Diane Martinez stresses local successes, key endorsements, in 63rd Assembly race

By Brian Hews

Diane Martinez has lived her entire life in the 63^rd Assembly District and dedicated much of her adult life serving the community as an educator, city councilwoman and Mayor of Paramount for the past 18 years.

Martinez, 52, is a graduate of California State University in Long Beach, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Education. She said that she is “proud” of her accomplishments in Paramount. “In 1983, when I got elected to the Paramount City Council, it was one of the worst places in the nation, but we stepped up to the plate, strategized with our city manager, created a plan that would turn our community around,” Martinez said.

Now, she points with pride to the revitalization of Paramount and even called it one of the “best communities in America.” She also cited her ability to work closely with the Paramount Unified School District as being a “perfect example” on how local governments can “work together” for the “betterment of an entire city.”

California State Assembly Candidate Diane Martinez

Diane Martinez has lived her entire life in the 63rd Assembly District and dedicated much of her adult life serving the community as an educator, city councilwoman and Mayor of Paramount for the past 18 years.

Martinez said that she is “optimistic” about her campaign and is “thrilled” about the amount of support she has already received by numerous local elected officials. She touts her endorsement from Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, a Republican, and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, a Democrat, as being an important signal to voters that she is “the best qualified person” for the job “regardless of party affiliation.”

Martinez said that she is stressing her “grassroots campaigning.” “We are going door to door, talking to all the residents, and are very excited.”

“Many times we elect people to represent us in Sacramento, and they end up forgetting about us,” Martinez said.

She also advocates a review of the California Public Pension System. “As a public school teacher, I understand how the system is suppose to work,” but she said that she needs to study the issue in greater detail.