2022 Endorsements
IMMIGRANT POLITICAL POWER PROJECT VOTER GUIDE
Election Day: November, Tuesday 8, 2022
FEDERAL
Josh Harder
San Joaquin County
for California Congressional District 9
Josh’s family settled in Manteca five generations ago to start a peach farm. Growing up, Josh’s parents taught him the value of faith and hard work. After working his way through college and a successful career in business, Josh decided to run for Congress to protect health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions like his adopted brother, David. Now, he lives in the Central Valley with his wife, Pam, and their baby daughter, Lily.
Derek Marshall
San Bernardino County
for California Congressional District 23
Derek Marshall is an openly gay progressive democrat and political organizer running to represent the people of the high desert, the valley, and mountains. In 2006—after graduating from American University, where he studied politics and international relations—Derek moved to Germany to help found a global research initiative alongside the United Nations, Making Commitments Matter. When he returned to California, Derek partnered with Southern California community leaders and activists and laid the foundation for the organization that would become Ground Game LA. Ground Game LA grew into a powerful force fighting for housing justice, but also flexed its electoral muscles as part of the coalition of organizers that flipped Katie Hill’s district from red to blue in 2018. During this time, Marshall also partnered with local community groups to organize arts and culture events that raised money and awareness for LGBTQ+ issues. Most recently, Derek was a staffer in Nevada for Senator Bernie Sanders’ Presidential campaign in 2020.
Christy Smith
Los Angeles County
for California Congressional District 27
A formative experience was her encounter as a peer tutor at College of the Canyons with Gabriel, an immigrant student. In the Newhall School Board, she worked to pass a bond measure to help disadvantaged schools in the district, and as an Assembly member, she led reforms that ensured equitable resources for all schools. Collaborated with CHIRLA, SALVA, and the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
Priorities
- Expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare
- Improving public education and ensuring success for every student
- Taking on climate change and fighting for environmental justice
Jimmy Gomez
Los Angeles County
for California Congressional District 34
Congressman Jimmy Gomez proudly represents California’s 34th Congressional District, one of the most diverse and culturally rich districts in the country. In the 117th Congress, he serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sits on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, and serves as an Assistant Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. Congressman Gomez is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), and Future Forum.
Prior to his election to Congress in June of 2017, Congressman Gomez served four and a half years in the California State Assembly where he served as Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. In the Assembly, Congressman Gomez distinguished himself as a proven national champion of paid family leave and combating climate change. He became a key figure in authoring landmark legislation to address public health, environmental justice, water conservation, access to education, civic engagement, campaign finance disclosure, LGBTQ rights, and affordable housing.
Congressman Gomez attended Riverside Community College before receiving a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives in Eagle Rock with his wife, Mary, and dog, Austin. He is a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Robert Garcia
Los Angeles County
for California Congressional District 42
Emigrated to the U.S. from Peru with his mother at age 5, which shaped his views on immigration and moved him to understand the real impact of such policies. Long Beach has welcomed Cambodian immigrants and in 2021, at Garcia’s direction, opened its convention center as a shelter for migrant children who crossed the border alone. Residents donated resources and more than 100,000 toys and books.
Priorities
- Preparing for future pandemics and emergencies
- Defend our democracy
- Real opportunity for everyone, not just the wealthy
Jay Chen
Los Angeles County
for California Congressional District 45
Lou Correa
Orange County
for California Congressional District 46
Grandson of immigrants. His grandfather arrived in the United States in the 1930s, and he has family members who have been deported. His district represents the largest population of DACA recipients. A strong ally on immigration reform.
Priorities
- Immigration
- Immigration
- Immigration
Katie Porter
Los Angeles County
for California Congressional District 47
STATE
Gavin Newsom
for Governor of California
Rob Bonta
for California Attorney General
Born in Quezon City, Philippines, emigrated with his parents to California while just a baby. His parents worked for the United Farm Workers in Los Angeles, later moving to La Paz to work alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. In the Legislature, he fought to protect immigrant families from deceptive ICE tactics, writing the TRUTH Act, a first-of-its-kind bill requiring ICE to inform immigrants of their rights before questioning them.
Priorities
- Stop gun violence
- Protect civil rights
- Lift victims of crime and stop transnational criminal organizations
Ricardo Lara
for California Insurance Commissioner
His father arrived in 1962 with a quarter in his pocket and became a bracero in Fresno, later a factory worker, raising four children with his wife. Lara grew up in East Los Angeles, where his parents later naturalized. Helped make Health4AllKids, which lets children get MediCal coverage regardless of immigration status, the law of the state.
Fauzia Rizvi
Riverside County
for California State Assembly District 63
Fauzia Rizvi currently serves as the Director for the Western Municipal Water District, Division 5, including the City of Corona, Home Gardens, El Cerrito, and a portion of Temescal Canyon. With a dedication to serving the community, she also serves as a nonprofit leader, business owner, and community advocate.
