WHY I'M RUNNING

After the 2024 election, I saw what was happening in our country and in our own community. I saw who was being elected here in El Centro, and I didn’t feel represented by the choices in front of us. I saw our politics becoming more divided, our communities becoming more frustrated, and too many people feeling like there was nothing they could do about it.
 

I decided I could either complain about it or get involved. I chose to get involved. Change doesn’t start in Washington or Sacramento. It starts right here at home—with ordinary people deciding that their community is worth fighting for.
 

El Centro is a city built by immigrants, working families, and people who make sacrifices to give their children a better life. Those are the people I think about when I look at the future of our city. I don’t want to watch families struggle to stay in the community they helped build. I don’t want young people to feel like they have to leave just to find opportunity. And I don’t want residents to believe that decisions affecting their lives are out of their hands.
 

I believe local government should be more than meetings, votes, and agendas.
 

Being a councilmember means listening to the people you represent. It means going into neighborhoods, hearing what residents are experiencing, and asking, “How can we fix this?” It means being able to look beyond what has always been done and find ways to turn the needs of our community into action. That is the kind of leadership I want to bring to City Hall.
 

I’m not a career politician, and I don’t come from a family of politicians, and I believe that matters. I know what it feels like to be part of a generation that is constantly told to wait its turn. But my generation is already living with the consequences of the decisions being made today. We deserve a seat at the table—not someday, but now.
 

More importantly, I believe City Hall needs people who understand what everyday life actually looks like for the people they represent. Someone who shops at the same stores, worries about the same costs, and sees the same problems in their neighborhood.
 

I’m not running because I have every answer. I’m running because I’m willing to listen, to ask tough questions, and I’m willing to challenge the status quo when it isn’t serving our community.
 

We don’t have to accept things as they are. We can listen more. We can do more. We can expect more from our local government.
 

It’s time for new leadership. It’s time for real progress.