Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician serving as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for since 2017. His district includes the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
neighborhoods of
Eagle Rock Eagle Rock may refer to:
Entertainment
* "Eagle Rock" (song), a hit single in 1971 by Australian band Daddy Cool
* "Eagle Rock", a song by Motörhead
* Eagle Rock Entertainment, a record label
Places
* Eagle Rock (formation), in California
* Eag ...
,
Boyle Heights
Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation
*Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
,
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
,
Koreatown
A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
, and other communities. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, Gomez served in the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
from 2012 to 2017.
Before entering electoral politics, Gomez was a labor organizer, serving as the legislative and political director for the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health-Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) and the political representative for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Gomez serves on the
House Ways and Means Committee
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
, and is vice chair of the
Committee on Oversight and Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.
The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...
. He is a founding member of the Medicare for All Caucus. He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus.
Early life and education
Born and raised in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, Gomez is the son of working-class immigrant parents. His mother was a domestic worker and a nursing home laundry attendant. His father was a ''bracero'' (farm worker).
After graduating from high school, without any plans to attend college, Gomez worked at Subway and Target. He eventually attended
Riverside Community College
Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System.
History
RCC first opened in 1916 at ...
and earned his B.A. in political science with a minor in urban planning from the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and his M.A. in public policy from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
.
A former labor organizer, Gomez worked for the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) in 2009. He also served as the Political Representative for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Gomez was a staffer for former U.S. Representative
Hilda Solis
Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...
. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, and served there until his election to Congress.
"To see her son not only go to college, graduate, but then to run for public office and get elected ... it means a lot. It means that there's still a lot of opportunities for immigrants ... It means we're part of this larger American story", said Gomez.
California State Assembly
![Jimmy Gomez, California State Assembly (2012)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Jimmy_Gomez%2C_California_State_Assembly_%282012%29.jpg)
Gomez was a member of the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
, representing the
51st district. He was first elected in 2012, and reelected in 2014 with over 83% of the vote. California's 51st Assembly district includes
Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles (abbreviated NELA) is a region of Los Angeles County, comprising seven neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles. The area is home to Occidental College located in Eagle Rock.
History
The bulk of the area closer to Pu ...
and unincorporated
East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...
. He served as State Assembly Majority Whip from 2013 to 2014.
Gomez was a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. Before being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he was the political director for the United Nurses Association of California, an affiliate of the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2017
On December 5, 2016, Gomez announced his candidacy for the
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
to succeed
Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Jan ...
in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
for . Gomez received endorsements from Los Angeles Mayor
Eric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...
, Assembly Speaker
Anthony Rendon
Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...
and Senate leader
Kevin de León
Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León and colloquially as KDL, is an American politician serving as the Los Angeles City Council member for district 14 since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
, among others.
On April 4, 2017, Gomez came in first during the special election. Since he did not receive a majority of the vote, he faced a fellow Democrat,
Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner Robert Lee Ahn, the runner-up, in a
special runoff election on June 6. Gomez won with 60% of the vote. He is only the third person to represent this district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 30th from 1963 to 1975, the 25th from 1975 to 1993, the 30th from 1993 to 2003, the 31st from 2003 to 2013, and has been the 34th since 2017).
Ed Roybal
Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years and of the U.S. House of Representatives for thirty years.
Biography
Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a Me ...
won this district in 1963 and handed it to Becerra in 1993.
2018
Gomez faced Green Party candidate
Kenneth Mejia
Kenneth Mejia (born November 7, 1990) is an American activist, accountant, and politician, serving as the controller of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Green, Mejia was a three-time candidate for the Unite ...
in the general election and won with 72.5% of the vote.
2020
Gomez was challenged in the 2020 election by
MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...
Neighborhood Council
A neighborhood council (also known as a community league) is a governmental or non-governmental body, whose purpose is to promote citizen participation in local government.Martin Minogue, ''Documents on Contemporary British Government: Volume 2, L ...
board member and fellow Democrat David Kim. On November 3, Gomez defeated Kim in a closer than expected race, with 53% of the vote to Kim's 47%.
2022
David Kim challenged Gomez again in 2022. Gomez won, but by a smaller margin than in 2020.
Tenure
Gomez's term began on June 6, 2017. He was sworn into office on July 11, 2017.
On October 1, 2020, Gomez co-signed a letter to Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
that condemned
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
’s offensive operations against the
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
-populated enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
, denounced
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
’s role in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaij ...
, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
In November 2020, Gomez was named a candidate for
United States Trade Representative
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Trade policy of the United States, American trade ...
in the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
.
In January 2021, Gomez introduced legislation to expel Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist
Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* who has served as th ...
from the House for some of her social media postings from before her 2020 election to Congress.
After Greene heckled President Biden at his State of the Union address on March 2, 2022, Gomez once again introduced a resolution of expulsion, but added Representative
Lauren Boebert
Lauren Opal Boebert ( ; ; born December 19, 1986) is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist. A member of the Republican Party, she serves as the U.S. representative for . From 2013 to 2022, she owned Shooters Grill, a ...
, who had joined her in the heckling. Gomez also spoke about the "triggering" feeling he experienced after he returned to the Congressional Gallery for the first time since
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
insurrectionists had attacked those chambers in an attempt to halt the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021.
Leadership posts
* Assistant whip, Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives
* Vice chair, Committee on Oversight and Reform
Racial Equity Initiative, Committee on Ways and Means
* House Trade Working Group
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support
*
Committee on Oversight and Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.
The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...
Subcommittee on Environment
Caucuses
Gomez is a member of several dozen caucuses. A full list is available at his website.
*Congressional Medicare for all Caucus
*
Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...
*
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...
*
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and ...
*Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus
*Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus
*Future Forum
Political positions
Abortion
Gomez has a 100% rating from
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
and an F rating from the
Susan B. Anthony List
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...
for his abortion-related voting record. Gomez opposed the
overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''.
Climate and environment
Gomez received a lifetime score of 98% from the
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
based on 2017-2021 annual scores. He has expressed support for a
Green New Deal
Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...
.
Human and civil rights
Gomez received a score of 100 from the
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
for both the
115th and
116th Congresses. The
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
gave him scores of 95% and 83% for the 115th and 116th Congresses, respectively.
Electoral history
2014 California State Assembly election
2016 California State Assembly election
2017 congressional special election
2018 congressional election
New York Times Results
2020 congressional election
Personal life
Gomez is married to Mary Hodge, an aide to
Eric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...
.
They live in
Eagle Rock, California
Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, abutting the San Rafael Hills in Los Angeles County, California.
Eagle Rock is named after Eagle Rock, a large boulder whose shadow resembles an eagle.http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/index.p ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
Congressman Gomezofficial U.S. House website
Jimmy Gomez for Congresscampaign website
*
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Jimmy
1974 births
21st-century American politicians
American politicians of Mexican descent
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Living people
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
People from Echo Park, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California