Candidate for
Charter Commission; City of Sacramento

A native of the Land Park neighborhood, Terry Schanz embodies the energy and vision of the next generation of leadership in Sacramento.

Schanz, who grew up in the home his great-grandparents built during World War II - and where his parents still live - benefited from Land Park's great public schools attending Crocker/Riverside Elementary, California Middle and graduating from the Humanities and International Studies Program (HISP) at C.K. McClatchy High School.

Schanz received his Associate of Arts degree in Social Science from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and conducted post-graduate study in Political Science and African Studies at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa.

While attending UC San Diego, Schanz was elected President of the UC San Diego College Democrats, served as Political Director for the Iron Workers, Local 229 and helped coordinate the San Diego Central Labor Council's successful 2000 election efforts.

Schanz began his public service career as a Staff Assistant to former Congressman Robert T. Matsui and a Finance Assistant for the Phil Angelides for Governor campaign. These positions gave Schanz a close working relationship with two of Sacramento's greatest political icons and solidified Schanz's commitment to public service.

Schanz currently serves as Policy Director to State Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III. Prior to joining Hall in 2008, Schanz served as Principal Consultant and interim Chief of Staff to former Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero and Assistant Consultant to former State Senator Kevin Murray. In these roles, Schanz worked on legislation to foster job creation, increase voter participation, expand California's international trade capacity, increase public access to urban parks, support youth civic education programs and prevent cyber bulling in public schools.

Schanz has been able to successfully navigate the complex political environment of state government and developed a solid reputation as a dynamic, dependable and trusted advisor to some of the most influential public officials in California.

Schanz has been a delegate to the California Democratic Party since 2008, is a member of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, the Sacramento County Young Democrats, the Veterans Democratic Club of Sacramento County, the Stonewall Democrats of Sacramento and has been an active member of the Sacramento community for years, volunteering with organizations such as the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project, the African American Leaders for Tomorrow, the California Legislative Black Caucus Policy Institute and the Camellia Society of Sacramento.

Schanz and his partner, Guy Strahl currently reside in Land Park with their two Labrador Retrievers, Nelson and Winnie.