On the last day of the summer, the councilman and former leader of the California Senate, Kevin De León launched his campaign for mayor of the city of Los Angeles.
“I am running to become in the next mayor of this great city of Los Angeles, not because of the challenges that we have before us but because I believe in the power and in the future of this great city ”, he said surrounded by a group of enthusiastic followers in an act held in the Dolores Square, in the heart of Los Angeles.
He affirmed that Los Angeles is a community in which neither earthquakes, nor the worst economic recession nor the global pandemic have shattered the collective determination to prosper.
“But there is one thing that we have learned in the last year and a half of turmoil, through uncertainty and isolation, we cannot go back to the old normality ”.
To Latinos and African Americans who have worked on the front line of combat against covid, the homeless who live in camps in almost every neighborhood, the Angelenos trained in food banks to collect a box of food for their children, the essential workers, treated as if they were expendable, and those who have managed to keep a roof over his head because of the eviction moratorium, he told them that “it is time to chart a new course for the city of Los Angeles.”
He affirmed that all these problems are deeply personal for he. “I know what it’s like to rent a crowded space, a room under someone’s basement.”
When he was young, he remembered that he just didn’t know if they would have enough money to make it into the next month.
“I can remember the deep shame and the look on my mother’s face when the landlord came to knock on the door to demand the rent.”
And her mother He put his finger to his lips and asked them to be quiet and not say a single word.
“The people of Los Angeles deserve to know that they are not alone, that Your next mayor knows what insecurity in your home is, what it feels like to sleep in a car for weeks and rely on the generosity of your friends to have a roof over your head at night. ”
AND He knows what it is to pay the rent and the mortgage every month, and also what it is to feel belittled.
He said that like his mother who worked all his life cleaning the houses of the richest , wants to work hard every day to make sure people have the opportunity to achieve their dreams in Los Angeles.
“I’ve done more than just talk about the issues. We are building new parks and improving everything that helps keep companies afloat. ”
He revealed that in 9 months he has been a councilor, in his district, they have created almost 2000 housing units for the homeless, more than anywhere else in the city of Los Angeles.
“For the year 2025, we want to build 25, 000 homes per year ”.
With experience and humility
Juan José Gutiérrez, director of the One Stop Immigration Center, where Kevin De León was an English teacher and regional director when they operated 56 offices in California over the years 80, said his greatest strength is his commitment to the policies he believes in.
“Even when the political winds blow in another direction, he stands firm and fights.”
He said that De León comes from a community experience where he has left paw print. “There can be no greater trench for Kevin than to get into the most unprotected communities.”
Francisco Moreno, director of the Council of Mexican Federations (COFEM), came to support De León , because he said he has followed his mark as an assemblyman, senator, leader of the California Senate and now as a Los Angeles councilor.
“We support him to become mayor because we feel that with him at the helm, We are going to have an open door to expose our problems to him. ”
He said that he also brings a plan that may be to address the problem of the homeless.
“The most important thing for us as Latinos is that Kevin understands our language, the immigrant community and we feel represented.”
Rayito Pedroti Sandoval, a neighbor of the El Sereno community, said that she came to support him, because as an active member of a group of seniors, De León has always supported them.
“I like his way of being, the humility with which he helps and represents us. He listens to you and if he can’t help you, he tries at least to give you the resources. ”
In addition to De Léon, they have launched their campaign to Los Angeles Mayor for the Year 2022, Council Member Joe Buscaino and City Attorney Mike Feuer.
De León is a councilor for the district 14 representing neighborhoods such as Downtown, Boyle Heights , Eagle Rock, Highland Park, El Sereno, Garvanza, Glassell Park, Lincoln Heights and Monterey Hills .