The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and will soon have a new member, Jimmy Gomez, who just won California’s 34th congressional district, an ultra-safe blue district. A low voter turnout gave the 42-year-old Democrat the nod in a special election in which he was pitted after the jungle primary against Robert Ahn, a Republican from 1994 until 2012 who claimed during the primary to be a “lifelong Democrat.” Christine Mai-Duc reports:
Gomez will take the seat vacated by Xavier Becerra, who became state attorney general earlier this year, and will represent one of the poorest, most immigrant-heavy districts in the state, where the effects of President Trump’s policies on immigration and healthcare will be acutely felt.
His election continues a decades-old tradition of Democratic Latino representation in the district, which stretches from downtown Los Angeles to Boyle Heights and incorporates Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Koreatown. If Ahn had won, he would have become the second Korean American elected to the House and the first Korean American Democrat.
After the primary, Gomez, who supported Hillary Clinton in her 2016 campaign, gained widespread support from California’s Democratic Party establishment. This includes Gov. Jerry Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; the powerful California Nurses Association that was a strong and vocal backer of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign; Our Revolution, which seeks to harness the energy of the Sanders’ campaign to transform the party by moving it leftward; and the two co-chairs of the CPC, Reps. Keith Ellison and Raúl Grijalva.
Gomez is one of the co-authors of a bill for a California single-payer healthcare system that recently passed the state Senate, backs a progressive and comprehensive reform of immigration policy, and supports sanctuary cities.
In an interview in April, Gomez was asked by the Los Angeles Times:
What do you believe the role of charter schools should be in public education, and what role should the federal government versus the states have in oversight and accountability for school districts?
“I recognize that charter schools are now part of our educational system, but they need to be transparent and held accountable for results. That means they must be subject to the same oversight as all other public schools. Oversight is best done at the state and local level. I will vigorously oppose efforts by Trump and [Education Secretary] Betsy DeVos to undermine public education through unregulated charters and vouchers which would fund sectarian and for-profit schools. American democracy rests upon a foundation of universal, equal education. I do not support ‘reforms’ that create a two-tiered educational system.”
In a debate May 25, Gomez said:
“Capitulation will lead to failure. So that’s why I think there’s a big difference between my opponent and myself [...] I understand the politics of Washington, D.C. You need to hold firm, you need to work with your colleagues and you need to throw elbows.”