Primary Election Date: 06/05/2012
General Election Date: 11/06/2012

Who Am I?

The son of a baker and a cook, I was the first my family to graduate from college. My father has been a member of UNITE-HERE Local 2 for over 35 years. My mother is a long-time member of SEIU-UHW. I grew up in San Francisco’s Mission District, where few people even considered attending college. Growing up, learned the value of hard work from my parents, and was fortunate to receive a great public education at UC Berkeley, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in public policy.
As Vice President of an East Bay school finance firm, I have improved educational opportunities for thousands of students across the state. During the last 10 years, I have helped to raise over $2.5 billion to build and modernize California’s public schools and community colleges.
Since 2006, I have served as a trustee of the Peralta Community Colleges system that includes Laney College, Merritt College, Berkeley City College and the College of Alameda, and educates more than 30,000 students a year in the East Bay. I have stood up for our community by making Peralta’s management more accountable and transparent through a series of financial reforms and cost-saving measures. Despite state funding cuts, I have led collaborations with other local agencies to deliver results that matter.
Because our community colleges are on the frontlines of job training, I have pushed for effective educational programs in green businesses, biotech and health care to get our people back to work. I have secured over $20 million for career education and green jobs, expanded access by providing classes for 3,000 more students, and set aside $2 million dollars to construct a health clinic at the Peralta Colleges to improve health care access and outcomes for students. A former rank-and-file member of United Food & Commercial Workers, I have stood with striking nurses on the picket line at Children's Hospital Oakland.
A product of California public schools, I have delivered results that matter for workers and students, including a Project Labor Agreement, in conjunction with the Alameda County Buildings and Trades Council, on Peralta’s $390 million bond program. I also stopped payment to unscrupulous contractor found guilty of wage theft and alerted IBEW Local 595 and the Central Labor Council to protect workers.
In recognition of my efforts to improve educational opportunities in the East Bay, I received the 2011 Elected Official of Year award from the East Bay Young Democrats, and am endorsed by the California Nurses Association, the Peralta Federation of Teachers (AFT Local 1603) and the California Federation of Teachers. I am also proud to have earned the support of SEIU California, AFSME DC 57 and Dolores Huerta.

Why Am I Running?

Working families across the East Bay and California are facing unprecedented challenges. I am committed to better connecting our state’s resources and budget to increasing job opportunities, improving education success, reducing poverty and crime, and promoting environmental sustainability to foster a healthier California.

California should not be a place where corporations get huge tax breaks, while schools, libraries have to scramble for funds. Investing in our infrastructure now by rebuilding outdated schools, highways and bridges is a sure way to safeguard our future but also to get Californian's working again – now! Better education leads to better jobs, which lead to a healthier population, less crime – and, ultimately, less pressure on government budgets.

A product of local public schools, I want to make sure all Californians have the same opportunities he’s had. As Assemblymember, I will continue his efforts to make a real difference for our young people, working families and the lives of our entire community – and make sure our priorities are represented in Sacramento.

Hold Me Accountable!

The first goal is to get Californian's working again. California’s streets, highways, schools and hospitals are falling literally falling apart. We need to invest in our state’s infrastructure to get East Bay residents working again. As a public finance professional working for California school districts the last 10 years, I am uniquely qualified to champion this issue.

Secondly, as a community college trustee, and the first in my family to graduate from college, I know the transformative power of education. A good education leads to better jobs, better jobs leads to less crime and healthier communities. We need to change our tax policy to make sure we make the investments today to get us ready for a more prosperous future.

My DFA values:

Our campaign will help engage a new generation of democratic activists and demonstrate that people-powered campaigns can win elections to move our issues forward. Based on my previous campaign experience, I know I can count on volunteers from my previous race but also engage a whole new group of voters that may have not been engaged in the past. I know that elections can be won or lost on the doorstep and on the phone with voters. People power and street heat is what allowed us to make the reforms necessary at the Peralta Colleges and that’s what it will take again to be successful. I am committed to grassroots, people-powered campaigns.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

I am a DFA success story. I attended DFA's training back in 2006 with my campaign manager and we ran the campaign straight out of the book. I know we are running a people-powered campaign because I have a large number of individual small-dollar donors at this early stage of the race. I am committed to having a people-powered campaign that will continue to work with young people, seniors, students and progressives throughout the East Bay, particularly those who have not been involved in electoral politics in the past. They will help us collect signatures in lieu of paying filing fee, and provide the street heat necessary to mobilize our voters by knocking on doors and phone banking.