Pilar is a Small Business Owner and Nurse Advocate who has been delivering for the community for more than 20 years. Now, she’s running to bring that same community commitment with her to the Assembly.
As a Nurse Advocate and Small Business Owner, Pilar spent two decades helping to provide thousands of good paying jobs, guaranteed healthcare and retirement security for workers and families. She was at the table to negotiate one of the first $15 minimum wage increases in the nation, demand equal pay, and improve safety protections for frontline workers. Pilar will push for job training programs so people can get the skills they need to build a career and be financially secure. Pilar’s 20 year track record is why she is the only candidate endorsed by labor icon Dolores Huerta, the California Federation of Labor, SEIU California, California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and more then 55 unions representing millions of California workers.
Pilar has worked for over a decade to guarantee healthcare for ALL Californians. She believes that no one should be denied the quality healthcare they need. That’s why as a nurse advocate working for the California Nurses Association, she worked hard to provide healthcare coverage - including reproductive healthcare - for more than one million people. She will make passing guaranteed healthcare for every Californian one of her top priorities, so we can save our state and taxpayers billions of dollars, save lives, and keep our communities healthy. That’s why Pilar is endorsed by the California Nurses Association, SEIU 121 RN, United Nurses Association of California, and National Union of Healthcare Workers.
For years, Pilar has been a strong advocate in our community for real solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis. Politicians have failed us with homelessness policies that waste taxpayer dollars moving folks from sidewalk to sidewalk without getting anyone off the streets and into permanent housing. That’s why Pilar would first increase housing units, like the permanent housing she helped secure for local veterans, and then provide people with needed services to help get on their feet, and prevent others from falling into homelessness. When it comes to housing solutions, Pilar supports an all-of-the-above approach to housing that helps people afford to live in the communities where they work. She supports building more housing that people can afford, first-time homebuyer programs, and rental assistance and eviction protections for those who need it most.
As a small business owner, Pilar knows the challenges families face to make ends meet. As a single mom, she has balanced raising her daughter with her work, involvement in the PTA at her daughter’s school, and volunteering in her community. She co-founded an organization that has provided 40,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness. She knows that many people in our community work hard and still struggle, and she is running for Assembly to keep fighting for all of us. That’s why Pilar is endorsed by the California Democratic Party and dozens of leaders in the community.
As a single mom, Pilar understands the struggles many women face to balance work and supporting a family. Through her 20 years in the labor movement, Pilar fought for women to get equal pay, and fight harassment and discrimination. She believes the best way to close the gender wage gap as well as address the “motherhood penalty” is to guarantee workers living wages, healthcare for all, paid leave, and a reliable pension. As a Nurse Advocate with the California Nurses Association, Pilar was on the frontlines in the fight for healthcare for all, especially in protecting a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare and her right to choose. During the pandemic, Pilar co-founded an organization to provide meals and hygiene products to unhoused neighbors. Pilar has always been 100% pro-choice. That’s why she is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project of Los Angeles, California Women’s List, and California Nurses Association.
Having spent her childhood summers camping with her family, Pilar has a deep and personal connection to nature. Pilar knows that climate change is the single biggest issue we face as a state, a nation, and as a global community.
That’s why climate protection is a top priority for Pilar. She has personally experienced the increasing cost of fire insurance due to increased fire danger in the community, and pricing out families who once looked to this region as an affordable place to actually buy a home. She will work for policies to reduce the impacts of climate change on us all, including reducing fire threats and investing in forest maintenance in the mountains surrounding our two valleys.
And finally, drought continues in California, with 2022 on track to be the driest year in California history. AD40 has been struggling with severe drought. We face a real threat that there may not be enough water for our local communities. Pilar will fight for state investment to ensure our community has the water we need - in water table infrastructure, rainwater capture, and water reuse. That’s why Pilar is endorsed by the Sierra Club and California Environmental Voters.