Jobs
As the daughter of a single, teenage mom – a homecare worker, who worked two jobs and put herself through school – I know firsthand what a good job can do for a family. In Sacramento, I will continue the work I have done in the labor movement fighting for the middle class. I believe our first order of business should be to address our overarching economic mobility and stability problem in the State. By addressing the income inequality crisis in California, we get to the root cause and the tools needed to sustain housing, build environmental protection infrastructure, and make our communities safe.
For too long, our economy has been rigged to work for a wealthy few while the majority struggle to survive. I will ensure corporations pay their fair share. It’s time to be honest about the economic crisis in California. I will work to make sure California is:
- investing in workforce development
- partnering with high-road employers in the tech, information, housing, and health care sectors
- prioritizing public employment with our tax dollars
- prioritizing small business owners to ensure fair procurement practices and community investment
- expanding anti-discrimination and sexual harrassment protections
I am a daughter of labor, and my life’s work is centered around empowering vulnerable Black and immigrant workers and transforming industries through community union organizing.
Homelessness
Homelessness is the moral crisis of our time. There are over 54,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County. With unprecedented levels of funding being committed to address this crisis at the State level, my priority will be to ensure L.A. County receives its fair share of resources. This means working closely with our partners at the County and City levels to guarantee these funds are going to those most in need. Everyone must do their part if we are to make a meaningful impact.
I served as a member of the groundbreaking Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness for Los Angeles County, where we created a roadmap for addressing the overrepresentation of Black people in the population experiencing homelessness. Though Black people represent 9% of L.A. County’s general population, they make up 40% of its unhoused population. Our work concluded that the impact of institutional and structural racism in education, criminal justice, housing, employment, health care, and access to opportunities means that homelessness is a by-product of racism in Los Angeles – and America. There are deep systemic changes that need to be made including real housing discrimination enforcement efforts and addressing the housing-wage imbalance.
I support the efforts underway to examine the current framework being used to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services. We need to do a better job of getting these services to those most in need. We need to advance innovative solutions such as Project Roomkey which provide non-congregate shelter options for people experiencing homelessness. I believe building and maintaining very low-income and affordable housing must create quality jobs needed to better protect residents most at risk of homelessness.
Building public, low-income, and affordable housing should be part of the quality job creation boom California needs.
Key to addressing homelessness is a robust, evidence-based housing policy that focuses on disparities. I will move on a three-prong solution that addresses production, affordability, and services. I support the fundamental right to housing. No one should be living on the streets.
Health Care
Health care is a human right. I believe it is time to remove health care from the negotiating table. I will fight to establish quality universal health care that is funded through progressive taxation. The pandemic exposed how fragile our health care system is. We need to adopt the universal health care model if we want all Californian’s to thrive. I plan to pay particular attention to the mental health crisis we are facing, which largely impacts our youth. We need to reexamine how we provide these critical services and work towards expanding access across the state. I will also champion safeguarding access to abortion care and comprehensive reproductive care.
Front line workers from SEIU California and the California Nurses Association are supporting my campaign because they know I will fight for a health care system that works for all Californians.
Community Safety
All communities deserve to be safe places where people can thrive. As I look across this district, I know that the number of police on the street alone does not make the 28th District neighborhoods safe. Safety comes from services and opportunity. I believe in a justice system centered around diversion and rehabilitation while holding law enforcement accountable. I firmly believe we need to create opportunity and address the root causes of poverty and inequity instead of leading with a surveillance and incarceration approach.
I believe we need to continue the work being done by the penal code revision committee that’s looking at disparities in sentencing and integrated reentry, and making parole more accessible. Our safety also depends on getting guns out of our communities. I will fight for common-sense gun-safety reform to include prohibitions on building ghost guns and requiring universal background checks on all firearms sales from gun shows and online retailers. I will support the due process of law and the sanctity of life, particularly vulnerable Black, Brown, and poor communities.
I am grateful to have the support of the California Professional Firefighters, United Firefighters of L.A. City, and the teachers and social workers who work with young people most at risk.
Environment
I lead from an intersectional lens, and the environment impacts all of us and touches every issue. We need to protect our planet and sustain families. This means working to combat the climate crisis, setting and meeting strict carbon neutrality and emissions goals, and ensuring we prioritize environmental justice.
I believe the State can and should phase out fossil fuels and invest in clean energy and clean technology that also creates a quality green-jobs driven economy. If we move decisively and form a broad, progressive, and effective coalition behind this endeavor, I believe California can lead a just transition that sustains our communities now and long in the future.
The 28th Senate District is home to the Inglewood Oil Field, which is the largest oil field in an urban area anywhere in the country, with 1 million people living within 5 miles of its boundary. I support an end to the oil drilling that pollutes our neighborhoods and causes life-threatening and chronic diseases to our community.
The District is also home to some amazing green spaces, including Exposition Park, the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. I will fight for cap, clean, and play policies that create more open space and good jobs in our park-poor communities.
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