Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 18

I am running for state assembly to continue the commitment to public service and the struggle for social justice and progress that my parents were a part of and that I have pursued in my professional career. My parents were farm worker organizers with the United Farm Workers and worked directly with UFW co-founders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and Filipino UFW leaders Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco in La Paz, the UFW headquarters in the California Central Valley, where I spent my early childhood. My father was part of the Civil Rights Movement and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in the deep south. My mother has been a long-time leader in the Filipino social justice movement. Both of my parents worked for over 50 years combined as state employees serving the people of California. As a community organizer, I saw firsthand the devastating impacts of underfunded schools, high crime, and poverty, and it was all too clear the need to speak for those children and families whose voices were not being heard. As a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, I represent everyday people including bus drivers, firefighters, and police officers and I bring cases to protect California's residents from different forms of abuse.

I have the broadest array of public policy experience in the areas of greatest importance to the district and the state. I have worked closely in the areas of education, job creation and economic revitalization, public safety, social services, health care, and transportation.

I helped secure $84 Million in local education funding for East Bay public schools that can't be taken away by the state.

I and my family joined with other families, teachers, California's PTA, school boards, and school administrators and took the state to court for failing to adequately fund our state's public schools and stood up against harmful education cuts by Gov. Schwarzenegger and Sacramento politicians.

I helped secure the no-cost conveyance of former East Bay Naval Base property to local control, clearing the way for massive economic revitalization, including the creation of 6,000 to 9,000 permanent jobs, countless more temporary construction jobs, and millions of dollars in local and state tax revenues.

As a Director of the Alameda Health Care District, I helped oversee the most successful financial performance in the history of the Health Care District, which helped preserve over 500 good East Bay jobs.

I helped attract new businesses to town, including one major employer that provides 650 jobs.

I established the America's Cup Committee to bring economic benefits to Alameda and local businesses during the upcoming event, which is expected to generate over $1.2 Billion in economic activity and create over 8,000 jobs.

I prevented the reduction in street-level police and fire services to keep our community safe, while also reforming firefighter and police officer pension and healthcare costs, balancing the budget, and avoiding layoffs to firefighters and police officers.

I worked with police officers and community leaders to implement prevention programs that reduce violence and crime.

As the President of the city's Social Service Human Relations Board and as the Vice Mayor, I approved grants to keep roofs over the heads of the would-be homeless, keep the electricity and gas on in people's dwellings, and provide food assistance to the hungry.

As a publicly-elected Director of the Alameda Health Care District, I helped provide critical, high quality health care services to the community.

As a Commissioner on the Alameda County Transportation Commission, I have worked to implement important transportation programs and projects throughout the county.

As an attorney, I helped protect racial minorities throughout the state by working on a case that led to a historic settlement that prevented racial profiling.

As a father and husband, I share the concerns of East Bay citizens and am uniquely-positioned as someone who understands and is invested in the strength of our public schools, the safety of our streets, and the existence of good jobs for my family and the future generation.