As the House Committee on Oversight and Reform conducts hearings concerning former President Joe Biden's cognitive decline and his lackeys' rampant use of the presidential Autopen, it has created renewed scrutiny on other elected representatives who may also be doing governance-by-proxy.
California Globe editor-in-chief Katy Grimes is digging into the curious case of State Sen. Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Colton). The 69-year-old Reyes was first elected in 2016 as an Assemblywoman for the 50th, then 47th District (redistricting), and served from 2021-2022 as Assembly Majority Leader. Reyes chose to run for the District 29 Senate seat in 2024 and won. However, according to Grimes, there is no evidence that she was ever sworn in, and she has not been seen in Sacramento since before December 2, the day on which the entire California Legislature took their oaths of office.
In looking over Reyes' X account, like Joe Biden, Reyes made an announcement that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving treatment. The pinned post is dated December 23, 2024, and reads,
Statement from Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes. pic.twitter.com/IAPY5iriAz
— Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes (@SenEloiseReyes) December 23, 2024
As we head into 2025 there are plenty of things that I am thankful for, including the opportunity to serve in my new capacity as your State Senator for the new 29th District.
However 2025 also brings with it challenges that we are preparing to face as well.
In 2024 I had been experiencing health issues and after further tests I was diagnosed with cancer, thus began my journey with surgery at City of Hope, a world renowned cancer research and treatment center. I'm grateful for the surgical teams, nursing staff and kind volunteers. My journey will continue with treatment heading into next year. My body is responding well-I'm stronger than I thought! I thank God for going before me and next to me on this journey. We're moving in the right direction.
I have been overwhelmed with the support that I have received and want to thank my loving family, doctors, Team SD 29 and my community for holding me up during this challenging time.
That is a good and fortunate thing that Reyes has the support she needs to fight her cancer battle. However, what about the constituents she is supposed to be serving? Do they not deserve to have a healthy and engaged state senator, particularly since the 29th District — and Reyes' role in it — are brand new?
Challenges, however, are meant to be met and I am confident that I will meet this moment while continuing to provide our community with the representation it deserves.
Thank you for the calls, the texts, and the prayers. I am excited for our future and look forward to the work ahead.
But as Grimes reports, Reyes has not even reported to work... like ever.
California State lawmakers and bureaucrats are appearing more and more like members of the Stalinist-era political elite in Eastern Europe, which enjoyed a gratuitous level of luxury, power and privilege.
Our lawmakers and appointed bureaucrats certainly are, as they snub requests for any government accountability. May 29, 2025 I sent a California Public Records Request to the Secretary of the State Senate Erika Contreras requesting information about Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Colton), Senate District 29, because she was not at the swearing-in session in December 2024, and has not shown up once since the beginning of the year – no committee hearings, no Senate floor sessions.
10 working days later, as required by the Legislative Open Records Act, I had not receive a response. I re-sent the records request, and received an acknowledgment. By 15 days, I re-sent the records request again. Finally I received a response to my request June 19.
Sen. Gomez Reyes’ official Senate website shows photos of her staff attending all kinds of district events, but not the Senator. Senate District 29 encompasses a large portion of San Bernardino County, including the cities of San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, and Upland.
However, California Attorney Laura Powell uncovered a public appearance where Reyes appeared for a Special Olympics event in March. How ironic.
I finally found a public appearance by Eloise Gomez Reyes. She gave an interview during a Special Olympics event March 11-13.⁰⁰She was excused from her legislative duties on those days—like every other day this session—due to illness but was healthy enough to attend this event. https://t.co/Z1y6TBNmwT pic.twitter.com/WXQLV9hrom
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) June 25, 2025
Reyes is indeed special because she is using her illness to shirk her legislative duties. From all appearances, her staffers and interns are posting press releases and updates to her legislative page and her social media accounts. How, exactly, is this representation?
But it's not just the Democrats. This case is oddly reminiscent of Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX), who was in memory care in Texas when she was supposed to be serving in Congress.
This congresswoman has been living in a memory care facility while she are her staff are being paid by our tax dollars. Someone has been posting to her 𝕏 account regularly. Seriously, does anyone really know who is running our government? https://t.co/ZDXhPIsnDF pic.twitter.com/zlogExXUQb
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) December 22, 2024
READ MORE: Tales From the Swamp 2.0 - What did Family and Staff Know About Kay Granger's Mental State?
Grimes further asked:
“[I]s the seat vacant?” Because all the information I have, including videos of committee hearings, is that Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes has never shown up for anything, including swearing-in, since swearing-in day, or the beginning of the year.
Every day the Senate Daily Journal has her absent. Her Senate seat in Senate Chambers is vacant. On swearing-in day Dec. 2, 2024, the Daily Journal says “absent due to family emergency.” It appears that she has never come to the Capitol since the election. All of the other days the Daily Journal says “absent due to illness.”
Was Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes even sworn-in?
I did not ask about the Senator’s health or medical information – just if she is serving or not. Senate Secretary Contreras pretty much blew off my request, attempting to hide behind the Senator’s right to personal privacy, and directing me to the Senate Daily Journal, which I already had. But Secretary Contreras’s response does not answer the question – every day the Daily Journal has her absent.
On swearing-in day Dec. 2 the Daily Journal says “absent due to family emergency.” All the other days it says “absent due to illness.”
Grimes has put in more California Public Records requests to gain this information. She further asked whether Reyes is an elected State Senator or not, but has yet to receive a response.
Both Democrats and Republicans have what I call a fossil problem: Too many of their ranks are aged or sick. Former House Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi is falling apart at the seams, yet is planning her reelection for 2026. Only after falls and embarrassment did former Minority Leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell step down from leadership and choose not to seek re-election in 2026.
Thanks to President Autopen, the abysmal former VP Kamala Harris, and their tone deaf party leadership, Democrats are out of favor even in the cities and states where they have had a stronghold. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats haven't cultivated younger leaders with any weight, gravitas, or common sense. Couple this with the fact that these same youngsters come off as stupid (Jasmine Crockett (TX)), craven (Hakeem Jeffries (NY)), and insane (AOC (NY)), and you have a party in crisis. So, it is not beyond credulity that California Democrats are playing sleight of hand with Reyes' seat in order to hang on to it until the next election. The citizens of Colton, Fontana, Upland, Grand Terrace, Rialto, San Bernardino, and the unincorporated areas need to bombard Reyes' offices with calls and emails and ask who, exactly, is representing them, because it isn't Eloise Gomez Reyes.
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