Candidate for
Council Member; City of Richmond; 4 Year Term

The line, "The child is father of the man" by William Wordsworth best expresses my sense of how all of our experiences shape our political philosophies and world view. There are many experiences that have shaped me, from my childhood problem of stuttering so badly I was made ashamed to speak and made the butt of jokes to the subtle, and at times, not so subtle racism against Chicanos in Texas...but I learned to persevere.

I was raised by my father in a home with my two brothers. We learned to cook, wash clothes, clean house, make beds and all the other duties which are required to run a household. When I was a child, our house was home to migrant families passing through town. By allowing migrant families stay with us for a day, using our washing machine, our shower, our beds and floors to sleep upon, I learned the meaning of community. We received much more than we gave. The appreciation of our guests shown by the cooking and cleaning and conversation in a household of a father and three sons taught me humility and the power of working together as a family. As a teenager, I worked in the fields every summer when school was out, and one summer I spent away from home living with migrant workers. These are some of the experiences that touch my heart and color the way I live my life. Latinos make up nearly half of the Richmond population, yet is the least represented group of residents. It is time to organize in the schools, in the neighborhoods, and in the Richmond city government. As my father taught me, working together as a family, we are stronger than working alone. Let us unite and move our community forward.

In my travels I have learned that we are all one family and that lifting the lowest among us, lifts us all as a better society.