Her voice sounds confident, without a hint of doubt.
“I am prepared, I feel very good,” says Vasquez, a candidate for the State Assembly in California’s 57th district.
Furthermore, Vasquez feels more prepared. In 2022, she ran for councilwoman in City Council District 9 and lost the election, which taught her valuable lessons.
“I think that election has helped me avoid making the same mistakes. I feel more confident. Competing against a politician who has been in the same position for many years is challenging. This election is more interesting. We are three strong candidates, and none have held an elected office,” adds Vasquez.
“This is an open field,” she concludes.
Vasquez has extensive experience in various institutions.
According to her website, she spent years working on civic engagement as the managing director for Zócalo Public Square, an events and journalism nonprofit, and most recently in education as the Asst. Vice President of Strategic Advancement in the Office of University Affairs at Arizona State University.
Dulce Vasquez believes that her personal story can help her connect with the community.
Vasquez is a formerly undocumented immigrant from Mexico who was brought to the U.S. by her parents at the age of 7. She grew up in Florida and moved to L.A. in 2008 after graduating from Northwestern University.
As a child, she went through what many immigrant families experience. Coming from a working family, both parents worked, and she would help her mother clean houses in residential neighborhoods, as she shared in a previous interview.
“I would clean windows, vacuum the house, anything I could do to help my mom. I did it to assist but also to finish earlier and be able to be together at home,” says the candidate. “That’s where I learned that no job is easy, and we must respect all occupations. We must treat people with dignity,” she adds.
Now she thinks that her story can help her connect with voters, especially Latinos in the district.
The district includes portions of Downtown and South Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Florence, Harbor Gateway, Historic West Adams, University Park, and Walnut Park.
“I have listened to the community; right now, there is a big problem with housing. Everything is housing, housing, and housing. We need to take these concerns to Sacramento; we need to build more affordable housing. It’s impossible to own a home now. In these areas, the average cost for a home must be over half a million dollars,” she says.
The problem is more critical for Latinos.
“We know that the financial system is not built for them. Because of their background. So, we have to look for other options,” she adds.
Similarly, transportation, mental health, and the homeless population (related to housing) are issues in this district, if not the entire state.
“You will find these issues on all political platforms. They are current issues; the difference is how each politician will address them,” she says.
Dulce Vasquez, in an interview on KBLA 1580 radio station, expressed that the decision to participate in this election was due to an invitation from the current assemblyman for that district, Reginald Jones-Sawyer.
“He asked me why I wasn’t participating, that I would have his support. I thought about it and decided. Now I have his support, I want to continue his legacy in the district,” she added in that interview.
The election will be decided on March 5. In the meantime, she plans to continue working with her team to make phone calls to voters to explain her platform. Also, to hold events and raise more funds.
All of the seats of the California State Assembly will be elected as part of the 2024 California elections.
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