Jimmy Gomez

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Jimmy Gomez

Jimmy Gomez won California's 34th Congressional District on election night Tuesday, June 6, 2017, with 60.12 percent of the vote.

He is married to Mary Hodge.

Background

Jimmy Gomez was born and raised in Southern California and is the youngest of six children. His parents and four of his siblings immigrated to California from Mexico in the early 1970’s. His parent’s struggle to care for their family while trying to provide in times of illness and emergency, was the inspiration behind Gomez’s Paid Family Leave legislation.

Prior to serving in the State Assembly, Gomez served as Political Director of the United Nurses Association of California and brings with him over a decade of experience in local, state and national politics, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), National League of Cities, Democratic National Committee, office of former L.A. City Councilman Michael Feuer, and the office of former Congresswoman Hilda Solis.[1]

Labor Caucus

The Labor Caucus is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2021 members included Jimmy Gomez .[2]

Resolution condemning socialism

Fedrary 2, 2023 House Republicans moved a Resolution condemning socialism and certain dictators.

The Resolution began:

Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships;
Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide;
Whereas many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolás Maduro;[3]

Eighty six Democrats voted no. Forteen voted "present" and six didn't vote.[4]

Representative Jimmy Gomez voted "Nay".[5]

"China Initiative" letter

On January 22, 2024, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) led an effort to stop House GOP members from reinstating the China Initiative, a Trump-era program created in 2018 that purported to combat espionage but in effect targeted and profiled those of Chinese descent.

The Department of Justice ended the program in 2022, after several of the alleged espionage and national security cases ended in acquittal, dismissal or were dropped altogether. But Republicans in Congress are now attempting to restart the program using a provision in a key House spending bill—at the same time that they are reviving racially motivated rhetoric against Chinese Americans.
“Republicans are essentially pushing the Chinese Exclusion Act 2.0,” said Rep. Meng, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“The Trump-era China Initiative fostered bigotry and discrimination against Asian Americans, particularly those with connections to China, while doing little to actually advance national security interests,” said Senator Hirono, Executive Board Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation’s scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry,” said Rep. Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.[6]

Other signatories included Senators Tammy Duckworth, Peter Welch, and Congressmembers Jake Auchincloss, Ami Bera, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Jasmine Crockett, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Chuy Garcia, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sanchez, Adam Schiff, Tom Suozzi, Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, Lauren Underwood.[7]

No to China committee

Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday January 10, 2022, against creating a committee to investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.

The House overwhelmingly voted to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on a 365 to 65 margin, in one of the first votes since the Republicans took control of the chamber.

However, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Jimmy Gomez.

Humanitarian Needs in Cuba letter

December 16 2021 , House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy Chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) led 114 Members of Congress in a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people as they experience the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history...

In the wake of this year’s protests, the members urged the administration to support the Cuban people by suspending U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, remittances, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people...

Signatories included Jimmy Gomez.[8]

Election

California Assembly member Jimmy Gomez, 42, won a plurality in the recent primary election held to choose a replacement for long-serving Congressman Xavier Becerra, whom Gov. Jerry Brown tapped as the new state attorney general. His runner-up, a Korean-American named Robert Lee Ahn, 41, scored well in the Korean-American population in the district, but that represents only 6 percent of the area’s demographics.

This East L.A. district, has had Democratic Latino representation in Congress for many decades.

Gomez is a lifelong Democrat, endorsed by the Democratic Party and various caucuses within and around it, such as Democracy for America and Our Revolution, as well as most of the major unions, Sierra Club, immigrant rights groups, Equality California, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Los Angeles Times.

The California State Senate recently passed SB 562, which would create a universal, single-payer health care system in California if it passes the Assembly and if it is signed by the governor. Even passing the Senate was a major accomplishment, and Jimmy Gomez played a key role in making it possible as one of the bill’s key co-authors. His election presents an opportunity to make the Democratic Party in Congress more progressive, and build the momentum for single-payer, Medicare for All nationwide. Support for single-payer health care may soon become a default position for all Congressional Democrats, and could be a leading issue in the 2018 midterm elections.

Jimmy Gomez also helped pass a statewide $15 an hour minimum wage law and wrote the bill that expanded paid family leave. He’s gotten laws passed protecting immigrants and Planned Parenthood.[9]

Progressive support

In addition to former opponent Wendy Carrillo, Jimmy Gomez rolled out endorsements from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, co-chaired by former Democratic National Committee chairman candidate Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota; Democracy for America, a group that previously backed Carrillo; and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, a major ally of Bernie Sanders that supported Gomez’s former opponent Arturo Carmona, a former Sanders campaign aide.

