On the Long Beach City Council, Lena has been a forceful advocate in protecting our harbor and coast by leading efforts to eliminate Styrofoam containers in the city. She led the fight to add more green space and parks in the city’s most under-resourced communities through her Park Equity program. Lena also created the city’s “Long Beach Business First”’ program to help local businesses grow & prosper, as well as the city’s first “Digital Inclusion Roadmap” for residents and businesses in Long Beach.

In her current work with Microsoft, she leads civic engagement investments for the Los Angeles region. Her focus has been, expanding diversity and inclusion in the tech sector by providing grants to non-profit organizations and digital skills programs for underserved communities, to include: unemployed adults seeking job training and creating career pathways for youth, especially supporting young girls of color in STEM.

Lena grew up in a humble home where her father was a Teamster truck driver for 30 years and her mother, who immigrated to the United States at a young age, worked her way up in both the aerospace and technology industries.

She became a young mother, at the age of 19. While raising her oldest son, Lena defied the odds, by working her way through community college and Cal State Long Beach, where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She then persevered and completed her Executive MBA from Loyola Marymount University. Today, Lena and her fiancé Adam live in Downtown Long Beach where they raise their three amazing sons.

For Lena Gonzalez, creating economic opportunity for all families and children in the district, will always be her priority. We can count on Lena to be a strong leader in creating jobs, promoting quality education, protecting our environment and attracting innovation to the Senate District.

Ana Maria Quintana is a proud member of the Southeast Community. Her parents and only brother were born in a small town in Durango, Mexico and settled in Cudahy when Ana Maria was nine, where she attended the area’s local schools: Elizabeth St. Elementary, Nimitz Jr. and Bell High School, where she was Student Body President. 

Ana Maria obtained a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in American Studies and then taught at the Universidad de Navarra’s Faculty of Economics/Business Administration in Pamplona. She then returned to the U.S. to pursue legal education at Columbia Law School, where she was actively involved in the Moot Court program and the Human Rights Law Journal. Her volunteer work with the worker center Make the Road by Walking in Brooklyn and the work done at the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles also became an academic focus of hers.

After graduation, Ana Maria became an American Board of Trial Advocates fellow and worked as a real estate broker focused on family owned businesses. She then pursued a career in real estate development with Moctesuma Esparza’s Maya Cinemas North America, Inc., a company that builds movie theaters and entertainment centers in low-income communities.

Since 2011, Ana Maria has developed an expertise in public law while continuing to work as an independent real estate broker and serving on the Bell City Council. She is currently Vice-Mayor of the City of Bell where she has helped restore local government after a devastating corruption scandal. She has promoted transparency and accountability, and ensured the city serves its residents. In addition, she is Of Counsel with a law firm providing guidance to municipal governments like water boards and school districts in the areas of Land Use, Labor & Employment, California Public Records Act and the Brown Act. 

Now Ana Maria is running for State Senate in California’s 33^rdDistrict. No other candidate can match her legal, economic development, and leadership experience. No other candidate has her proven record of integrity and fiscal responsibility. And no other candidate has a more impressive educational background or stronger local roots.  

NAME:   DR. MARTHA FLORES-GIBSON 
TITLE:    Candidate for State Senate 2019
FROM:   LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA (55) years 

Martha has a successful Home Base Business the Legal Shield. The company provided members with total access to Legal Services and Identity theft protection. Giving members the freedom and peace to enjoy life.  Martha has been involved in the company for 4 years. She is also an educator for the Long Beach Unified School District. 

PERSONAL BELIEF STATEMENT:  As an Educational Leader, I believe that all people can learn from one another. In addition, I believe in the value of community development and personal  transformation

SPECIALITY AREAS: Educational Leadership and Change; Community Program Development.  

SPECIALITY EXPERIENCE: Martha has 27 years in teaching, counseling, community program development, and 17 years in educational administration in the area of building strong personal and professional community connections. 

CREDENTIALS:  Master of Science, Social Work; CSULB, 1996,School Administrative Credential; CSULB, 2002, Doctorate in Education Leadership and Change; Fielding University, Santa Barbara CA, 2000

HONORS & MEMBERSHIPS: Member of ALBEM LBUSD ~ 1997; Phi Alpha Honor Society ~ 1995; Long Beach Pupil Personnel Association ~ 1997. President of American Women Business Association AWBA~2010.  Served as Chair on the Board of Directors for the New Image Shelter. Is a member of the Compton Initiative. Also a member of Rebuilding Together Long Beach, Board of Directors for the Long Beach Kiwanis Club, and committee member for Kids’ Connection.

Martha has three grown children Bryan D. Rico, 47, Jonahvan P. Rico 40, and Veronica N. Rico 38 and four grandchildren: Desmond 20, Raymond 19, Quinton 14 and Grayson 17

Martha and her husband Steve attend Cornerstone Christian Church.  Martha has lived in Long Beach since she was 8 years old, as a student, parent, grandparent and educator in the LBUSD.

Martha loves to oil paint and dance. Martha and Steve have traveled the world and love to give to churches and missionaries.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Vote4Martha

“I am an ordinary woman with an extraordinary story”. I have a passion and a desire for being an advocate for others. As a result of my challenging background, I have the ability to relate to others facing difficult circumstances. Overcoming the barrier of learning English as a second language and rising out of poverty were the most difficult challenges I faced. Because I succeeded in my endeavors, I am able to empathize with others who also hope to improve their circumstances and achieve the American Dream. I was motivated to work very hard to get an education and then utilize it to develop and build strong communities. As a teacher, social worker and community volunteer, I have lived and worked in Long Beach to better the community for over 50 years. 

