California has had a lot of governors, John. My story is nothing like theirs.

My name is Tony Thurmond. I’m a proud father, Afro-Latino, and long-time public servant who’s fought for Californians on my local school board, city council, in the state assembly and for the last five years as state superintendent – running the largest public education system in America.

The importance of service was ingrained in me by my mother, Cecelia. She was an immigrant from Panama and a classroom teacher. When I was just 6 years old, she died tragically, and my brother and I became orphans.

We were raised by our cousin. We were poor. We knew what hunger was and had to rely on food stamps. But public education was our great equalizer. It’s what enabled an orphan with no money, power or influence to grab on to opportunities and build a pathway to a better life.

I’ve spent my life fighting to ensure all Californians have those opportunities – which is why I’m running to be the next governor of California. If you believe this state should be a place where everyone can succeed, then please split a donation of $10 between my campaign and The Collective PAC right now.

Across our country, the very fabric of who we are as a society is being tested. California is the fifth largest economy in the world and home to some of the wealthiest people on the planet. But a crisis of poverty and homelessness exists alongside this wealth, and it’s only growing worse.

Home ownership is an unreachable dream. Schools are underfunded, and children are being used as pawns for extremist dogma that denies racism and attacks LGBTQ+ students. The climate is only growing hotter and disproportionately impacting the working poor. Our children are gunned down by weapons of war.

And let’s face it, John. Washington is too gridlocked to tackle these challenges with the urgency they deserve – and you better believe a growing right-wing movement is well-equipped to flip California red and send our state backward.

I’m running for governor to tackle these crises, move our state forward and empower those without a voice – but I need you with me. Will you join me by splitting a donation between my campaign and The Collective PAC? We still need to raise another $10,000 to show the strength of this grassroots movement, and it’s your contribution that will get us there.

My life’s work has been about fighting for a California where everybody has the same opportunities I did.

Together, we can raise the minimum wage and create jobs that pay the bills. We can build additional paths to home ownership, affordable rents and more housing altogether. We can take weapons of war off our streets, transition to cleaner energy faster and build safe, inclusive communities for everybody.

So please, will you help me become California’s next governor – and its first Afro-Latino governor – by splitting $10 or whatever you can between my campaign and The Collective PAC? Together, we’ll make this state a place where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Thank you,

Tony