Assembly District 57 covers much of eastern Los Angeles County, from Glendale and Eagle Rock to Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, East Los Angeles and City Terrace. Lack of affordable housing, public safety and homelessness are some of the issues facing its residents.
Two Democratic candidates are vying to represent this district. Both have remarkable life stories that have helped shape them and motivated them to seek office. First-time candidate Jessica Caloza immigrated here to Eagle Rock as a child with her family from the Philippines. They all worked various jobs to survive, and Caloza attended UC San Diego, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. Caloza has since worked in Los Angeles city government, the Obama administration, and the state attorney general’s office, from which she is currently on leave.
Franky Carrillo was 16 when he was wrongfully accused of murdering a Lynwood man in a drive-by shooting in 1991. He was convicted and sentenced at age 18 in 1992 to life in prison, where he spent time combing through police reports and notes from investigators in his case, searching for evidence to help exonerate him, and eventually enlisting the help of attorneys who succeeded in getting him exonerated and released from prison two decades later. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University, won a $10 million settlement from Los Angeles County, and became a policy advisor for the Los Angeles Innocence Project at Cal State LA. He was also appointed to the county’s Parole Oversight Commission. If elected, he will be the first exonerated inmate elected to the state Legislature.
There is no doubt that Carrillo could be an extraordinarily valuable voice on criminal justice reform. For this position, however, the Times editorial board recommends Caloza, who has a deeper understanding of the many issues facing the district and more experience for the job.
During the Obama administration, Caloza, 35, worked on higher education policy, immigration policy and gender equality issues. She also worked for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who appointed her to the city’s Board of Public Works commission.
Caloza has a strong track record on reproductive rights issues as deputy chief of staff for California Attorney General Rob Bonta and has worked to reduce the state’s backlog of rape cases. While California has put in place many protections for abortion access, Caloza says one of her first tasks would be to pass a bill supporting increased funding for Planned Parenthood health centers across the state. She rightly points out that even in California, there are not enough abortion providers in certain areas of the state outside of large urban centers to serve the needs of residents, as well as women who come from out of state to seek abortion services.
He also wants to invest in community colleges, which he considers “the most underfunded part of our education system.” He would also prioritize raising salaries for public school teachers and staff.
She opposes Proposition 36, which would repeal parts of Proposition 47, and cleverly says it would increase penalties for crimes committed by people who need mental health or substance abuse treatment, not prison time.
Caloza has the support of housing groups. While she notes that she is a renter and supports efforts to create more housing in the state, she is wary of allowing multifamily housing in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes. “I want to make sure it makes sense for that neighborhood,” she says, adding that homeowners are concerned it will change the character of their neighborhoods.
It's a shame; the state is unlikely to build enough housing if cities are allowed to block all multi-family housing in zones designated for single-family homes. We'd like to see it be more assertive and creative in considering legislation to open up more opportunities for housing construction. There will always be residents who don't want any change in the structure or density of their neighborhoods. If elected officials cave to all of them, there won't be the surge in housing that is desperately needed.
She has assembled an impressive number of endorsements from women's rights organizations, environmental groups, labor groups and dozens of current and former Assembly members. Those coalitions could be crucial to her getting important legislation passed.
Carrillo has some troubling issues affecting his campaign. One is an allegation in a contentious divorce proceeding that he left firearms at his ranch when his children were around. Carrillo says it was a pellet gun, which he used against rodents at his ranch in Lake Hughes, and acknowledges he shouldn't have left it outside. Another is a concern that he doesn't live in the district, which is required. He says the house in the district is undergoing extensive renovation, but he stays overnight “sometimes” and the rest of the time is at his ranch or his girlfriend's house in Pasadena.
Those issues aside, Caloza is a better and more prepared choice to fill this position and begin the hard work of helping the state.