Gomez capped off the string of announcements with a highly sought-after endorsement from Our Revolution, the political group launched by Sanders himself. And just after the state Democratic Party convention last weekend, Gomez joined a newly formed progressive legislative caucus.

“The Bernie vote is becoming more and more important as time goes on,” said Maclen Zilber, a strategist who helped run the short-lived campaign of former assembly speaker John A. Perez for the seat.[10]

Our Revolution endorsement 2022

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Our Revolution endorsed Jimmy Gomez in 2022.

Our Revolution

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Our Revolution, the political group Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders launched from the ashes of his presidential campaign, has endorsed Democrat Jimmy Gomez in the race for L.A.'s 34th Congressional District.

In a statement, executive director Shannon Jackson cited Gomez's upbringing and said he "knows the struggles that too many families face."

"Through being raised in a house in which both parents worked multiple jobs to help his family make ends meet, Jimmy understands the importance of access to healthcare, paid family leave, and education," Jackson said, citing legislation Gomez, a three-term state assemblyman, helped pass to expand California's paid family leave law.

Gomez, who faces fellow Democrat Robert Lee Ahn in the June 6 runoff for the seat, has been consolidating support from progressive corners since the primary, with endorsements from the California Nurses Association. and other prominent Sanders backers, including Our Revolution board member Lucy Flores. [11]

HR 109 endorser

By February 20 2019 endorsers of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's HR 109 (Green New Deal) included Jimmy Gomez.

Socialist supporters

Maria Elena Durazo, Jimmy Gomez, Dolores Huerta center
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Helping Gomez to win this critical election, Communist Party USA member Eric Gordon crossed downtown L.A. from the Westside to the East to do some phone banking on Monday, the day before the election. This was going to be a low turnout election, so clearly every vote would count.

Campaign headquarters in Highland Park, in Northeast L.A., was a spacious room in a commercial complex, with tables set up for callers and a generous supply of caloric snacks and coffee. When I arrived the troops were thin, and I settled down to a table in the back where I could hear better against the hum of other callers and the many private conversations among old friends who met up there.
I had 14 pages of Democrats in the district to call, but most of them were NH—Not Home—so I had few live conversations, and we were instructed not to leave messages. From those people I did reach, apparently their phones have been ringing like church bells on a wedding day with calls for Jimmy Gomez, and that got pretty annoying. The campaign concluded that voters would rather not hear any more.

The caller next to Gordon was Dolores Huerta.

“Hello, my name is Dolores Huerta, and I’m calling for Jimmy….” Yes, it was indeed the one and only, the iconic co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and one of America’s great progressive standard-bearers, still going strong at the age of 87! I had met her once before, in 1999, when the Southern California Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, which I headed up at the time, presented her with our headliner social justice award at a fundraising banquet. She remembered it well.

At Dolores Huerta’s table sat another political celebrity making calls. It seemed like she had mostly Spanish speakers on her list. “Yo soy Maria Elena,” she’d say, “y yo soy voluntaria….” This was the estimable Maria Elena Durazo, former secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, widow of Miguel Contreras who held that position before her, and more recently an officer with UNITE-HERE concentrating on immigrant issues.[12]

MPAC intern

In 2022 Ammar Ansari was a Muslim Public Affairs Council Congressional Leadership Development Program intern in Jimmy Gomez 's office.

Medicare for All

Hsingii Tseng Bird August 31, 2017:

1st they made us remove our signs, filtered out any hard question regards to Single Payer, then they tried to shout us down while we chanted "Single Payer Now" at the end of the "forum". We won't give up the fight for Single Payer Healthcare, and we are so tired of hearing excuses and talking points from leaders influenced by for-profit private insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies. Medicare for all coverage is long over due! #WeakSauceForum #SB562 #HealthyCA

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Medicare For All Congressional Caucus founders

In August 2018 Medicare For All Congressional Caucus founding members included Representative Jimmy Gomez.

Medicare for All Act

In February 2019 Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019. By May 29 she had 110 co-sponsors including Rep. Jimmy Gomez.