Fauzia is a long-time resident of the City of Corona, living with her family. Initially, she was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. In 1992, she immigrated to Texas, then moved to the Bay Area, finished high school at Canyon High, and transferred to Santiago Canyon College.
While raising her family, she furthered her career in Engineering, specializing in Water and Sewer technologies, learning about the importance and the need for infrastructure and supply of clean water; She also began to advocate on behalf of families in the community.
In 2015, she started working at a desalination plant as a consultant. Additionally, she helped establish an IT company where she served as a board member. Having a passion for water and environmental protection with a commitment to serving the community, she ran to help on the Board of Directors for Western Municipal Water District, making history as the first Muslim ever to be elected to office in the Inland Empire.
During the pandemic, she helped cofound the nonprofit, For the People Task Force (FTPT). FTPT has been instrumental in providing our essential workers with over 20,000 homemade hand-sewn masks and established a food bank and pantry in Corona. In addition, through the nonprofit, she has assisted community members with food insecurities by hosting over 100 food drives distributing 30 million pounds of food to Southern California. Recently, she partnered with several organizations to provide daily COVID testing. These community efforts have helped thousands of families throughout the Inland Empire.
Sharon Quirk-Silva
Los Angeles/Orange County
for California State Assembly District 67
Sharon Quirk-Silva is a mother, teacher, former Mayor of Fullerton and Member of the California State Assembly District 65.
Sharon has deep ties to Orange County. Sharon came to Fullerton when she was two, was educated in Orange County public schools, and earned her degrees from Fullerton College, UCLA, and CSU Fullerton.
She found a passion for education, serving as a classroom teacher for more than thirty years. Education is a family affair. Her husband Jesus Silva teaches math at Nicolas Junior High School and her four children all attended local public schools.
Priorities
- Use constituent feedback to prioritize issues
- Focus on solutions, not political scorecards
- Demand Sacramento treat Orange County fairly
Juan Carrillo
Los Angeles County
for California State Assembly District 39
In the Palmdale City Council, Carillo introduced proclamations supporting DACA/TPS that the Council approved unanimously. Pushed and won inclusion of a social justice element in the New General Plan.
Priorities
- Immigrant rights
- Housing
- Reliable public transportation
Pilar Schiavo
Los Angeles County
for California State Assembly District 40
MUNICIPAL
Karen Bass
City of Los Angeles
for LA City Mayor
Hugo Soto-Martinez
Los Angeles County
for LA City Council District 15
Son of undocumented immigrants. He was recruited to become a union organizer while in college to become a lawyer. At UNITE HERE Local 11, he soon focused on immigration, working with CHIRLA to develop a national know-your-rights training. Later, he developed a tactical team to respond to workplace audits. He has led actions for TPS holder port truck drivers and campaigns to turn green card holders into voters.
Priorities
- Eradicate homelessness by scaling up Project Homekey and requiring 30 percent set-asides for affordable housing in developer projects
- Fight climate change through retraining employees for clean jobs and cleaning up toxic dumps in low income communities
- Expand the LA Justice Fund with universal representation for deportation cases
Helen Tran
City of San Bernardino
for San Bernardino Mayor
Maria Brenes
City of Los Angeles
for School District (LAUSD) - District 2
Daughter of immigrants and the eldest of four children. Family moved to Tecate after her father suffered an accident, and she experienced the border first-hand, daily, as she crossed to attend school in East San Diego County.
Priorities
- Reimagine public education for more justice and equity, especially for highest-need students and students of color.
- LAUSD policy and budget rooted in racial justice
- Strengthen neighborhood schools as community hubs for academic achievement and the social safety net
Kelly Gonez
City of Los Angeles
for School District (LAUSD) - District 4
Kelly Gonez, a child of immigrant parents, is the current President of the LAUSD Board. While at UC Berkeley, she worked three jobs to pay her way through college. In 2014, President Obama appointed her as education policy advisor, leading efforts to support immigrant students, English learners, and unhoused or foster care students. She ran for school board and since 2017 has built strong partnerships with labor, led on progressive causes, and pushed for investments in public schools from all levels of government.
Priorities
- Universal access to high quality early education
- Equity in school policy and education efforts, in part through a student equity index
- Enhancing career and college readiness in part through apprenticeship programs
Bob Hertzberg
Los Angeles County
for Board of Supervisors District 3
Spent much of his political career supporting measures that help immigrants. Worked with community/labor leaders on dozens of campaigns in immigrant communities. He spent nearly a year working to defeat Prop 187. He served twice as California Assembly speaker and in 2020 led on SB960, which extends consumer protections to undocumented immigrants.
Priorities
- A comprehensive county emergency bill to streamline regulations and better target services funding.
- Reduce liability in latent defects law and revise county rules designating surplus property to speed housing construction.
- Create an integrated regional housing plan with shared accountability.
Vote Yes on Measure H – Pasadena for Rent Control