Reggie Jones-Sawyer Sr., is one of the most progressive African-American candidates in LA; recently he backed Bernie Sanders to get President Trump out of the White House.
Reggie Jones-Sawyer Sr., is considered a politician with a long career dating from the mid-seventies. He is currently a state assemblyman representing the 59th district of California that includes areas of southern Los Angeles, as well as a part of Huntington Park and hopes to be re-elected again in the next March 3 election.
Jones-Sawyer Sr., 63, has defended progressive policies that promote public safety and has struggled to improve the criminal justice system in order to make it more fair and transparent to all communities.
Uncle Reggie, as he also likes to be told, claims to have the experience needed to continue improving a district whose Latino population is 75% and is characterized by problems of poverty, destitution and lack of resources.
The assemblyman hopes to face homelessness with resources, keep families in their homes and not lose them; In addition to allowing those who are homeowners, they can pass it on to their future generations instead of selling them at prices below the market.
Uncle Reggie hopes to help continue to improve education for the children in his district and supports health insurance for everyone.
Among his greatest achievements as an assemblyman, Jones-Sawyer Sr., is proud to say that he has built 15 local offices in the neighborhoods he represents so that people from disadvantaged communities do not have to go to downtown LA to get services.
"The services are close to them," said Jones-Sawyer Sr.
Regarding security, the assembly said that when he began his work he was in charge of the public security budget, which includes prisons, courts and the attorney general's office.
And he added that at that time, each prison arrived at his office to ask for an additional 10,000 beds for the next 10 years; In addition, he emphasized that the majority of the prisoners who were released, to the second place where they arrive most is to their district.
The assemblyman was impressed to see that there are experts who predict with 100% accuracy, how many children would end up in prison, for the number of children who cannot read well for the third grade of elementary school.
"Then I told them,‘ Why don't we better educate them to decide how many seats we need in schools in the next 10 years? "And since then those private prisons have not returned," said Jones-Sawyer Sr. proudly.
"That showed me that education is the key to keeping people in my district out of prisons," he said.
Words matter
Jones-Sawyer Sr. said that another measure he is proud of is AB 413, which began to take effect on January 1, 2020, which calls for the term "at risk" to be removed from the code sections. criminal and state education.
“Low-income Latino and African-American children tend to be‘ at risk ’children. When they call them that, they are being identified as gang members, drug traffickers, murderers, even if they have only committed a small robbery, ”said the assemblyman. “Children from (affluent areas) who commit small robberies – later – are called doctors, lawyers, engineers. So when you identify people the words do matter. ”
Jones-Sawyer Sr. said that now children who make these mistakes should be called children "in promise."
"Because they are the promise of the future," said the assemblyman. “It is now illegal to have ads that say‘ at risk ’(at risk) in public buildings or places.”
Protecting immigrants
Jones-Sawyer Sr. said that he is very aware of the fear that immigrants in his district have today.
“I have seen that my immigrants facing, or witnessing a crime, do not report it for fear of immigration. So, I have created a law that specifies that if you are an immigrant and report a crime, they cannot report you to immigration. It is against the law, ”said Jones-Sawyer Sr.
He refers to state law AB 493, which prohibits the authorities from detaining a victim or witness of a crime solely for a real or alleged immigration violation.
"Now people in my district can work alongside authorities to create a community that is safer for everyone," said Jones-Sawyer Sr.
On health issues, Jones-Sawyer Sr. said he recently endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders because he believes they can reach an agreement where everyone in the country has medical insurance.
“I think Bernie has the best initial plan and we have to move it forward. The president will decide our medical care and if we leave the other (Trump) we are in trouble, ”said Jones-Sawyer Sr.
The assemblyman knows that for the first time he has a Latin opponent who could give him a tough battle, but he asked the voters to see his record and realize that the decisions he has made in the assembly are not in his own interest, but rather for The improvement of your community.
"If I oppose something (in the state assembly) it is because the community told me so, sometimes I support something and it is because the community told me so," said the assemblyman. "And when they see me, I want them to understand that all of them can be reflected in me."
