As your BART Director, I am committed to representing our communities in District 7, fighting for your needs and values. My priorities include pushing the BART to support progressive public safety reform, financial sustainability, environmental justice, and a community hub policy for all of our stations. BART is not just a transit system, it is a vehicle for economic mobility for our working-class families that depend on it to get around. It is freedom from car dependency. To realize BART's full potential we will need to think creatively of approaching our policies with more than trains in mind.

A son of 2 Mexican immigrants, I was born in Oakland, raised in Fruitvale, and incarcerated from the ages 17-25, costing me the formative years of my life. Those years helped me recognize that my experiences were not unique; but were direct results of decades of discrimination, community divestment, and political disenfranchisement. During my incarceration, I came to appreciate civic engagement. I saw changes in legislation that provided second opportunities for people like me and began to recognize that I could deconstruct systems of marginalization. Even more, I understood that I could personally inform these very systems. This realization came when I didn't have the right to vote. However, I knew even if I could not vote, I could bring in people like me by encouraging and educating those in my community to engage in the critical exercise of power by voting.

My decision to take my civic engagement to the next level is rooted in my experience of being released from prison. I worked part-time as a supervisor at UPS first at the Richmond hub and then in Oakland. I went through two cars that seemed to break down every month. With my small paychecks, I paid for transportation costs and helped my family. By the end of the month, there wasn't much left over. Having lived with up to five family members in a one-bedroom apartment that my family could only afford because of rent control, I know how difficult it is for too many people. 

Today I'm proud of my nonprofit work across Alameda and Contra Costa Counties to advocate to conserve open space, build climate-resilient infrastructure, build housing near jobs and transit, and create a more equitable economy. I have experience working with community members, public servants, and elected officials to develop policies and land use plans.

As the facilitator within Community Coalition for a Sustainable Concord, I'm working with the group to equitably develop the Concord Naval Weapon Station. I work with environmental organizations, community members, and the Contra Costa Labor Council. In Alameda County, I'm one of the co-conveners for the California Jobs First program to build an equitable carbon-neutral economy that creates high-road jobs for residents. I'm proud to continue my work with workers after working with SEIU 1021 and SEIU 521 to pass Alameda County's Measure C for Children's Health and Childcare in 2020. As the Western Region Representative for the YDA's Labor Caucus, I'm committed to improving the quality of life of our workers and all community members. 

Through my journey in public policy around infrastructure, transportation, and housing, I've learned how liberating a good transit system can be for working-class people. When we don't have to spend most of our money on a car we can invest those savings into our families. I’m running because I am passionate about transit and building vibrant communities. A Bay Area without BART is unimaginable so we need to do everything we can to prevent the fiscal cliff.

I look forward to earning your support so we can fight for a safer, affordable, and equitable transit system.