ERIC GUERRA, The Filipino Political Action Committee’s Choice for State Assembly
BY DEREK LEDDA
Printed in Philippine Fiesta (Nov. 2022)
In the upcoming November 8 election, California voters will be making important choices regarding who will best represent their critical interests in the broad range of elected positions for which candidates are now running. For FilipinoAmerican voters, making the right choices at the polls are all the more important because the Filipino community’s interests have historically not been a priority for a elected officials, in part because the community has had very few Filipinos holding elected positions but also because we have not had enough information to make informed decisions about which candidates share our values, understand and appreciate our community’s needs and can be counted on to advocate for our interests.
The Sacramento Filipino Political Action Committee (SacFilPAC) is fulfilling its mission to politically empower the Filipino community by helping Filipino voters to identify candidates who care about and will effectively promote the interests of the Filipino-American community long after the election is over. SacFilPAC is enthusiastically endorsing Eric Guerra as a friend and partner of the Filipino community and the most qualified person to partner with us as the next Assembly member for District 10 which includes Elk Grove and much of Sacramento.
Eric Guerra’s values and life experience remind us of our own community’s values and heritage. Eric and his family were immigrants whose lives depended on their work in the fields as a migrant farmworker family. It is not surprising that Eric also grew up with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and our own Filipino American hero, Larry Itliong as his role models. With the farmworker struggle as a backdrop, Eric developed his unwavering commitment to family and community which gave him his strong work ethic and focus on issues that affect the quality of life for everyday people and are important to the Filipino community, discrimination, hate crimes including anti Asian and Filipino violence, access to education and good medical care, affordable housing, public transportation, having a clean environment and supporting small businesses. The community which inspired him included the Latino and Filipino farmworkers with whom he worked and their families who united to support each other during difficult times. It is not politics when Eric says that he has a stake in the community building a Filipino Community Center and that he will do all he can to help ensure that the community succeeds. No matter what position Eric holds, he will continue to work hard to help build a Filipino Community Center because he share’s the community’s dreams and aspirations. As an Assembly member, Eric will be able to do that much more to reach the goals that he shares with us.
Eric Guerra cares about Sacramento which he has called home for over 20 years. He now lives comfortably with his wife and sons in Tahoe Park but had to overcome a lot in his early years to eventually graduate from Sac State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and then receive a Master of Public Policy and Administration. Eric is without a doubt the most qualified candidate for the State Assembly. He will use what he knows to serve the priority needs of Filipinos and other people who have not always been treated fairly by their elected officials. He is honest, hard-working and well respected for his lifetime of public service including as a current member of the Sacramento City Council. His 18 years with the State Legislature make him particularly well qualified to serve in the California State Assembly. He has broad experience, having also served as the Governor’s appointee on the California State University Board of Trustees, President of the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association, Chairman of the Sacramento County Planning Commission and President of the Sacramento State Alumni Association.
Ultimately, the decision about who to support in the race for the Assembly is about who you can trust to advocate for your interests. Will you trust Eric Guerra’s opponent who just received about $900,000 from Big Oil corporations to make their interests her priority or will you trust Eric who has been endorsed by the Sacramento Filipino Political Action Committee and the following organizations and prominent Filipino and other community leaders (Partial Lists): Organization supporters: The Sacramento Bee, CA Democratic Party, CA Academy of Family Physicians, CA Nurses Association, CA Federation of Teachers, Community Colleges, California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment, Elk GroveSouth County Democratic Club, National Union of Health Care Workers, Sacramento Asian Pacific Labor Alliance, CA Labor Federation, CA Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Women Democrats of Sacramento, NARAL CA and the United Farmworkers Union, among others. Individual supporters: Christopher Cabaldon, Dave Tamayo, Vince Sales, Dr. Robyn Rodriguez, Megan Sapigao, Cynthia Bonta, Bobby Roy, Elaine Abelaye-Mateo, Sarah Enloe, Chris Alvarez, Ian Barlow, Derek Ledda, Mayor Darrel Steinberg, City Council Member Mai Vang, Warren Furutani and Dolores Huerta, among others. Please vote for Eric Guerra for State Assembly.