From bail bondswoman to political pundit: Redwood City resident Corrin Rankin takes a stand for Republican values, rises in prominence

Though she admits the president’s way of addressing the public has not been palatable to some, Rankin believes the direct language he uses has sparked much-needed conversation on issues and perspectives she believes are priorities. Rankin said she was originally prepared to support Jeb Bush, but when she heard of Trump’s candidacy, she got excited about a president whose background could shake up the current political scene in Washington, D.C.

“The fact that he was a businessman, I appreciated that,” she said. “Even though I have this teeny little business in the world and he’s this great conglomerate, I could still relate to that mindset in some very basic ways.”

Since President Trump’s election, Rankin’s profile as a representative of Republican values has been elevated at the national level. Just last month, she sat down with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Caitlyn Jenner and parents of schoolchildren to discuss how the topic of gender has shifted in today’s schools in a 20/20 news broadcast that aired April 21.

For the 43-year-old licensed bail agent, voicing political views she believes in and feels might be lost in government is nothing new. Her interest in advocating for the rights of those whose voices might be lost in government began with her entry into the bail bonds industry some 16 years ago, when she began working with her father, who had run a Redwood City bail bonds agency since 1968. Though she had thought the shift from her previous roles in technology would be temporary, Rankin quickly saw the impact of her work in the lives of her clients.

“I heard a lot of different stories,” she said. “It fascinated me every single day. You meet people, and regardless of their economic position in life, they have the same problems.”

With a growing interest in the impact of the judicial system on the individuals who entered it, Rankin started Out Now Bail Bonds in 2008 when her father retired from the business. She has been active in the local and state politics, once serving as a first vice chair of the San Mateo County Republican Party and currently serving as the board chair of the California Bail Agents Association. Following the passage of Assembly Bill 109, state legislation aimed at reducing the state prison population, Rankin said she became motivated to run for a seat on the Redwood City Council in 2013.

“I loved creating a change where I see places that need change,” she said. “When I saw [AB 109], I figured, maybe this is the right time for me, because this is going to be a problem. This is something that I can fix.”

Though she was unsuccessful in winning a council seat, Rankin’s interest in politics hasn’t waned since then. She said she has enjoyed her more recent shift to partisan politics, which has led her to become the California director for African-Americans for Trump and earned her a spot last summer as a California district delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

Even though her commitment to the Republican Party may suggest otherwise, Rankin said she grew up and spent much of her life believing she was a Democrat. She remembers marking her affiliation with the Republican Party on a change of address form in 2009 following Barack Obama’s 2008 election as president.

“You have this belief about America that we’re supposed to be free, free to pursue our dreams, free to pursue happiness, free to pursue economic success and the way I discovered how the politics were going and the laws that were being passed was harming and hindering those liberties which we all deem American … I was really disappointed,” she said.

Rankin’s recent involvement in conversations such as the one with Jenner and Sawyer have highlighted for her the need to include more voices in the discussion of civil liberties. Though she said she could understand why Jenner is so focused on advocating for policies such as laws protecting the restroom rights of transgender students, she said she wonders how the views of parents who are not prepared to have their children share a restroom with students of another gender will be folded into future discussions.

“It’s got to be a whole picture, everybody has to be considered and I don’t see how that’s been happening lately,” she said.

Rankin said she has appreciated seeing how President Trump has surrounded himself with advisors who have differing opinions and are willing present their arguments openly.

“It’s the way he processes information, you have to hear all sides,” she said. “You have to hear it all to come up with a middle ground.”

Though she remains steadfast to her commitment to the Republican Party, Rankin admitted speaking publicly about her views hasn’t always been easy. Rankin said much of what she said was booed and hissed at a public forum last month, with one audience member attempting to pull her off stage at the end of the event. Rankin was dismayed by the audience’s response, as well as the fact that two women came up to her after the event to shyly thank her for supporting some of their shared views. For Rankin, being the voice for those individuals is what gets her through these tough moments.

“The men and women who secretly come, the people in the audience who are like giving me a wink because they’re too nervous to clap at what I say, those people get me through,” she said.

Rankin maintains hope that by standing up for the beliefs she shares with the Republican Party, other Republicans in the region will be empowered to similarly contribute their voices to the policymaking that affects them.

And she may have more time to focus on how she can continue to advocate for those people, as Rankin announced this month she has decided not to renew her contract with the insurance company that backs Out Now Bail Bonds. She is hoping to bring her business to a close in the next six to 10 months and, aside from volunteering in politics, is leaving the door open for a few different possibilities in front of her.

Though she wouldn’t say whether she plans to run for public office again, Rankin said she hopes the region’s many voices can be better represented in the future.

“I don’t think our collective values have been truly represented,” she said. “I would like to see someone from our district step up and represent our county on a national level in a more fair way.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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