Fil-Am leader Jessica Caloza aims to make history, champion community in bid for CA Assembly

LOS ANGELES — Community leader Jessica Caloza is vying to make history as the first Filipino American woman elected to the California state Legislature.

If elected to represent California’s 52nd Assembly district, this wouldn’t be the first time Caloza has made history: she has served at the highest levels of government at the federal, state, and local level. Currently, she works for Rob Bonta, the first Filipino American to serve as the California Attorney General. She previously worked for U.S. President Barack Obama and also served as the first Filipina on the powerful LA Board of Public Works.

In an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal, Caloza opened up about her journey running for office, the issues she cares most about, and her call to action for the Fil-Am community.

“The Filipino American voice matters and our vote counts. Everyone has the power to do something to really make a difference in our community. If you care about your family and quality of life issues like education, healthcare, housing, cost of living, then vote. It’s our time to be heard and be represented in Sacramento,” said Caloza, when asked about her message to her fellow Filipinos in her district.

The 52nd Assembly District includes Glendale, parts of East LA and neighborhoods of LA, such as East Hollywood, Los Feliz, Virgil Village, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, Elysian Valley, Echo Park, Eagle Rock and Highland Park.

There are about 13,000 Filipino American registered voters in this district.

“It’s a district that has never been represented by an Asian American. And in the Assembly, we have never elected a Filipino woman ever. So if I make it, I would be the first,” said Caloza, who is shaped by her background as a women’s rights advocate, an immigrant, and a daughter of working-class parents.

Caloza says Filipino Americans have an opportunity to make a mark in U.S. politics.

“In Los Angeles County, we have the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines. There’s nearly half a million Filipinos in L.A. County, but we have never elected anyone to the state level. Why? Because we’re not voting. That is a huge loss for our community, because it means that we don’t have a voice at the table for positions like the Assembly,” she explained, adding that the state assemblymembers decide where taxpayer dollars are allocated and champion bills that become law.

All registered voters in California received their mail-in ballot in early February and can vote until the Primary Election Day on Tuesday, March 5th.

“Voting is one of the most powerful things Filipinos can do because so many people fought for our right to vote. It’s really a call to action this election cycle to all Filipinos to really get involved, get engaged, and vote,” added the state Assembly candidate.

With the state facing a huge budget deficit, Caloza pointed out that it is crucial to elect somebody who can represent the district in securing much-needed funds for the community’s programs and projects.

“I want to make sure to promote policies that protect working families, especially immigrants. Filipinos play a huge role in that. We have to make sure that we protect the programs that are really important around education, small businesses, housing affordability, women’s rights and that’s really important because we have a budget deficit of over $30 billion and so what does that mean? That means my job will be to make sure to protect resources for our district,” she added.

Caloza says the Fil-Am community can contribute to making this historic position happen.

“The most important thing is to spread the word. This is so important for us because we’re trying to do something that we’ve never done before, which is to elect somebody from the community,” she noted.

If elected, Caloza believes that she can also push for crucial policies that will create more opportunities and promote affordability for her constituents.

“The biggest need is really affordability. We’ve been going door-to-door, talking to people since October and the top issue is that people can’t afford to live in their neighborhood anymore,” said Caloza, who is a renter and lives in Eagle Rock.

Her family immigrated from Quezon City, Philippines when she was very young.

“We are in a housing crisis and have to build more affordable and low-income housing. We also have to protect renters,” she added.

Aside from increasing affordable housing, Caloza also underscores the need to push for more policies that will help sustain small businesses in the district.

“If we have to make it affordable for people to live here, we need to make it affordable for businesses to survive here, too, and more than to survive but to actually thrive. We also need to make sure that workers have the benefits they need to succeed,” she said.

Caloza said she will also fight to ensure clean air and water for our neighborhoods and invest in public schools to give every child a shot at success.

Being vocal with her advocacies, Caloza has been able to gather wide-ranging support from classroom teachers, nurses, construction workers, and housing and civil rights advocates in the district.

Caloza, a graduate of the University of California-San Diego, had worked for President Obama helping underfunded public schools get more resources.

In 2019, Caloza held a prominent position as the first Filipina American to serve on the LA. Board of Public Works, overseeing more than 5,500 employees. As a commissioner, she expanded good-paying union jobs, raised wages for workers and required equal pay for women while increasing transparency and accountability. Among her projects also included the Historic Filipinotown Eastern Gateway — the largest monument dedicated to the Fil-Am community in the United States — and the 6th Street Bridge in Downtown LA.

As California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s deputy chief of staff, Caloza assisted Bonta in his bid to reduce crime and gun violence, take bold action to protect the environment, and help victims of sexual assault receive justice.

In addition to support from Bonta, Caloza also earned high-powered endorsements from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council, and over 20 current and former State Senators and Assemblymembers. Just recently, she got endorsed by the LA Chamber of Commerce Jobs PAC and a number of small business owners.

The Primary Election is on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 and all registered voters have received a mail-in ballot. n