Mia Bonta is running to represent the East Bay in the State Assembly to continue working to push open California’s door of opportunity for communities that have for too long been locked out and ensure Californians of all backgrounds get a fair shot.

Mia has spent her career advocating for students and working families. After moving to Alameda more than 20 years ago, Mia worked for and led several nonprofit organizations focused on improving educational outcomes for low-income students. Mia currently serves as the CEO of Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-college and career preparation initiative across Oakland public schools. She has seen firsthand how the systems in our state — from education and the criminal justice system to health care and housing — often fail to provide for those they’re intended to serve.

Growing up, Mia moved 13 times in 16 years, and with every move she carried what was most precious to her: a crate of books. Education was the one constant in her life, and Mia was fortunate to attend schools that would foster her love of learning and offer her a caring community of teachers and administrators committed to her success. For Mia, education was life-changing, and was what first inspired Mia to become a public servant.

In 2018, Mia was elected to the Alameda Unified School District School Board, and she currently serves as Board President. In addition to her professional work, Mia has served as a PTA member, a school site council member, a member of Alameda Free Library Foundation, and an active community member. Mia also serves as a delegate for the district to the California Democratic Party, worked on several campaigns dedicated to electing progressive labor candidates, and served on the AD-18 Advisory Committees for Women, Education, and Early Childhood.

Janani is a social justice attorney, activist, and artist. She has devoted her life to empowering communities who have been failed by our existing systems. 

Janani is the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants from a small South Indian village who worked tirelessly every day to give her the opportunity to pursue her dreams. She is forever indebted to strength of her grandparents’ labor unions that enabled them to get a slice of the American dream and achieve economic stability.

At just 16, Janani founded a nonprofit that built libraries in her local community. After graduating from Stanford University, Janani worked as a home-visiting case manager at a community health clinic, serving immigrant mothers experiencing domestic violence and homelessness. She later founded and led the clinic’s inaugural domestic violence advocacy program.

Witnessing the horrific realities her clients faced, Janani was driven to better understand how the law could protect the rights of vulnerable communities. While attending Berkeley Law, Janani represented tenants facing eviction from some of Oakland’s most notoriously corrupt landlords. She has served on the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and currently serves on the California Commission on API American Affairs.

While seeking out leadership positions, Janani never stopped working directly with her community. She currently works with Oaklanders experiencing mental health crises as a volunteer with APTP’s MHFirst. During the pandemic, Janani has given several “know your rights” legal trainings with local tenant unions and community-based organizations, and has helped small businesses apply for COVID-19 financial assistance. She also works with perpetrators of abuse through her role on the Board of Men Creating Peace, a restorative-justice based domestic violence intervention program. She recently worked as an attorney at Family Violence Appellate Project, pursuing legal appeals and advocacy efforts to improve access to justice for all survivors of abuse.

Don’t elect another corporate Democrat. Vote for Janani – a progressive champion who will be fearless in the fight for justice.

Malia Vella, Vice Mayor of Alameda, was first elected to the city council in November 2016.  She was re-elected in November 2020 with the most votes ever received by any candidate for council.  Malia broke barriers upon her election – she was the first Filipina elected to the Alameda City Council and the only pregnant councilmember in the history of the city.  On Council, Malia has prioritized equity in policy decisions, addressing housing insecurity and ensuring a just economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former District Director for Assemblymember Bill Quirk, Malia has a policy and constituent services background.  Since 2013, she has worked as a policy director and attorney focusing on labor and employment law.  Malia is also an adjunct professor of practice at Mills College’s Lorry I. Lokey School of Business and Public Policy.  She teaches ethical policy-making and an introductory class on economics and policy-making.

Active in the community, Malia serves on the Spectrum Community Services Board.  She previously served on Alameda’s Historical Advisory Board, the Alameda Family Services Board and the Alameda Family Services League.   Before assuming office, Malia also volunteered with the Philippine Independence Day Committee and Alameda’s Sister City Association.

Malia is a true product of the 18th Assembly District. She was born at Alameda Hospital and grew up in Alameda and San Leandro. Malia grew up enjoying Alameda’s parks and beaches with her family, spent her summers swimming with the San Leandro Drowning Darryls for a decade, and rowed on the estuary for the Oakland Strokes while attending high school in Oakland.  Her family came to Alameda in the 1960s when her grandfather was stationed at the Alameda Naval Air Station.  Now, Malia, and her husband Jon, are excited to pass along these traditions as they raise their two young children, Theo and Kealia in Alameda.

Malia is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she earned a B.A. in Architecture and Political Science.  She earned her J.D. with a special certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice at Santa Clara University School of Law.  Malia is a licensed attorney admitted to practice in California and the United States Supreme Court.

