Joseph’s grandparents immigrated to California from Mexico to labor in tomato fields and canneries in the 1960s. Through hard work and determination, they climbed into the middle class to build opportunities for their family. Joseph’s mother struggled with addiction, so he spent most of his childhood living with his father, who raised a family of five in Riverside on a truck driver’s salary. But when Joseph came out as gay at 17, he had to move out. Though his early years were marked by hardship, trauma, and housing insecurity, Joseph excelled in school, participated in the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Conference, and worked part-time as a dishwasher.
The pandemic showed us that no matter our circumstances, we may get sick. One unfortunate outcome of the pandemic is a widened gap between the ultra-wealthy and working people. I grew up without stable health care or childcare because we couldn't afford it. No family should be put in a position to make these choices. In the State Senate, I will focus on delivering on basic needs that help to lift people into the middle class such as increasing access to affordable, quality childcare and expanding paid sick leave.
I'm the grandson of a farmworker and a factory worker -- the son of a long-haul truck driver and a grocery worker. I know how hard they worked to provide for my family's needs. Too many working people in San Diego County struggle to make ends meet with one job alone. I will focus on creating jobs that lift families into the middle class, and ensuring that everyone working full time can support themselves and their family. I'll work to bring home the resources needed to improve our community's families' economic well-being.
As I travel through San Diego County, I hear the same issue. Families are stretching their budgets to continue living in the community they love. The life that my father provided for me and my siblings on a truck driver’s salary is no longer within reach for many Southern California families. We need commonsense solutions to ensure every family can make their rent and mortgage payments. I will focus on resources that help families remain in their homes, ending discrimination in the housing process, expanding access to first-time homebuyer loans, and investing in smarter community development.
After ten years on active duty, as both an enlisted Sailor and a Marine officer, I am all too familiar with the issues facing our veterans. This fight is personal. Too many of my fellow service members are not getting the support they need. We need to do our part as a state to provide transition support for those exiting the military and more access to housing so that we can ensure no veteran is sleeping on the streets.
We have an opportunity to strengthen our infrastructure and reimagine what that means for our future. The roads we drive on, the bridges we cross, the schools our kids attend, and the hospitals that provide crucial care, especially during this pandemic, should not be political battlegrounds. I will work to deliver the funding and projects that will strengthen our communities and prepare them for the future.
We are all impacted by a changing climate, from the wildfires that continue to happen with increasing frequency to issues surrounding Southern California’s access to water. We owe taking climate action to our firefighters who are faced with endless deployment cycles to brutal fires, to our seniors who face increasingly deadly summer heatwaves, and to the future of our children. We can protect our environment and grow sustainably. In the State Senate, I will push to find commonsense solutions that will tackle climate change while delivering high-paying and sustainable jobs to our community.
As a former Marine and bomb dog handler overseas, I knew the responsibility I had while wearing a badge and carrying a gun. I knew I had a responsibility to serve and protect, and that is why I am in favor of gun reform – because every parent, teacher, church parishioner, and child deserves a community that is free from gun violence.
We need common-sense solutions to tackle this epidemic and lessen the threat that all of us face. Laws like universal background checks and closing legal loopholes that allow ghost gun manufacturers to operate are just the start of basic gun safety to make sure responsible gun ownership is in place.
An overwhelming number of Americans are opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade, a historic Supreme Court ruling that protects people’s right to an abortion. Yet, Republicans continue to attack and criminalize this choice, punishing women for making medical decisions with their doctor. We have seen this happen in states all over the country: Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas, just to name a few.
That is why I am proud to be endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Southwest Action Fund and NARAL CA. As the constitutional right to abortion is threatened, California must expand protections and become a beacon of choice to other states. These attacks on individual and religious liberties must be met with resistance.
While Republican elected officials continue to attack this right, I will stand up and continue to focus on protecting choice and addressing the issues that impact our community: inflation, high gas prices, and getting our economy back on track.
After ten years on active duty, as both an enlisted Sailor and a Marine officer, I am all too familiar with the issues facing our veterans. This fight is personal. Too many of my fellow service members are not getting the support they need. We need to do our part as a state to provide transition support for those exiting the military and more access to housing so that we can ensure no veteran is sleeping on the streets
We are all impacted by a changing climate, from the wildfires that continue to happen with increasing frequency to issues surrounding Southern California’s access to water. We owe taking climate action to our firefighters who are faced with endless deployment cycles to brutal fires, to our seniors who face increasingly deadly summer heatwaves, and to the future of our children. We can protect our environment and grow sustainably. In the State Senate, I will push to find commonsense solutions that will tackle climate change while delivering high-paying and sustainable jobs to our community