Born in El Salvador, I am the daughter of an immigrant who dreamed of coming to the United States for a better life for her children. In grade school in Wichita, Kansas (in a storybook “little red schoolhouse”), I struggled to learn English. “I went home in tears every night but my teacher believed in me and took the extra time to teach me. That’s when I first understood the life-changing power of helping others, and the value of our teachers”. I made a decision, then and there, that I wanted to spend my life inspiring and educating students.

“I want to be able to say to my children and grandchildren that they have the best opportunities here in this country to be everything they want to be in their lives”. I say, “a government that is driven by party politics and political self-interest instead of what’s best for the people is getting in the way of creating opportunities for our students”. So now is the time to seriously begin the conversation to begin the process.

Mrs. Leticia Vasquez Wilson is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her mother, Olga, and father, Luis, raised six children in Lynwood, all of which pursued higher education. Leticia is a home-grown candidate and was raised in Lynwood. Leticia’s roots in the 33rd Senate District run deep, and she attended Our Lady of Victory School in Compton, St. Pius X High School in Downey and graduated from Lynwood High School. She still lives in Lynwood and is married to attorney Ronald Wilson with two children.

Early on Leticia made a conscious decision to dedicate her life to public service. She entered the workforce at an early age and as a teenager participated in a Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) youth employment program working at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood. Later, she was employed at the Tweedy Miles Miller’s Outpost in the city of South Gate. She worked her way through college as a teacher’s assistant for Los Angeles Unified School District. On weekends, Leticia worked at Su Casa Familia Crisis & Support Center in Lakewood where she assisted families victimized by domestic violence. She later earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy & Administration from California State University, Long Beach. She earned a second Master’s Degree in Education from Pepperdine University. Leticia is a certified domestic violence and sexual assault counselor.

After graduating college, Leticia worked for the Young Women’s Christians Association – an organization dedicated to providing services aimed at empowering women and eliminating racism. Her work in the feminist movement took her to Long Beach’s Women’s Shelter. During her time there, she worked with both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence helping them complete 52-week programs aimed at ending the cycle of violence that plagued their lives. Mrs. Vasquez-Wilson is a lifelong educator and started her professional teaching career in 1999 in Lynwood Unified School District and completed her teacher service at South Gate’s Stanford Elementary School. She has taught undergraduate students in the California Community College system and graduate students at National University. She left teaching for several years after being recruited to work for former U.S. Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally in the California legislature.

Leticia Vasquez Wilson is a 2002 alumna of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality Leadership Institute (HLI). She is the former president of the Southeast Chapter of National Women’s Political Caucus. Leticia currently serves as president of Strong Women Healing Their Community – a women’s organization that hosts an annual women’s empowerment conference during women’s history month serving the communities in the 33rd Senate District. She has been a member of the South Gate Multicultural Women’s Club and Lynwood Women’s Club and has been recognized for her public service by numerous community organizations and elected officials, including the Young Women’s Christians Association.

 She has been active with the Democratic Party and their organizations for the past fifteen years and has served eight years as delegate to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee and California Democratic State Central Committee.

In 2007, she was named Democrat of the Year in Assembly District 63. She is a member of Democratic Women's Study Club of Long Beach, the San Pedro Democratic Club, the Yes We Can Democratic Club, and the Southeast Los Angeles Democrats. She has previously been a member of the Long Beach Young Democrats, the Hubert Humphrey Democratic Club, the Mexican American Democratic Club, and the New Frontier Democratic Club to name a few.

Leticia worked on the legislative staff of the late Assemblyman Mervyn M. Dymally from 2003 to 2009. Her duties as a staffer in the district office to his Sacramento office and across the state of California for public hearings and other business conducted by the legislature. During that time, she had an opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of the state capital. She has spent time in Sacramento for the past twenty years and her first visit was in 1996 when she met with a coalition of pro-women organizations from across the state of California, including the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In the following years, she returned to Sacramento in her role as a Lynwood Mayor and Councilmember advocating for funding for local parks projects and other legislation impacting local government. As a union representative for the Compton College Federation of Employees, she was in Sacramento advocating for funding and oversight for restoration of the accreditation of Compton College.

In 2003, Leticia Vasquez Wilson was elected to the Lynwood City Council and served to 2007. In 2005, she made history on the Lynwood City Council by being chosen by her fellow Council members as its first Latina mayor. At the time, she led one of the city's most aggressive lobbying efforts, bringing millions of dollars for new parks, schools, housing, shopping centers, streets, and a new state-of-the-art senior citizen center. Leticia is currently elected to the Central Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors representing its fourth district. She was elected in 2013 and has brought numerous water conservation programs into our neighborhoods, including the popular ‘Turf it Out” that provided $450 million in rebates to residents to remove lawns replace them with drought tolerant plants.

In addition, Leticia was recently selected with the overwhelming support of her colleagues to serve as Secretary of the prestigious Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The MWD is our nation’s largest water wholesaler. Its Board of Directors manages over a 1.6-billion-dollar budget serving 19 million residents across 5,200 square miles in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. It owns and operates the Colorado River Aqueduct and the entire system used to deliver water to its 26-member agencies. Vasquez currently serves as a Member of the Communications and Legislation Committee; Conservation and Local Resources Committee. She has served on the MWD Board of Directors since 2013.