Nov. 3, voters in California’s 34th Congressional District (CA-34) will be asked to choose between Democrat incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Democrat challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres. CA-34 has been represented by Gomez for five terms — nearly 10 years. Gomez has faced scrutiny in light of an ethics investigation after allegations of sexual miscondct in 2023. Gonzales-Torres, a candidate backed by the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats, hopes to gain the favor of voters with her community-focused campaign.
According to Gonzales-Torres, her goals of creating affordable housing, providing healthcare for all, increasing access to education and fighting for environmental justice are based directly on the desires of the community.
“Having someone on a federal level fight for Medicare for all and healthcare, that’s the number one thing that we’re hearing in the district,” Gonzales-Torres said. “Affordable housing is up there as well, and access to opportunities for unpaid or paid internships so people can start growing their ability to secure a job after college.”
Gonzales-Torres said she believes it is important to prioritize what community organizations and groups are fighting for in the CA-34, particularly environmental justice.
“I feel like environmental justice is the can that’s continuously kicked down the road, but here in this district it is at the forefront of our mind,” Gonzales-Torres said. “We’re organizing on every level, even volunteer-based groups that are the closest form of government to the people via neighborhood councils and other groups to make sure that we’re making community informed decisions in Congress.”
Gonzales-Torres said that, if elected, she hopes to make it easier for the community to voice their needs directly to their congressional representative.
“First and foremost, we need in-person town halls,” Gonzales-Torres said. “We need community conversations and an effort to draw a thorough line between every level of government to make sure we are actually utilizing these platforms to the best of our abilities.”
Gonzales-Torres said growing up on the Eastside of LA has prepared her well to be an accurate voice for the people of CA-34.
“Being born and raised in this district and immersed in the community, I think we know what is best for us and we have not had a representative that is truly connected [to us],” Gonzales-Torres said.
Gonzales-Torres said that during her time as president of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council (HHPNC) and as a regional representative on Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee, she recognized that federal government representatives were missing out on opportunities to work with community organizations.
“There’s an incredible infrastructure that already exists that we could utilize to ensure that we are making community informed decisions in Congress,” Gonzalez-Torres said. “At least one [organization] exists in every community across neighborhoods within California’s 34th congressional district, and we’ve made contact with all of those and I’m looking forward to building those relationships.”
According to Gonzales-Torres, a lack of representative involvement contributed to many of the issues she saw during her time in community organizations.
“[There was an] obvious absence of representatives in both of those positions that I held,” Gonzales-Torres said. “Those [neighborhood councils] can get really tense because people don’t know how to access their elected representatives.”
HHPNC board member Jens Jonason said there was conflict between Gonzales-Torres and members of the board during Gonzales-Torres’ time as president of the HHPNC.
“There was a lot of contention and a lot of conflict with the board members that I observed she had,” Jonason said. “It was a dynamic time on the board and not always in a good way.”
Caroline Aguirre is a HHPNC board member, chair of HHPNC’s public safety committee and a writer for CityWatch. Aguirre said after one particularly fraught public safety meeting Nov. 15, 2023, Gonzales-Torres confronted her publicly.
“After the meeting, Ms. Gonzales-Torres approached me, and in a loud voice which was overheard by many stakeholders, admonished me,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre filed a police report June 11, 2024 on the 2023 confrontation. According to the LAPD investigative report filed, no evidence was found. No further action was taken.
Jonason said Gonzales-Torres’ limited experience in government sparks concern for how prepared she would be for the congressional position.
“You have to really work with other people to get things moving forward [in Congress],” Jonason said. “Gonzales-Torres is going to have to learn a lot and get up to speed.”
Reporter, editor and columnist at The Eastsider Jon Regardie said experience working within government infrastructure is especially important to obtaining funding for community projects.
“One of the most important jobs for a member of Congress is to be able to bring back funds for specific projects that need federal funding, whether it’s land use, transportation [or] community benefits,” Regardie said. “It’s certainly important that someone knows how to navigate within Washington and work with the various caucuses they are members of to benefit the community.”
Maya Smith (sophomore) is the National Delegate of Sunrise Oxy, a student organization that focuses on climate justice on campus and in LA. Smith said Gonzales-Torres has been actively involved in Sunrise Oxy events such as a postcard writing session. Sunrise Oxy has also invited both candidates to Occidental for a conversation.
“Angela is very vocal about the policies she believes in, and she’s not trying to win favor by pretending she’s something that she’s not, and I think that’s refreshing to see,” Smith said. “Even in the short while that we’ve been endorsing Angela’s campaign, I’ve met her twice and she comes out to every event that we go to,”
Gonzales-Torres said that she is excited by her community’s efforts to promote change in their government through her campaign.
“We really have to acknowledge that it’s possible to invest with care,” Gonzales-Torres said. “I believe that we could build a government that embodies compassion, not cruelty, that invests in dignity, not detention, and that enforces justice, not fear.”
Contact Sadie Maguire at smaguire@oxy.edu
