A year ago, I had no idea I would be running for office. But I did know I wanted to step up and do something good, so I got involved.

I started volunteering to help canvass, write postcards, and talk to voters during elections. I got more involved in my local community and was appointed to the Silverado-Modjeska Recreation and Parks Board as Treasurer. I joined local clubs and started organizing community get-togethers.

As I got more involved, opportunities kept showing up, and I kept saying yes.

And then I found myself stepping forward to run for the 71st Assembly District in the California state legislature to bring a fresh perspective and represent my community.

My experience as immigrant who came to this country to attend university informs my perspective. I was born and raised in Honduras, a small country in Central America, with a mom who taught kindergarten and a dad who was an insurance broker. Their hard work gave me a place in a bilingual school where I learned to speak fluent English and was exposed to opportunities to study abroad.

From afar, I admired the United States of America, as a place of opportunity where you could get ahead by working hard—a place with fair, equitable laws that protected the rights of its citizens.

So, I worked hard to earn a scholarship to attend college in California and I accomplished that, paying my way through school with scholarships and part-time jobs.

After graduating, I built a successful career in technology and consulting for small startups and large companies, which taught me to find creative, solutions to produce effective results.

This is something we need more of in government that often seems to focus on process over outcomes.

I’m proud of my accomplishments and grateful for my parents’ efforts, the love of my wife, my friends’ support, and the work of everyone who helped me come and build a life in California.

And I’m thankful for the perspective I gained growing up because it helped me understand how special a place the United States of America is. Which is why I’m heartbroken to see some of the things I admired about the US start change and resemble the country where I grew up with its troubling history of corruption, abuse of power, human rights issues, and political divisiveness.

I am running to represent California’s 71st Assembly District because I believe we need people to work together and use our elected positions to make things better for the communities we represent.

I believe we need someone who will champion everyone’s human rights and protect their opportunity to work hard to build a better life for themselves and their children.

We need a representative who understands the people who live in our communities, who listens to them, who works hard to make their lives better, and who serves ALL of them, regardless of party, because even with our differences, we are still a community and we look after each other.

I would be proud to be that person for you.

JJ lives with his wife and two dogs in Silverado Canyon

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