Candidate for
Council Member; City of Watsonville; Council District 2

Luis Alejo was born and raised in Watsonville and his family came to the Pajaro Valley as migrant farm workers in the 1950s. During the early years of his life, he grew up in District 2 on Marchant Street and later on Rogge Street. He currently works as a public interest attorney and has helped thousands of local families access with legal assistance. He also serves as the vice-chair of the Watsonville Planning Commission.

Luis graduated from Watsonville High School in 1992, and later graduated with honors from UC Berkeley in 1997 with dual bachelors (B.A.) degrees in political science and Chicano studies. In May 2001, he obtained his juris doctorate (J.D.) from UC Davis School of Law, King Hall, with a concentration in public interest law. In June 2003, Luis received his master's of education degree (Ed.M) from Harvard University's with a concentration in administration, planning and social policy. He returned to his hometown of Watsonville to work as a staff attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), a statewide non-profit legal advocacy organization that champions the rights of the poor in California.

Luis was previously a Jesse M. Unruh Fellow for the California State Assembly where he worked as a legislative aide for Assemblymember Manny Diaz (D-San Jose). In the 2002 legislative session, he drafted and staffed numerous bills including education, farmworker and immigrant rights legislation. He also worked as a research assistant for the Harvard Civil Rights Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as a staff attorney for the law offices of California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation in Sacramento. Luis is also a former high school teacher in Watsonville, and is currently a California State Advisory Committee member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (nominated by former California Supreme Court Justice and former Commission Vice-Chairman Cruz Reynoso).