Wendy Carrillo Vows To Fight For Eagle Rock's Progressive Causes

LOS ANGELES, CA — Wendy Carrillo said she is running in next Tuesday's congressional special election because "I want to unapologetically fight for progressive causes and take the resistance to Congress."

"My candidacy is the product of the unique moment we find ourselves in as a nation," Carrillo said in response to a set of questions from City News Service. "I'm livid, I'm taking action, and I want to lift up the voices of California's 34th."

Carrillo was the first candidate of the 23 on the ballot to respond to questions. She is among 19 Democrats on the ballot in the overwhelmingly Democratic 34th Congressional District.

Carrillo is a Boyle Heights resident who will be listed on the ballot as a "journalist/community advocate." She produced the public affairs program "Knowledge is Power" on KPWR-FM (105.9) for the past 10 years "where I've listened to the issues Angelenos faced."

Carrillo was at the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota from late October to early December "and saw first-hand how a militarized police treated peaceful water protectors," she said.

Carrillo fled her home in El Salvador as a child, was raised in City Terrace, graduated from Roosevelt High School, received a bachelor's degree from Cal State Los Angeles and a master's degree from USC, according to biographical material supplied by her campaign.

Carrillo said she learned when she was 13 years old she was in the country without legal permission, was eventually able to obtain legal status and became a citizen before turning 21.

Carrillo asked voters "to expand our definition of experience and consider the importance of lived experience."

"I don't need a briefing on the importance of public schools because they made me the person I am today," Carrillo said.

"I don't need a briefing on the importance of a $15 minimum wage, because I've worked jobs that pay less. I don't need a briefing on the importance of immigration reform, because I've lived it."

The field also includes Eagle Rock Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and former Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education member Yolie Flores, both Democrats.

There is one Republican on the ballot, business owner William "Rodriguez" Morrison and one candidate each from the Green and Libertarian parties, certified public accountant Kenneth Mejia and tenants' rights paralegal Angela E. McArdle.

Immigration law administrator Mark Edward Padilla did not state a party preference.

The special election was necessitated when Xavier Becerra was appointed as California's attorney general, succeeding Democrat Kamala Harris after she was elected to the U.S. Senate.

The district approximately stretches from Koreatown in the west to the Long Beach (710) Freeway in the east and from the Santa Monica (10) Freeway in the south to the Ventura (134) Freeway in the north. It includes downtown Los Angeles, the Westlake district, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights.

If no candidate receives a majority next Tuesday, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held June 6. Because of the large field, no candidate is expected to receive a majority.

By STEVEN HERBERT, City News Service; Photo courtesy of Paola Luisi