Cristina Garcia: Candidate for State Assembly, 58th District

By Brian Hews

Cristina Garcia, a candidate for California State Assembly in the new 58^th District is becoming one of the most recognizable figures in reforming corruption that plagued local city halls during the past few years.

Garcia is promoting “ethical conduct in local and state government,” in her campaign for Assembly.

She told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper that she “firmly believes that doing the right thing is worth the effort and that hard work pays off.”

Garcia was raised in the Southeast Los Angeles community of Bell Gardens and attended local schools. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree from Pomona College, two Masters Degrees from Claremont Graduate University and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and a PhD from USC.

She has also been a proponent for quality public education and is determined to “be a strong advocate of change” in Sacramento, if she is elected.

Garcia is a professor, instructor and educator who has taught statistics at the University of Southern California (USC), Mathematics at Los Angeles City Community College, and has taught middle school and high school students through the Jaime Escalante Program at East Los Angeles Community College and Huntington Park High School.

When the Bell corruption scandal broke two years ago, Garcia gained national attention and quickly became one of the most recognizable “faces” in the movement that eventually led to the indictments of eight city officials.

“When the chips were down, I was will the community to help augment change,” Garcia said.

She credits her work with them to form BASTA -the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse that in her words “ushered out corrupt officials, and ushering in accountability and transparency.”

Garcia likes her chances in this campaign for state assembly and tells LCCN that she has “hit the streets” and is amassing a “ground troop” of volunteers who want to see “real change in Sacramento.”

“Good government starts with clean, open and honest elected officials,” she said.

She said that she learned from her mother’s life example.

“My mom is one of those no-nonsense, no-excuses people. She passionately believes in hard work and the American Dream.” She concludes, “To protect that American Dream, we desperately need to change our political system to one of service and not pay outs. Working families are the ones hurt most by corruption and greed.”