John,
May is a special month for me, as we take time to reflect and celebrate the Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders who have contributed to America's history and are instrumental in shaping our future success.
As I reflect on all the ways the AANHPI community has enriched California, I can’t help but come back to reflecting on my parents – the love they showed day in and day out and the values they instilled in their children.
And when brought into my family’s dry cleaning business at age 8, I realize now looking back that in addition to their values, they counted on fairness, reliability, and integrity from our government in order for our family business to thrive, for our economic success to be possible. These qualities about government allowed them to take risks as small business owners to become financially secure to raise six children, all college graduates. We see these qualities in so many other aspects of our daily lives.
They are in our grocery store workers who show up each day to be sure we do not go without necessities.
They are in our firefighters who selflessly protect lives and properties.
They are in our overworked health care workers who are dedicated to caring for our challenged bodies, minds, and hearts.
They are in our public school educators who give so much of themselves, time, and needed refunds to serve our learners.
They are in our public servants, working for and giving voice to underserved communities across our state.
Right now, too many of us are lacking that economic security, and the reliability and transparency in government we need to achieve it - of course in Washington under Donald Trump, but far too often in Sacramento. Worse, we’re seeing vulnerable communities, including new waves of immigrants, being targeted and scapegoated by our supposed “leaders” to deflect from their own failures, revisiting some of the darkest periods of our history.
That’s one of the big reasons why I’m running for Governor – at a time when the dream of getting ahead to better provide for ourselves and our families is getting out of reach for too many among us, I want to ensure everyone has a voice in the room and someone with lived experience and proven ideas — a leader who is ready to make our state add up for everyone.
These are the values I’ll represent as your Governor, but I’ll need your help to get there. Can you chip in $3 to help us improve lives for working families in California?
Thank you,
Betty
