Gonzalez is Santiago’s district director and has received endorsements from major unions, including those representing teachers and construction workers. The California Democratic Party and Gov. Gavin Newsom also endorsed him. The support has helped Gonzalez raise nearly 10 times more campaign money than his opponent. Gonzalez, a Chinatown resident, said his goals as a lawmaker would be to focus on “affordable housing, criminal justice reform, climate justice and a fair economy.”
As district director, he worked on housing issues with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and on economic justice issues, including advocating for a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers in California.
Yi has had a career leading nonprofit advocacy groups, including the American Lung Association in California and Parent Revolution, an education reform organization. Support for her campaign has largely come from the left wing of the Democratic Party, including the Los Angeles chapter of Our Revolution, the organization founded by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). She also has support from the Korean American Democratic Caucus and the Eastern Area Progressive Democrats.
Yi, who was born in Koreatown, Los Angeles, said the district needs a representative in Sacramento who will focus on the region’s biggest problems: “Soaring rents and displacement, a lack of decent public spaces and… the worst air in the country. We deserve public servants who feel the urgency our region demands.”
One of his top priorities is fixing public transportation, particularly by making the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority an elected body, similar to how the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors is elected — a change that would require state approval. He also wants to get rid of single-family zoning to create more equitable access to housing.
