This Tuesday’s June 3 primary election for the 54th District California State Assembly seat will pit two Democrats with a long history against each other. We asked Vice-Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga to address you, their constituents, with one last letter explaining why they deserve your vote this Tuesday.
The victor will face the winning Republican candidate, Gabriella Holt or Michael A. Jackson, in the November general election for the seat.
Bonnie Lowenthal
The State of California is once again in crisis. The budget is in shambles. Funding is being dramatically cut for cities, counties, and school districts, resulting in decreased access to education, loss of local services, and an unacceptable reduction in our quality of life. The future looks grim. Our legislature is so divided that effective legislation is difficult to pass. Divisiveness abounds in Sacramento.
The only solution is to change the status quo by electing strong legislators who can build consensus and turn the state around. My professional background as an educator and family counselor has given me the tools to put together alliances to achieve goals. I have been effective in pursuing my own legislative goals on the Long Beach City Council, and I have an 87% success rate in passing the city council motions I have authored. I am also endorsed by Mayor Bob Foster, former Mayors Kell and Sato, as well Councilmembers Patrick O’Donnell, Val Lerch, Suja Lowenthal, and over 70 elected officials which further demonstrates my effectiveness.
If elected, I intend to continue my lifelong service to the community and to advance a progressive agenda in the areas of education, health care and environmental protection. I will fight to close the billions in corporate tax loopholes and tax expenditures so we can begin to invest in our future once again. We cannot continue to spend more than we are bringing in. Your household budget is not run that way, nor should the state’s.
My goals are in three basic areas:
Quality universal health care. It is appalling that the US spends far more for medical care and receives scandalously less service, particularly for the elderly, poor, and the one-fifth of our population that is uninsured. I will fight to establish a fair system in California.
Education: As a former school board member and educator, I am firmly committed to fully funding our schools, retaining small class sizes, improving vocational training and providing full access to higher education. The impending budget cuts to education seriously imperils our state’s future workers, and may have the effect of creating a permanent underclass, necessitating importing workers from other states. We must create opportunity for our own residents.
Environment: I will work to address the serious health problems caused by the presence of the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports in my district. My communities have some of the highest rates of cancer, respiratory and cardio pulmonary diseases in the County, largely as a result of addressable environmental factors. I have a strong record of fighting unacceptable uses in the ports, such as expanded rail yards near schools and neighborhoods and the proposed LNG facility that recently announced they are abandoning the effort.
I have a reputation as both a fighter and a consensus builder, and I would very much appreciate your vote so that together we can make a difference in our state’s fiscal, environmental, and educational health.
Tonia Reyes Uranga
Dear Friends,
There’s an important election on Tuesday June 3rd to replace State Assemblywoman Betty Karnette, who’s leaving the Legislature in the fall.
On that day, Democrats and Republicans will choose their strongest Assembly candidate to face-off in November.
It’s with both pride and humility, I ask for your vote to be the Democratic nominee.
With your support and energy, we’ll go on to win against the Republicans in November.
As I thought about running against other candidates in a Democrat Primary, I remembered my first campaign years ago…I lost by one vote…that’s right…one vote!!
That one vote changed my life forever. It was living proof that every single person matters…and that a single vote does make a difference.
I also learned another lesson. That big money campaigns often distort the truth, manipulate the facts, and use their money to launch negative campaigns. Negative campaigning is why so many people are disgusted with politics.
Rather than talk about it, I’m going to do something about. Here is how I am going to conduct my Democratic Primary Campaign:
On behalf of myself, and my campaign team, I pledge to not engage in negative campaigning.
I ask all of my supporters to stay positive about our campaign and to not engage in negative campaigning or personal attacks.
My campaign will remain focused on talking with you about my Democratic values, leadership experience and new ideas about how to get things done and solve tough problems that make a real difference in people’s lives.
Your help is essential for me to win. I don’t have a huge campaign war chest or personal money to pour into my campaign. But I’ve got something that money can’t buy…heart, drive, dedication, commitment and the support of the many people I have worked with as a community leader, job counselor, and City Councilwoman.
I hope my lifetime of service and accomplishment has earned your trust, and your vote.
Please call me with questions at (562) 366-4308 or go to our website – www.tonia2008.com.
Thank you for your consideration.
Tonia Reyes Uranga
Democrat for Assembly
City Council and SCAQMD Governing Board Member
P.S. I am proud to be endorsed by our classroom teachers, city firefighters, the Los Angeles County Young Democrats, the California Labor Federation, NOW and the only candidate endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus – a national a multicultural, intergenerational, and multi-issue grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process.