I’m proud to support California Nurses Association’s AB 2200 bill for CalCare. CalCare is urgently needed to provide universal coverage, comprehensive healthcare, the freedom to choose one’s provider, and for accessing healthcare free at the point of service, and address current existing healthcare disparities such as long covid and racial inequities.

The cost of living is hurting our community, from housing to food to gas, we need to create policies that help provide security for our community instead of creating policies that make it hard for us to do the most basic of things like buy food and have a roof over our heads.

As the first candidate in this race to call for an end to the genocide and the only candidate in this race who has spoken at official meetings in Long Beach, Cudahy, Downey, Montebello, and even LA County Supervisors and the CDC, I will do everything in my power to end the occupation and Free Palestine.

As the Founder of Speak Up America, I have organized with Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion LA for policies to prevent and mitigate the increasing climate crisis. Because of our leaders, many of the consequences are already happening and I will work to urgently bring funding from Congress to invest in infrastructure upgrades to protect our communities in times of extreme weather events like heatwaves, flooding, wildfires, and heavy snow.

As the founder of the ACE Coalition, I’ve led the movement in LA County to make healthcare settings safer for our community so that they don’t get sicker in healthcare but get better, that’s how it should be. I’ll continue this work in Congress by investing in indoor air quality upgrades with better ventilation and filtration for our healthcare settings, schools, public transportation, and every work environment. The future is clean air and single payer healthcare, critical reforms for investing in our communities’ health AND the economy.

As a former Student Body President for California State University, Los Angeles in 2009-10 during the Great Recession when we experienced 33% fee increases. I will champion free public education. The Master Plan of Higher Education created the CSUs, UCs, and Community Colleges, we need to get back to investing in our communities instead of the military industrial complex.

As a former mentor of College Bound Today in underserved areas of Southeast LA, it’s urgent that we invest in future generations so that they get the best opportunities to achieve their dreams and be the leaders of tomorrow and this starts with investing in K-12. I will champion better funding for teachers, programs in the arts and technology, and high quality classroom conditions to improve learning.

As someone born in East LA and as a first-generation Mexican-American, I grew up living the immigrant story as my parents worked hard to achieve their American Dream of starting a small business by working as a seamstress and machine operator. Our family members are now leaders in our community and this is a common story of immigrants who are the foundation of American life. Congress must create humane policies that provide safe pathways to citizenship for people already in the U.S. and those who want a better life and want to contribute to the future our nation.

On Jan 18th, I flew to Washington D.C. to attend Bernie Sander’s HELP Committee on Long Covid to advocate for research, treatments, and financial support. Nearly four million people have become disabled and cannot return to work, and this number continues to grow. In Congress, I will work to fund this growing public heath crisis immediately.