Member, Assembly District 71 San Diego Portion — Democratic Party County Central Committee

My name is Christina Perry and I live in Santee, California. I am running to be a Central Committee member because I think the progressive Democrats in East County need to have representation. 

I have been a registered Democrat since the age of 18.  I became actively involved in politics in 2016 when progressive values were finally being represented and Bernie was on the ballot. I have worked diligently as a grassroots volunteer lead for the 2018 cycle for congressional, assembly, and local races. I have opened my home for phone banking, canvassing, and meet and greets and even organized a weekly voter registration table at the Santee Concerts in the Park. Because of these efforts, 11 out of 29 precincts in Santee voted democratic in the 2018 congressional race.

I am currently an alternate member of the East Area Caucus representing the East Area.  

I would like to see the California Democratic party focus on Medicare for all, affordable housing, renewable energy, addressing the climate crisis and tuition free college. I think these issues are important in California because we are a state that other states look to as a demonstration of progressive change. I believe we have the ability to lead by example.

I am excited to continue my involvement by working with future progressive candidates. I am ready for a leadership role as a Central Committee member . Vote for me, Christina Perry, for AD71.

As a lifelong Democrat, San Diego native, and Rancho San Diego resident since 1974, I have seen East County go from chicken ranches to schools, businesses and housing developments. We residents, love the quiet, the wildlife, the beautiful sunsets and stars at night. Growth needs to be done with consideration for the increasing fire danger and rural roads that won’t handle much more traffic. That’s why I’m fighting the proposed Cottonwood Sand Mine as a board member of its opposition. It’s one way I can serve my neighbors and help preserve our East County community. 

I am a democrat because I care. I know that not all of my neighbors have the time or ability to stand up for themselves and others. I am fortunate to have the time motivation to make things better. 

• Born in the City of San Diego and raised in East County
• Lifelong Democrat
•  Political activist since 1964
• Active member of the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee, of four local Democratic clubs, and of the California Democratic Party’s Voter Services Committee

I was born in San Diego and raised on my family's small ranch in El Cajon. My sisters and I attended Meridian Elementary School, Greenfield Junior High, and Granite Hills High School, where we received an excellent education from dedicated, professional teachers. With the goal of becoming a literature professor, I graduated from the University of California (UC), Riverside, with a BA in German.

However, in 1969, while I was a graduate student at UC, Berkeley, I decided that I wanted a career that would enable me to more directly pursue my goal of making California an even better place to live. I returned to El Cajon and was hired as the first ever employee of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club, which I am a current member of. I was the only person staffing the office and often received inquiries from people who had questions about environmental law. I soon learned the value of having an attorney on call—a reality that influenced my decision to enroll in the University of San Diego School of Law.

After I passed the bar exam, I was appointed a California Senate Fellow. This position led to my being hired as a counsel to the Democratically controlled Senate Judiciary Committee and to my subsequent career as a lobbyist. While working in the capitol, I helped found Women in Politics with the goal of raising the profile of women legislative employees and achieving a safer and more equitable work environment.

With the exception of a short stint in the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, my working life was spent in Sacramento. When I retired, I returned to East County, where both my sisters still live. Eventually my husband and I bought a home in Granite Hills, immediately outside the El Cajon city limits, close to where I grew up.

My first real political involvement came in 1964, when I volunteered with the campaign to save the Rumford Fair Housing Act. I then signed on to Eugene McCarthy’s presidential campaign, which I followed to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. During this time, I joined the anti-Vietnam War movement and participated in many marches to protest that war and to demand that our military personnel be brought home safely.

Upon my retirement and return to East County, I became involved with local Democratic clubs and eventually with the San Diego County Democratic Party (SDCDP) Central Committee. After I was appointed a committee alternate, representing what is now AD 71, I was elected as the committee’s Director of Fundraising. In that capacity I organized our annual dinner, which two other activists and I named The Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner. I also planned and volunteered my services as a caterer for a number of smaller fundraising events. In recognition of my involvement, I was given an SDCDP Chair’s Award.

About 20 years ago, I learned that the local Muslim community, the vast majority of whom were registered Republicans, was becoming dissatisfied with that party. I met with some community leaders, who were being courted by the Green Party, and began working to convince them that the Democratic Party should be their home. Among other things, I organized candidate forums and arranged for Democratic elected officials and candidates to attend and speak at Muslim religious ceremonies and other events. Today local Muslims are overwhelmingly Democrats.

With a brief hiatus to volunteer on local campaigns, I have been a member of the Central Committee, mostly as a representative from AD 71, for almost 20 years. (For a short time my husband and I lived in Oceanside, and I was an alternate member from there.)

I was first elected a Central Committee member in 2016, and during that time San Diego County has gone from purple to blue. I am a member of the Grassroots Organizing Team (GO-Team), which comprises the people who walk precincts, knock on doors, and talk to voters. In addition I am an active member of four Democratic Clubs—the East County Democratic Club, the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club, the Spring Valley/Lemon Grove Democratic Club, and Democrats for Equality. For the past two years, I have been the secretary of the SDCDP’s East Area Caucus and its appointed member to the Central Committee’s Women’s Caucus. In 2019, I was selected to be a member of the California Democratic Party’s Voter Services Committee, whose purpose is to increase the number of registered Democrats in California.  For most of my tenure on the Central Committee, I have been a delegate to the California Democratic Party, and in 2004 and 2008, I was elected a delegate Democratic National Convention.

I love East County, where my family has lived since moving from the City of San Diego in 1940. I am eager to continue helping make AD 71 a Democratic stronghold. We must work hard to elect Kenya Taylor to the Board of Supervisors, Elizabeth Lavertu to the Assembly, and Ammar Campa-Najjar to the House of Representatives. To achieve this goal, the San Diego County Democratic Party must have leaders with experience in campaigns, knowledge about local politics, and familiarity with the area and its voters. We must elect Central Committee members who have proven their loyalty to our party and its goals and who have walked the walk and talked the talk. I am one of those people, and I have been honored to serve East County Democrats for almost two decades. Please consider my qualifications and re-elect me. 

Please go to my Facebook page for more information. 

I believe in freedom for and the equality of all humans, in equal justice, equal treatment, equal opportunity, and affordable, accessible healthcare, including the spectrum of reproductive services, in the dignity and worth of workers and their right to earn a living wage in a safe environment, and in the sanctity of our natural environment and the need to protect and honor the Earth. I believe in all the principles that are set forth in the California Democratic Party platform.  I also believe in the importance of engaging all age groups in our party, for we need the experience and institutional knowledge of older people and the energy and enthusiasm of younger people.