running to represent ca-42
together, we will raise our voices and demand real change for all of us
con ganas y sin miedo
it is time for bold policy changes
medicare
for all
quality education
small business support
there is no doubt we need better representation on capitol hill
For too long, politicians have upheld racist, sexist, ableist, and classist systems by keeping people like us out of politics.
We are kept out of the rooms where laws are made that will affect our families, our small businesses, and our futures. But enough is enough.
We will no longer allow politicians to take our votes and our voices for granted.
I know it won’t be easy. As an organizer and an advocate on Capitol Hill working to establish a Smithsonian American Latino Museum, reverse Trump’s Muslim travel ban, and secure more aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane María, I saw firsthand how some politicians continue to keep the door to power shut. But I did not give up then, and I won’t give up now to ensure that the stories of the most affected by injustices are in the room.
We can prove the gatekeepers wrong by showing them that our community will speak up and demand change that will help all of us thrive, not just survive. Together, we will raise our voices and demand real change for all of us.
con ganas y sin miedo.
my abuelito would always say you have to do everything con ganas
Over 50 years ago, my abuelito left his hometown in Michoacán, México for Los Angeles with the hope of working to provide for his family. Little did he know he would lay the foundation for his grandchildren to pursue their own dreams and continue his legacy of serving their communities.
Growing up, my family and I would drive between Huntington Park, Bell, Bell Gardens, and Downey—cities that make up our district—to visit our extended family and often stop by our family’s small business, Fronteras del Norte. Even at 7 years old, I loved answering my dad’s office phone to help folks purchase their bus tickets as they traveled to work seasonal jobs, reunite with loved ones, or return to their home countries after years of being away. I was always curious to learn more about where their unique journey was taking them, and would often get carried away with asking them more questions than was necessary to fill out their ticket.
According to my parents, I brought that curiosity everywhere we went, but especially when my mother, my siblings, and I would take the city bus to the grocery store. Whenever anyone sat next to us, I would immediately spark up a conversation and begin with my long list of questions as I tried to get to know my seat neighbor during our trip.
The stories we share with one another are what remind us that we are not that different from one another. I have come to realize that most of us all want similar things: respect, safety, and opportunity. Yet, many of the stories of everyday Americans, like those of the working class folks I met on the bus or the stories of the migrant workers I spoke to at my family’s business, are often ignored and left out of the decision making rooms on Capitol Hill. It is time we knock that door down.