Liberty Hill Foundation

Board member

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As at 2009, Jimmy Gomez, Political Director, United Nurses Association, was on the Board of Directors of the Liberty Hill Foundation, a Los Angeles based organization seeking to advance movements for social change through a combination of grants, leadership training and alliance-building.[13]

Liberty Hill Commissions Training Program

In 2013, Liberty Hill Commissions Training Program Sponsorship Committee members: Sheila Kuehl (Chair), Director, Public Policy Institute at Santa Monica College and former State Senator; Dean Hansell President, Board of Fire & Police Pension Commissioners; Lara Bergthold, Principal, Griffin Schein; Aileen Adams, Deputy Mayor of Strategic Partnerships Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Stewart Kwoh, President, Asian Pacific American Legal Center; Kathay Feng, Executive Director, Common Cause; Tom Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Torie Osborn, Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood and Community Services Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Larry Frank, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Pascual Romel, Deputy Mayor for the Environment, Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Nolan Rollins, President & CEO Los Angeles Urban League; Helen Torres, Executive Director Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE); Regina Freer, Professor, Occidental College, Vice President, Planning Commission; Sharon Delugach, Community Engagement Coordinator, American Federation of Teachers; Roxana Tynan, Executive Director Los Angeles for a New Economy (LAANE). Honorary Co-Chairs: Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield.[14]

Congressional Progressive Caucus

In July 2017 Jimmy Gomez was a new member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[15]

Durazo connection

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Soliz connection

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Jimmy Gomez worked for several years for Rep. Hilda Solis.

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2015 United in Courage Awards

On June 30, 2015, Courage Campaign honored Douglas Moore, Jr., for his visionary leadership as Executive Director of United Domestic Workers of America, and his profound dedication to California’s workers and the broader progressive movement. Held at the beautiful Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento, the United in Courage Awards brings together California’s progressive leaders in the heart of the capital for a casual and celebratory evening. Presenting the award to Moore was Charisse Bremond Weaver, President of Brotherhood Crusade in Los Angeles. The inaugural Legacy in Courage Award was given to Willie L. Pelote, Sr., following his retirement from AFSCME California People. Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez spoke and presented the award to Pelote.

Special thanks to our sponsors: United Domestic Workers of America; American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; California Federation of Teacher; California Teachers Association; National Union of Healthcare Workers; The California Endowment; California Nurses Association; Kaufman Legal Group; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees; UFCW Western States Council; David Binder Research; SEIU-ULTCW; Brotherhood Crusade; AFSCME 3299; Orange County Employees Association; California School Employees Association; Capital & Main; California Black Health Network; Asian Americans Advancing Justice; and Groundworks Campaigns.[16]

KC Choi connection

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Jimmy Gomez with KC Choi

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NAKASEC connection

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Circa September 2017 Rep. Jimmy Gomez addressed a NAKASEC rally in Los Angeles.

Here to stay rally

Rally and musical and art performances on Saturday, January 14, 2017, starting at 11 a.m. at 501 North Main St, 90012, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes next to La Placita, Los Angeles.

Join us to stand up for the values of love, compassion and family as we begin a campaign of righteous resistance. We will join hands and stand together to oppose criminalization, mass deportations, and hate crimes. We are #HereToStay and we shall not be moved.

Speakers include: California State Controller Betty Yee; Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez; Miguel Santana, City Administrative Officer, City of Los Angeles; Angelica Salas, CHIRLA; Rusty Hicks, LAC Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Laphonza Butler, SEIU; Arlene Inouye, UTLA; and Tom Steyer, Next Gen Climate.

Hosted by (partial list):

African Coalition, Black Immigrant Network (BIN), Bend the Arc, California Dream Network (CDN), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Center for Community Change (CCC), Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), Human Rights Campaign, Korean Resource Center (KRC), Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Mi Familia Vota National Immigration Law Center, NextGen California, SEIU California, SEIU 721, SEIU 2015, SEIU UHWW, SEIU USWW, UCLA Dream Center, UNITE HERE, UTLA[17]

CHIRLA connection

CHIRLA held 2 roundtables with supportive Congressional representatives and Chambers of Commerce. One was held on October 18th with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Rep. Jimmy Gomez. A second Roundtable was held between CHIRLA California Dream Network youth and Rep. Linda Sanchez at Cal State Fullerton on October 19, 2017.

September/October 2017, CHIRLA organized 3 public events and 2 business roundtables with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Rep. Nanette Barragan and Rep. Jimmy Gomez, as well as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), and the Carson Chamber of Commerce.[18]

Future Forum Caucus

I’m making calls for Abby Finkenauer for Congress from the campaign office and you can too!

Abby Finkenauer for Congress December 6 2018:

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‪Happy to announce I was elected Vice-Chair of the Future Forum Caucus (young D members of Congress) along w/ Congressman Jimmy Gomez & Congressman -elect Antonio Delgado. Excited to join our Chairwoman Congresswoman Murphy as we work to bring hope and opportunities for growth across generations. ‬ — with Abby Finkenauer.

