Dear friend:
Thank you! Your continued support, encouragement, and hard work ensured we won this race for Assembly District 51!
In particular, I want to thank our dedicated campaign team and all of our volunteers and supporters, from working men and women in the labor movement, to organizations dedicated to protecting our most vulnerable communities, including immigrants, women, the elderly, those with disabilities, communities of color and our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. They worked tirelessly to ensure this victory, and I am truly honored to have had their support, faith, and friendship.
But our work is simply beginning.
We need to continue standing together to protect our shared progressive values from the unprecedented attacks being levied by the Trump Administration. In the Assembly, I’ll stand up for women’s rights, improved access to quality healthcare while working toward universal healthcare, work to ensure our students can get a quality education, will fight to deliver high-wage jobs and continue to be an advocate for affordable housing.
There are critical issues ahead, and I’m looking forward to getting to Sacramento, rolling up my sleeves, and working hard to deliver for our district and our state.
In solidarity,
Wendy
Labor activist Wendy Carrillo will be L.A.’s newest Assembly member
By Javier Panzar, Ellis Simani and Michael Livingston
The Los Angeles Times
Democratic labor activist Wendy Carrillo won a special election in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and will serve out the term of former assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, who was elected to Congress in a special election earlier this year.
Carrillo’s opponent, fellow Democrat Luis López, called her to concede late Tuesday evening as Carrillo led López 52.83% to 47.17% with a 943-vote margin.
Tuesday’s vote is the last in a series of four special elections that have reshuffled the political landscape in a section of Los Angeles stretching from Silver Lake to Eagle Rock and East Los Angeles.
The string of elections was triggered when Barbara Boxer announced her retirement from the U.S. Senate more than two years ago. Kamala Harris won Boxer’s seat, and Los Angeles Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed to fill out Harris’ term as state attorney general. Gomez beat out a large field of candidates to succeed Becerra, a 24-year House veteran, and in July he began work in Washington.
Carrillo will take over for Gomez in the Assembly when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January to begin the second year of a two-year legislative session.
Carrillo, a former local radio host and communications manager for a Service Employees International Union affiliate, counted on her personal history — she was brought to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was a child, became a citizen in her early 20s and went on to graduate from Cal State L.A. and earn a master’s degree at USC — to resonate in the district, home to a large Latino population.
At an election night party at an East Los Angeles restaurant, Carrillo told a crowd of students, activists and political leaders including California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León that her win would send a message to other candidates from nontraditional backgrounds that transitioning into politics and winning elections is possible.
“You don’t need to wait to get tapped on the shoulder for someone to tell you it’s your turn,” she said. “You have to fight.”