Joseph’s grandparents immigrated to California from Mexico to labor in tomato fields and canneries in the 1960s. Through hard work and determination, they climbed into the middle class to build opportunities for their family. Joseph’s mother struggled with addiction, so he spent most of his childhood living with his father, who raised a family of five in Riverside on a truck driver’s salary. But when Joseph came out as gay at 17, he had to move out. Though his early years were marked by hardship, trauma, and housing insecurity, Joseph excelled in school, participated in the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Conference, and worked part-time as a dishwasher.
We have an opportunity to strengthen our infrastructure and reimagine what that means for our future. The roads we drive on, the bridges we cross, the schools our kids attend, and the hospitals that provide crucial care, especially during this pandemic, should not be political battlegrounds. I will work to deliver the funding and projects that will strengthen our communities and prepare them for the future.