Come Election Day, one outcome is a foregone conclusion in the race for the open Assembly District 54 seat in Los Angeles County. Voters are set to elect a gay Democrat of color to the legislative seat.
What won't be known for certain until the vote count is finished in the November 5 contest is whether it will be Mark Gonzalez or John K. Yi. With his being the former chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the district director for Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), who is termed out this year, Gonzalez has racked up significant support from a who's who of Democratic elected officials, labor unions, advocacy groups, and LGBTQ organizations.
He placed first in the March primary with 45% of the vote and has long been viewed as the likely winner of the seat. Yi took second place with 34.5% of the primary vote and is backed by a number of progressive elected officials and groups like the Feel the Bern Democratic Club and East Area Progressive Democrats.
"I leave it in the voters' hands at this point," said Gonzalez. "I am a strong believer in faith. I am confident but not complacent."
Yi has teamed up with several other out progressive candidates running for a U.S. House seat, Dave Kim, and a Los Angeles City Council seat, Ysabel Jurado, to canvass voters; they are holding a joint get-out-the-vote event this weekend. While viewed as the underdog candidate, Yi has been able to mount a strong ground campaign and canvass voters in the district having quit his job in the spring as executive director of Los Angeles Walks, a pedestrian safety advocacy group.
His opponents are taking his candidacy seriously and have poured close to $250,000 into an independent expenditure committee working to see that Gonzalez wins their race. The money being spent on the Assembly race, said Yi, is a prime example of the entrenched political network he and his fellow progressives are running against.
"This has been a trademark of this campaign from when I started running in April of last year. I am running up against a well-entrenched political machine," said Yi, who could become the first out Korean legislator in Sacramento should he win the seat.
Last month, the LGBT Caucus Leadership Fund overseen by the Legislature's affinity group for out lawmakers ponied up $100,000 for the committee backing Gonzalez. Two weeks ago, the Equality California Political Action Committee funneled $15,000 toward it. The statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization over the summer also gave the maximum amount of $5,500 directly to Gonzalez's campaign.
Gonzalez is an at-large member of the executive committee for the Equality California Institute Board, the educational arm for EQCA. As the Political Notebook column last week noted, altogether EQCA has given the third highest amount this year toward electing Gonzalez compared to the money it is using to benefit the campaigns of six out legislative candidates on the fall ballot. They are all seeking either Assembly or Senate seats in Southern California.
"With Mark Gonzalez, we have had the pleasure of working alongside him for years," EQCA Managing Director of External Affairs Tom Temprano told the Bay Area Reporter. "We know that on day one, Mark will be able to navigate his way around the Capitol and will be able to carry and support the complex legislation EQCA likes to see legislators introduce and get passed."
The independent committee is spending six-figures on ads this month on digital platforms and connected TV, meaning streaming services, to convince voters to support Gonzalez, said Temprano. Despite the strong backing with Democratic Party circles Gonzalez has received, EQCA officials and others supporting him believe the contest could be a close one and wanted to ensure they are doing all they can to see him win, explained Temprano.
"We want to make sure we do everything we need to do to help him get elected. In Los Angeles lately, if you have been watching the recent election results, you know you should not take anything for granted," said Temprano.
Gonzalez, 40, noted to the B.A.R. that he has no control over the money being spent on the race by outside groups. He has seen their ads supporting him and appreciates the assistance for his candidacy.
"I do see the mailers. I do see the ads. I am so, so phenomenally appreciative of whoever made the decision to do that," said Gonzalez, who is mounting his first bid for a publicly elected position. "I think it is more reflective of the fact that the community, or those helping me on the outside of it, recognize the work I have done as chair of the local Democratic Party and for my community. This is their way to ensure my victory because they know I have been a lifelong champion of their causes."
Yi, 39, told the B.A.R. he understands that groups like EQCA give money to the candidates they see as the winners in the various races and by doing so are "hedging their bets." This is also his first time seeking an elected office and has come to see how candidates are often judged by outside groups not by their platform or experience but by how much money they can raise for their campaigns.
"For too long in California politics, we measure winnability by money. For me, that is not the measuring stick we should be using," said Yi, who lives with his husband in Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood. "Unfortunately, that is not the reality you are facing, and you understand these dynamics."
While he said Gonzalez has the advantage when it comes to money, as he had already spent more than $883,000 on his campaign by mid-September compared to the nearly $87,000 Yi had spent, Yi told the B.A.R. he believes he has a better message and better mechanics behind his bid having worked as a community organizer.
"I have been knocking on doors for the past five months five hours a day," said Yi, which he believes is "scaring" those aligned behind Gonzalez.
He also said he believes people are ready to see a change in leadership for the district in which he was born and raised by immigrant parents. When he asks people if their lives have improved over the last 25 years with the Democratic Party-backed holders of the Assembly seat, Yi said, "No one will say yes to that."
Gonzalez told the B.A.R. he is proud to have the support not only of his boss but that of gay former Assemblymember John A. Pérez, who had previously represented the 54th Assembly District and went on to become the first gay Assembly speaker. He first met both before they were elected legislators via their involvement on the Democratic County Central Committee that runs the local party. Gonzalez, who worked for Pérez as a senior field representative, quipped, "We are making the seat gay again."
Growing up
Raised in a devout Catholic Latino family and attends Mass every Sunday, Gonzalez moved from Texas to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock when he was 7 years old with his mother, who was escaping an abusive relationship with his father. She grew up in East Los Angeles and wanted to return to be closer to her family.
For a number of years now Gonzalez has been the main caretaker for his mother, who until recently had been living on her own nearby him. With his focus on the campaign, she is now living with his brother's family in Texas. Should he be elected, Gonzalez said they will need to discuss a more permanent living situation for their mother since he will be spending most of his time in Sacramento.
"She gets to be with her grandkids," noted Gonzalez, who is president of the board for the operator of free community clinics in Los Angeles.
He said he would work in the Legislature to address the caregiving issues families like his and others with elderly family members are confronting, like raising the $1,500 cap on how much people on Social Security can receive and still be eligible for the state's Medi-Cal health insurance program.
"We have this massive senior tsunami," said Gonzalez, about to hit California as its residents age.
He has worked in the 54th District for the past 14 years and lives in Chinatown. From a young age he has been interested in politics and worked on behalf of a number of Democratic candidates since volunteering during high school on then-congressmember Xavier Becerra's campaign. Not only did the politician leave an indelible impression on Gonzalez, so did the other people working on the campaign who warmly welcomed the teen onto the team.
"With my own campaign I tell people to always have food and to make sure it is good food and snacks. I believe you should treat everybody the same with kindness, whether it is the parking attendant or the CEO of the company that is running it, because you never know where you will be in life," said Gonzalez.
He argued that he is the true progressive candidate in a race where experience with the inner workings of the state government matters.
"You can't wake up one day and run for office," argued Gonzalez. "The reality is you need experience to get things done. The outside groups know that he is not fit for office."
Yi countered with two gay guys running to return LGBTQ representation to the district, voters should consider "the kind of queer LGBTQ Democrat you want." He considers himself to be an "outsider Democrat" who will not be beholden to corporate interests.
"We are hearing throughout the district a disaffection of the Democratic Party, understandably so," he told the host of the Korean American Podcast Ktown Social Club. "One of the mandates of our campaign is showing a different kind of Democrat."
In less than two weeks the district's voters will provide the answer on which of the two they feel will better represent them in the statehouse.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on SF school board candidates' positions on funding an advisory group for LGBTQ families.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
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