Malia is a member of the following organizations:

• Alameda County Lead Abatement JPA
• League of California Cities Housing and Economic Development Committee
• Elected ADEM Delegate for AD18 (top vote-getter) and elected E-Board Representative for the district
• California Democratic Party Fil-Am Caucus, Vice Chair
• California Democratic Party API Caucus
• California Democratic Party Labor Caucus
• City of Alameda Democratic Club
• Asian Pacific American Labor Association
• Filipina Women’s Network
• Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
• California Employment Lawyers Association

Malia Vella is a progressive who has prioritized equity in policy decisions, ensuring a just economic recovery from COVID-19 and addressing housing insecurity among the most vulnerable in our community.

Victor is the Director of Business Development at Discover Modus. Victor has also been on the Board of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, which helps to elect more LGBTQIA+ elected officials, and the Lavender Seniors, which works to improve the quality of life for older LGBTQIA+ adults in the East Bay. 

Victor currently serves as the first openly gay City Council Member and Vice Mayor of San Leandro. During his tenure on city council, Victor championed progressive policies by passing hazard pay for grocery workers, a rent stabilization ordinance, and advocating for civilian police oversight. 

Like so many Californians, Victor has experienced housing and food insecurity, at one point receiving food stamps during the 2008 market collapse. This experience strengthened his conviction that healthcare and housing are human rights, and California should lead the way by building universal systems that protect everyone.

I’ve experienced first-hand the discrimination against the Hispanic community, the anxiety caused by lack of healthcare and housing and the pain of personal loss from inadequate systems. I am running to make concrete advances in the quality of life for all residents of Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, and California.

My platform includes a commitment to justice for all Californians. When we talk about justice, we are talking about equity—equal treatment for everyone. Our criminal justice system, from policing to incarceration, is rife with unequal treatment and targeting of communities of color. We must stop relying on policing to address our social problems. Let’s invest in supporting our communities instead. I’m fighting for justice—inclusion, diversity, and equity—for everyone.

I believe that my record of pushing for tenants’ rights, supporting police oversight, and my work in the LGBTQIA+ community, makes me uniquely suited to take on these challenges in Sacramento.

I see this campaign as an opportunity to fight for progressive values. We need someone willing to champion high-impact programs that will benefit everyone and deliver direct services to the people who need them most. Universal healthcare, affordable housing, climate resilience, and criminal justice reform are on the top of my list of issues to champion in the coming years.

James was raised by his parents, UFCW Local 870 (now Local 5) organizers and advocates, in Oakland's historic Dimond District - just a walk away from Glenview Elementary and a bus ride to Edna Brewer Middle School. He attended those Oakland public schools until his family sought a new beginning in San Leandro a little under nine years ago, a fresh start.

Looking to move to bigger and greater things, James began advocating at City Council meetings, partnering with city leaders, and working with various groups to encourage youth engagement. His work led to a pilot youth city council program, and the expansion of the youth and student voice in the world of the city.

During his time in high school, James tirelessly advocated for San Lorenzo USD to implement a student position on the Board of Trustees. After being turned down once, he came in a second time and was chosen to lead the process, and elected unanimously. He served a one year term on San Lorenzo's School Board as the first Student Board Member. He championed various policy changes and a shift in direction for the district. This is where he also learned the importance of school board advocacy in Sacramento, partnering with board members and state legislators to bring the student voice into the fold.

When James was eighteen, he did something not every high schooler does as they’re about to walk the stage. He ran for school board in San Leandro. Throughout his campaign, he gained the endorsements of various LGBTQ and community-based organizations and reached out to the community in an effort to get to know the issues they care about.

James was elected to the San Leandro School Board in 2018 and became the youngest and third openly Gay person to sit on the Board. Subsequently, he also became the youngest elected official in the San Francisco Bay Area. He continues to push the envelope to fight for climate change-related initiatives, student voice, and changes in policy affecting LGBTQ+ students & staff. Alongside his colleagues, James has authored various resolutions and policies on the Board affirming the District's role in fighting the Climate Crisis.

James is also an active and unapologetic student activist. In the midst of his election, he ultimately enrolled in San Francisco State University for his BA in Political Science. Now a student lecturer in the historic Experimental College, he continues to progress toward being the first in his family to earn a four-year degree. Alongside his academic work, James works for the university's Associated Students - as Director of Government & Community Relations. In this role, he has partnered with over 20+ legislators, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the California State Students Association to discuss the state of public higher education.

Throughout his career in both higher and k-12 education, James has not missed sight of the important advocacy needed to push public education forward. A former Senator Skinner and Assemblymember Bonta (fmr.) Intern, James actively advocates alongside legislators to look at things from a 360 view - to revitalize public education is to invest in public transportation, to work toward declaring housing as a human right, and much more in California.

James Aguilar is a progressive Democrat, striving for bold social change in an era where California has a unique opportunity to address the racial, environmental, and political mandate before us. James has worked on many progressive local and national campaigns - ranging from Jeromey Shafer for Mayor of San Leandro, to Pete for America.