She launched her campaign for the council during the Day of the Dead celebrations in 2019. She made an altar at her mother’s house where her cousin’s photos and other family members’ pictures were placed. The political career she was just starting was a personal matter, and she was not alone on that path.
A phone call was the breaking point in Sasha Renée Pérez’s life. When she answered, she heard the voice from the coroner’s office—her cousin, Adam, had died. For several years, he had lived on the streets and didn’t survive.
“It hurt a lot; it really broke me. I had searched for him on the streets without success. I had to rethink my life,” says the current Vice Mayor of Alhambra.
Sasha, as we’ll respectfully call her in this interview, has had a meteoric career in politics, always adopting a fight against injustices. At 28, she first became a City Councilwoman and shortly after, the Mayor of Alhambra.
“I had been working so hard on various causes, helping many people, and volunteering for many social causes. When my cousin’s situation happened, I questioned why, despite everything I did, I couldn’t help my family. That’s when I decided to run for a political position in the next elections. I had to take my fight to that space, changing social policies, taking the initiative so that the things Adam experienced could be resolved,” says Sasha.
She launched her campaign for the council during the Day of the Dead celebrations in 2019. She made an altar at her mother’s house where her cousin’s photos and other family members’ pictures were placed. The political career she was just starting was a personal matter, and she was not alone on that path.
“Her campaign has always appealed to the community from the ground up. For her, being in contact with people is essential in this campaign.”
Sasha Renee Perez overwhelmingly won the election based on her campaign and the work she did at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everything was confusing; I started doing what I could. Distributing food, and opening support lines with information to get help. People approached me; it was something new for me—people I didn’t know, in video calls, thought I was already a councilwoman; they didn’t know I was just a candidate. That impacted me. It gave me the idea that people are hungry for public officials to be there for them when they need them. People were surprised to see me arrive, they’d say, ‘You came?’ And I’d say, ‘Of course. I promised I’d come!'” she adds.
“I barely slept, one to three hours a day. I was scared, questioning the decisions I made. I came to a decision—suck it up and move forward,” she says.
Not only did she win the election to become a councilwoman, but she also became the youngest mayor in the city’s history, due to the rotating system of that governing body. Now, a few years later, she is seeking to become the state senator representing District 25.
She laughs when I tell her she does everything very quickly and very young. However, the confidence she conveys and her knowledge of the spaces and problems around her make her more than prepared for any challenge.
Sasha was born into a strict but education-focused family. Perhaps because of them, this topic is one of her main interests now in her political initiatives. She herself is a witness to its importance.
As a child, she loved reading. But not comic stories about Superman or Wonder Woman. She had two favorite topics: insects and the human body.
“I don’t know why,” she laughs again. She has a fresh and friendly smile. “I couldn’t stand hurting them. My mother bought me a bug house where I kept them. I read everything about them, I was very interested in going further, knowing them, and understanding their etymological origin. I did the same with anatomy. I tried to explain the world I lived in. There were some that scared me, like assassin bugs or lovebugs; they terrified me,” she shares.
“Everything was confusing; I started doing what I could. Distributing food, and opening support lines with information to get help. People approached me; it was something new for me.”
Her mother is a polyglot, speaking Latin, Spanish, English, and “who knows how many more languages.” She spent time explaining the origin of words to young Sasha. The girl could see the relationship between things and that everything has an origin.
As a child, she wanted to study veterinary medicine; politics was not on her mind, even though her father, a unionist, took her to campaign events for Gloria Molina or Hillary Clinton.
“There were always political discussions at home. I listened, trying to connect the dots, even though I didn’t understand anything,” she adds.
It was in high school that she experienced her first interest. She joined the debate team, preparing discussion material on the most important topics. She was very good at it.
Then came the budget cuts in 2009, and she saw after-school programs disappear due to lack of funds. She didn’t understand why; she was 16 or 17 years old. What she did know was that something had to be done.
“There were many problems in our community, among my classmates. We needed information on health, sex education, alcoholism, and addictions. We formed a club with other classmates and discussed these problems, sharing information. Classmates confessed they had problems with alcohol or their parents drank a lot. It was very positive for us,” she says.
However, school officials didn’t like it. “This has gone too far,” a teacher told her. The program was suspended, and Sasha realized later that they shouldn’t have done that. She was very angry and felt powerless. Despite her parents’ concerns, she continued her student activism. The foundations of her political interests were already quite solid.
“I wanted to help people; my parents thought I was going to be a doctor. Everything that happens in political discussions is very personal to me. The housing problems, homelessness, rising rents, the harm from oil exploration—everything affects me a lot. I strongly believe in karma. I know that if I can do my part, and help within my possibilities, it will come back to me later.”
Sasha knows the path ahead in this election is not easy, but she is confident she can do an excellent job in Sacramento.
“People who know me say I have clean glasses. I think change is possible; little by little, we can make a difference. We will get there,” she says.
Now, when she goes to sleep, she thinks about pending things, problems and their solutions. Her insect books are there, but now she reads more about research studies, seeking to understand things and provide answers.
“There are many problems we face today; we can’t ignore them. We have to tackle them, come up with solutions,” and she concludes by saying, “I’m happy. I feel incredibly blessed.”
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