The senator can be sensitive to issues but also very strong and ready to defend her views.
As a child, she played hide and go seek, enjoyed playing Nintendo or building treehouses. She dreamed of being an astronaut, traveling the world as a Globe-Trotter, and now she’s the most powerful woman in California politics.
Her name is Lena Gonzalez, representing the 33rd District in the State Senate. A few months ago, she was named the leader of the Democratic majority in Sacramento. Born in Torrance, she comes from a migrant family; her mother was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Although the senator has a lot of responsibilities, duties, and power resting on her shoulders, all that doesn’t seem to affect her humility or that transparent big smile. It’s not just any ordinary smile; it’s clear and transparent but full of sincerity.
“I smile sometimes, not all the time,” the senator responds in an interview with Parriva.
And we believe her. There are so many politics and interests in Sacramento that she must have a firm, solid character to carry out all the challenges and initiatives in one of the most important states in the world and one of the most powerful economies in the world.
“That’s my obligation, to try to do the best job possible, while fighting to implement the most important policies that have an impact on the most vulnerable communities. I don’t see my family from Monday to Thursday; I have three children and my husband, and I’m away from them on those 4 days. That sacrifice has to mean something; so if I do it, I’ll do it well.”
Her youngest son, only nine years old, you would think he would resent her absence the most, but he supports her, as does the rest of her family.
“He tells me when I leave, ‘I know you’re doing a lot of good in your work,'” Lena says.
“I don’t see my family from Monday to Thursday; I have three children and my husband, and I’m separated from them on those days. That sacrifice has to mean something; if I do it, I’ll do it well.”
The senator can be sensitive to the issues but also very strong and ready to defend her views.
“I grew up surrounded by women; my parents worked a lot, they were hardworking people, but I had my aunts and my grandmothers, they were always there. They were strong women, supportive, but strong. They would spend time talking around the house, expressing opinions, and defending their points of view. I was very ‘chismocita’, I would stay around, listening to what they were saying. At that age, I didn’t have an understanding of what they were talking about, but somehow it influenced me,” says the state senator.
Once, one of her grandmothers took her to the beach; she would have been about nine years old. When they arrived, a white man approached them and started insulting them. The typical racist insults. “Go back to your country,” “Get out of here.”
“That inpacted me a lot, maybe not at that moment, but it has stayed with me for all this time. I remember my grandmother telling me not to pay attention, and to keep going, but I did pay attention. Now, because of my position, I can promote the lessons from that situation; beaches, parks, and public places are for everyone to enjoy, without distinction. That memory helps me promote legislation that benefits communities,” she says.
My aunts and my father also made an impact in my life. She remembers the smells of the kitchen… – “My aunt makes the best potatoes for Thanksgiving… my other aunt the enchiladas, the sopes…” – Lena shares, they also left a mark on her. Her father, Vince, a cargo truck driver, always taught her not to give up, and to keep going.
“He was very hardworking, he didn’t have much money, but that wasn’t important to him. Values were the most important thing to him,” she shares.
In my mind comes the image of Lena among all those women. They resemble those Adelitas who were so important during the time of the Mexican Revolution. They cared for the wounded, acted as spies, supplied food to the camps, safeguarded the honor of young women, and bravely raised both their firearms and intellectual weapons against the social injustice that oppressed the laborers and also demanded their rights as women.
The women who surrounded Lena defended courage, justice, and family.
At the age of 19, she had her first child. But that obligation didn’t paralyze her; on the contrary, she continued studying and taking care of her motherly duties. And not only that, little by little, she slipped into the world of politics.
She worked as an assistant in the office of then Long Beach councilman, Robert Garcia; then she assumed the position of councilwoman in the same city and moved to the state senate in 2019, taking the seat vacated by Ricardo Lara, where this year she has become a state senator and one of the most powerful women in California. This is an example for young Latinas; there is always an opportunity to reach new heights.
“When I ran for City Council, many people criticized me, saying I was too young and had a child. I showed the community that I could make a difference,” she adds.
However, there’s something she doesn’t forget: humility.
“My position in the senate will eventually be over; I don’t know what I’ll do next. But for now, I can’t pretend to be a tough, serious woman who doesn’t sympathize with people. I can’t just pretend to play a role and do nothing. We are here to listen and make a difference in people and communities. We always have to be kind to people. We may have whatever flaws, it’s part of nature, but we have to believe that we can do good,” she says.
The senator still doesn’t think about what’s next for her in the world of politics.
“I’m clear that I don’t want to be in Washington. I love Los Angeles, my district; I like being in Sacramento. I know that from these places, I can see the difference my work makes. If something is missing, and I have the budget, I assign it and see the changes. Washington is too far away, with too much politics that make it difficult to see immediate changes,” she says.
I can’t pretend to be a tough, serious woman who doesn’t sympathize with people. I can’t just play a role. We are there to listen and make a difference in people and communities.
Lena’s social conscience is intact and well-positioned. She is aware of the terrible problem of housing, homelessness, and the climate crisis.
“The homeless problem in the Latino community is very difficult. It’s increasing at a very fast pace. We can say that not everyone lives on the streets, because they live with family, an uncle, or a brother, but they don’t have a home. We have to work very hard on that. We can’t have people who can’t pay rent, who receive threats of eviction. Some neighborhoods don’t accept the construction of affordable housing. I tell those neighborhoods, ‘It benefits you to have those new homes; it raises the value of the houses in the neighborhood,’ but we still have to work hard on that,” she says.
One could imagine Lena as the female version of the great defenders of the people, who go forward and fight tirelessly to achieve justice and better conditions for communities.
“Let’s be honest, many times there’s just ‘noise’ in Sacramento, and not much gets done. We need more politicians to join and meet these demands, to have that sensitivity. We are here now; let’s do it,” says Lena.
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