51st Assembly race

UFW Endorsement

Arturo Rodríguez was quoted in a United Farm Workers of America press release dated Sept 12, 2012 endorsing Jimmy Gomez for California assembly:[19]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mike Shimpock, Mike@SGACamp.com or Frank Torres, frank@jimmygomezforassembly.com

The United Farm Workers join co-founder Dolores Huerta in endorsing Jimmy Gomez as the candidate for working families in the 51st Assembly District.
The United Farm Workers were founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez and is the nation’s first successful and largest farm workers union currently active in 10 states. “The United Farm Workers are proud to endorse Jimmy Gomez, a true supporter of workers rights,” said Arturo Rodríguez, UFW President. “Farm workers in California fight to improve working conditions everyday and with a champion like Jimmy representing the 51st AD, Si Se Puede!”
The UFW is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and continues to grow throughout the United States. “It is an honor to be endorsed by both UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta and the UFW itself,” said Gomez. “Fifty years ago, Cesar Chavez stood up for the rights of working families in our state and I will do the same everyday in Sacramento.”
On June 5th, Gomez won the primary decisively by placing first among 5 candidates. He received 37.42% of the vote, over 12% more than the second place finisher. As the official candidate of the Democratic Party, California Federation of Labor and the clear choice of the communities in the 51st Assembly District, Gomez heads into the general election with momentum and a broad base of support.
Jimmy Gomez is currently a director for United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, AFL-CIO and a community college teacher. He lives in Echo Park with his wife Mary.

Other Labor Endorsements

Jimmy Gomez worked with SG&A Campaigns during his campaign for the 51st Assembly race. They put out a press release of his labor endorsements verbatim below:[20]

For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Shimpock, Mike@SGACamp.com
Following closely on his announcement of raising over $300,000, the momentum for Jimmy Gomez continues to build as he adds nearly ten new labor endorsements to his growing list of supporters, bringing with them funding, influence, and an army of volunteers.
Gomez’s new endorsements include:
Other Labor unions who have already endorsed:
In addition to a considerable war chest and impressive list of supporters, Gomez has assembled a strong team with a history of winning in the area: SG&A Campaigns as lead consultants (Parke Skelton, Steve Barkan, and Mike Shimpock), Groundworks Campaigns on field (Tracy Zeluff, Lea Grundy, and Joanna Riccardi), and Stephanie Daily on fundraising.
Gomez is also rapidly consolidating the most important endorsements in the district, from labor, community leaders, and local elected officials. A partial list includes L.A. Councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Assemblymember Mike Gatto, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (ret.), Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, as well as teachers, public safety, and nurses. A full list can be found at jimmygomezforassembly.com.
Jimmy Gomez is currently the political director for United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, AFL-CIO and an instructor at Los Angeles Trade Tech. He lives in Echo Park with his wife Mary.

Full List of Endorsers

From Jimmy Gomez's Assembly campaign website (archived):[21]

Supporters

ELECTED OFFICIALS

ORGANIZATIONS

LABOR UNIONS

COMMUNITY & BUSINESS LEADERS

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ [2]
  3. ↑ [3]
  4. ↑ [4]
  5. ↑ [5]
  6. ↑ https://meng.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/meng-hirono-and-chu-seek-stop-house-republicans-relaunching-trump-era]
  7. ↑ [6]
  8. ↑ [7]
  9. ↑ [http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/jimmy-gomez-elected-to-congress-from-downtown-los-angeles/ PW Jimmy Gomez elected to Congress from downtown Los Angeles June 7, 2017 9:24 AM CDT BY ERIC A. GORDON]
  10. ↑ [8]
  11. ↑ [LA Times MAY 16, 2017, 6:00 A.M. The political group Bernie Sanders helped start weighs in on L.A.'s congressional race,Christine Mai-Duc]
  12. ↑ [http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/jimmy-gomez-elected-to-congress-from-downtown-los-angeles/ PW Jimmy Gomez elected to Congress from downtown Los Angeles June 7, 2017 9:24 AM CDT BY ERIC A. GORDON]
  13. ↑ Liberty Hill website: Advisory Board
  14. ↑ [9]
  15. ↑ [10]
  16. ↑ [11]
  17. ↑ [12]
  18. ↑ CHIRLA Action Fund, A COLLECTION OF ACTIONS ORGANIZED TO PASS THE DREAM ACT
  19. ↑ United Farm Workers say, ¡Si Se Puede! with Jimmy Gomez in the 51st Assembly District (accessed Dec 30, 2022)
  20. ↑ Jimmy Gomez dominates Labor endorsements in 51st Assembly race; Compiles over two dozen labor endorsements (accessed Dec 30, 2022)
  21. ↑ [https://web.archive.org/web/20120529201229/http://jimmygomezforassembly.com/2012/supporters/ Supporters (accessed Dec 30, 2022)
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