOVERNMENT
Schultz admits that his plan was to remain on the Burbank City Council for another term, but a conversation with his good friend, mentor and then-Assemblymember Laura Friedman changed his trajectory. She was running for Congress and encouraged him to enter the race for the 44th District, telling him: “Good things happen in the world because good people get involved.” It struck a chord in him. “We have big problems in the world, and they’re not going to fix themselves. We need good people in government, nonprofit, business and everywhere else who will stand up and do the right thing and think outside the box,” he says. “I can give more. I’m willing to be away from my family more than half the time; I’m willing to make all the sacrifices that it takes for public service because we don’t have enough good people in government these days…. We need them more than ever.”
Before announcing his candidacy, Schultz took time to reflect on whether he was the right person for the job. As he surveyed the field of potential candidates, many of whom he admired and respected, he recognized that his government experience set him apart. His training in the justice system, educational background and leadership roles as mayor and councilmember, especially during the pandemic, had more than prepared him. “I just felt like that experience of never knowing what tomorrow’s going to bring — which, right now, is definitely what it’s like dealing with this [presidential] administration — I definitely came to the conclusion that I am more prepared to deal with whatever the world might throw at us than anyone else. And that was a big factor in jumping into the race.”
Schultz won his election in November with more than 65% of the vote, took his oath of office on December 2 and immediately got to work. He was appointed chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, which is widely regarded as one of the most challenging and politically charged committees in the Legislature — a role he volunteered for. According to Schultz, few lawmakers in the Legislature, particularly within the Democratic Caucus, have any experience in the justice system. “Given all the experience I have had, from being a line-level prosecutor and going after drugs and gangs to even prosecuting cops and prosecutors, I just felt like I owed it to California at large to bring that experience and try to pass policy in Sacramento,” he says, adding that he believes the mission of the committee is twofold: to create safer communities and to eliminate prejudice, bias and unequal outcomes in the justice system.
He has also introduced his first bills, including AB 43, which grants the California Natural Resources secretary the authority to protect rivers from development by designating them as “wild and scenic,” and AB 306, coauthored with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, which seeks to temporarily pause nonessential residential updates to building codes. This measure aims to stabilize costs for individuals affected by the L.A. wildfires as they work to rebuild their homes.
One of Schultz’s major priorities this year is protecting the entertainment industry and keeping jobs in California. Along with other area lawmakers, he will be coauthoring a bill aimed at creating a more robust Film and Television Tax Credit Program. The bill seeks to expand eligibility, allowing more groups — such as animation studios, which are currently excluded, and independent producers competing against major studios — to benefit from the program.
LASTING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
When it comes to the challenges facing his district, Schultz points to rising concerns in areas with high renter populations, where people are worried about the escalating cost of housing and rent, the threat of eviction and property affordability. In other parts of the district, he frequently hears concerns about homelessness and public safety. Schultz is committed to addressing these issues, along with transportation connectivity and job creation, through a thoughtful, methodical approach aimed at creating lasting, meaningful change. He’s been attending community meetings and town halls to listen to residents, answer questions and educate himself on the prevailing concerns. “I think that’s a really big part of the job. It’s not just go to Sacramento, take the right vote on the big issue. That is, ultimately, arguably, the most important part of the job, but the other really critical part of the job is just being present, showing people that you care, helping them to the extent you can and listening to them,” he says, noting that constituents are welcome to engage with his district office in Burbank anytime to discuss concerns, share bill ideas and more.
In Toluca Lake, he was both surprised and delighted by the community’s warmth and eagerness to connect with him on a wide range of issues, from housing and transportation to job creation. “I think that’s been the most amazing part of the journey, and I felt it especially in Toluca Lake, this willingness to be our partners — because you can elect good people into government, but we have to have the involvement and support of the community; otherwise, the change is very hard to come by,” Schultz says.
He also appreciates the neighborhood’s many charms. “You have these amazing little shops where people work, and they eat and they buy, and you have these beautiful homes that surround it and it’s walkable; it’s really a community center,” he says. In addition to Trader Joe’s, he loves having breakfast and taking meetings at Red Maple, especially when it’s decorated for the holidays, and he considers Prosecco Trattoria one of his favorite little hidden gems in all of L.A., where he had one of the best meals he’s ever experienced. He also enjoys shopping along Riverside Drive. “If you see me out in the community, I’m actually very friendly and approachable. Come up and say hi,” he says. “I like talking with people; I think every stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.”
When he’s not at the State Capitol or out and about in the district, he says his happy place is being at home or in his backyard playing with his children or hanging out with his wife, Allie. “You want to know what motivates me? I am a dad, a husband, a family man who just wants to make the world better for all of us,” he says.
When asked what message he has for his constituents, Schultz had this to share: “I hear you and I see you. I feel the concern and the anxiety that we have all across this district right now.… You deserve someone who wants to tackle these issues. Being elected was not a victory. That was just the start. The real victory is solving these problems. And I am going to work tirelessly, certainly for the next two years and for as long as every resident of Toluca Lake and the greater 44th District will have me. I will continue to go up to Sacramento every single week and fight to make the world just a little bit more affordable, a little bit safer, more sustainable and better for you and the people that you care about. That is my mission singularly.”
