Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 69

Growing up in Santa Ana, Michele Martinez witnessed close family members and friends fall victim to drug abuse, gang violence and hopelessness. Her mom struggled with substance abuse and spent eight years in prison and she never knew her father. Her great grandmother did her best to take care of Michele, along with her five siblings and seven cousins in an unstable home.

But Michele worked hard, never gave up on herself and realized at an early age that education was her only chance to get ahead. She was the first person in her family to graduate from high school and she worked numerous jobs to put herself through Santa Ana College and California State University Fullerton.

Inspired by a desire to give back to the community that helped raise her, Michele ran for Santa Ana City Council in 2006. She personally knocked on over 7,000 doors and to the surprise of the political establishment, won the election and became one of the youngest elected leaders in Santa Ana history. She was re-elected without opposition in 2010.

Under Michele's leadership, Santa Ana has seen a 32 percent drop in crime and thousands of new jobs have come into the city. She has worked hard to obtain funding for local youth sports and after school programs to keep our kids away from gangs and drugs, and to prepare them for higher education and good paying jobs.

Michele chairs the City Council's Parks, Recreation, Education, and Youth Council Committee and is a member of the Neighborhood Improvement/Code Enforcement Committee. She also represents the City of Santa Ana on several regional and state boards, including the California Association of Governments (SCAG), the Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) and the California State Workforce Investment Board (WIB).

Michele is currently the Director of the Alliance for a Healthy Orange County (AHOC) which is a county-wide collaborative of health care organizations, community-based organizations and universities whose mission is to champion policy strategies and leverage funding opportunities that result in enhanced health outcomes and reduced health disparities for Orange County residents. She is a Board Member for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana and a graduate of the nationally recognized Pew Civic Leadership Program. In her free time, she enjoys cycling and living a healthy life style.