Candidate for
Board Member; Los Angeles Unified School District; District 5

JOSÉ SIGALA

Biography

Born and raised in Los Angeles, José Sigala, 33, has been a longtime advocate and fighter for children's issues, education, the environment and working class families. José is proud to be a product of the public school system from Head Start to College. He is a graduate of Santa Monica College and the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1993.

José currently serves as the District Director for Assembly Majority Floor Leader Marco Antonio Firebaugh where he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the 50th Assembly District Office and acts as the principal liaison for the Assembly Member in the community. José's focus in the district has been the construction of new schools in the Southeast communities; promoting the acquisition and development of new parks and open space in urban communities and increasing the awareness of environmental justice, air and water quality issues in the region.

As a member of various community-based organizations, José is dedicated to improving the quality of life in our communities. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the East Los Angeles College Citizens' Oversight Committee for Proposition A, a local construction bond approved by voters to build new college campus facilities. He also serves as the Chair of the Southeast Community Housing Development Corporation; a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of affordable housing in the Southeast communities, as a Board member of the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) and he was just recently sworn-in as a member of the Democratic Central Committee in the 45th Assembly District.

Before joining Firebaugh's office, José worked as a Field Representative for Senate Majority Leader Richard Polanco. There he worked as a community organizer for the communities of Pico Union, Echo Park, East Los Angeles, Atwater, Glassell and Cypress Park and Silverlake.

José began his political career in the State Capitol as a State Senate Fellow in 1993 where he worked in the office of then Senator Gary Hart, longtime Chairman of the State Senate Education Committee. He was directly responsible for helping develop and shepherd bills through the Legislature on farm workers issues, gun control, domestic partners and access to higher education for the children of working class families.

While in Sacramento, José also served as a policy consultant for the California State Senate Democratic Caucus where he assisted members of the Caucus develop legislation and budget priorities focusing on Higher Education, Teenage Pregnancy, Healthcare and Immigrant rights.

José lives in Los Angeles with his wife Lisa Baca-Sigala and their daughters, Gabriela 13, and 3 year-old twins Jennifer Sonia and Jacqueline Sophia.