SAN DIEGO- Assemblywoman Lorena González announced Monday that she will resign from District 80 to fill a leadership position with the California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.
The last day of the San Diego Democrat representing the district, which encompasses southern San Diego and most of Chula Vista and National City, will be Wednesday.
In a statement to his Assembly colleagues during Monday’s session, González said he hopes to continue his efforts in organized work after eight years with District 80.
She said she will prepare to lead the 2.1 million-member state labor federation as executive secretary-treasurer in July 2022.
“As a legislator and union leader, my top priority has been creating opportunities that lead to more jobs, better jobs and better lives for working people,” said González. “It has been an honor to serve the people of San Diego County and the entire state as a legislator who tried to achieve the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.”
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Los Angeles, said Sacramento would miss his passion and work ethic.
“Lorena can be trusted to honor her commitments and to be absolutely forthright in expressing her values,” Rendon tweeted. “His devotion to the workers of California is unmatched. He stood as a lightning rod on many issues, and I admired how he weathered the storms. “
“Asm. González has very understandable personal and professional reasons for making this change at this time, and I hope that her colleagues and constituents will join me in supporting her as she does so. We will miss her, ”Rendon added.
González had a productive mandate in the Assembly, including passing laws aimed at ensuring sick leave for state workers, overtime for farm workers, protecting janitors from sexual assault, and providing basic labor protections for workers. professional cheerleaders.
Perla Hernández, a San José worker at a Burger King, and a leader in the Fight for $ 15 and a union, issued a statement about the assemblywoman.
“Throughout her career, Assemblywoman Lorena González has been an advocate for California fast food workers, joining us in our historic fight for $ 15 and a union and taking on the big corporations trying to silence us,” she wrote. “As California workers seize our power and demand a seat at the table, Assemblywoman González is the right person at the right time to build a worker-driven movement to ensure racial and economic justice for all Californians.”
In 2019, González passed AB 5, a law aimed at protecting workers against misclassification and wage theft, and which has drawn particular ire from right-wing organizations since it came into effect.
In 2021, she passed legislation to ensure that employers in California can be criminally prosecuted and sent to prison for engaging in intentional wage theft, and she authored the country’s first law establishing protections for workers against theft. Amazon warehouse production quotas.
Additionally, González became the first Latina to chair the Assembly Appropriations Committee and oversaw the deliberations of 14 suspense files since 2016.
She was the longest-serving president of that committee. González also served as president of the California Latino Legislative Caucus in 2019-20.
“We have done a lot. But the most direct way that we can really improve the lives of Californians is to empower them at work, ”said González. “No law is as powerful as a union contract. It is in that spirit that I continue my service to strengthen the labor movement in our golden state. “
González announced in August that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which her husband, the Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher, described as stage 0, but was “also aggressive and hormone positive” and required an “aggressive treatment” because his mother developed breast cancer at 44 and died at 62.
Made the announcement via Twitter
In September, Lorena González announced that she had returned home after undergoing a bilateral mastectomy and that “there is no cancer left.”
González at the time described herself as “exhausted and in pain” and “hopeful.”
She tweeted that she was “eternally grateful to the best husband / caregiver in the world who hasn’t left my side.”
Another factor in his decision may have been the recent redistricting, which has placed Gonzalez in the 79th Assembly District with first-year lawmaker Dr. Akilah Weber, a Democrat from La Mesa, who took office in a special election. in April.
González has also served eight years in the Assembly.
The legislators of that body are legally restricted to 12 years for a lifetime.
In November, the conservative group “Reform California” filed an ethics complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission demanding an immediate investigation and enforcement actions against González after a “Politico” story with “labor negotiations” between her and the California Federation of Labor.
“While she should have been serving only the interests of her constituents, Lorena González has broken all ethical standards by negotiating an excellent job opportunity with a powerful special interest group while bidding on the Assembly,” said Carl DeMaio, President of “Reform California”.
Before being elected to the Assembly, González was a union leader, lawyer and organizer, and was the first woman and the first person of color to be elected executive director and secretary-treasurer of the Labor Council of San Diego and Imperial Counties, AFL. -CIO.
In the former González district, former San Diego City Council Speaker Georgette Gómez announced her campaign for Assembly.
“We face incredible challenges and it is more important than ever to choose leaders we can count on to put workers first, not special interests,” said Gomez.
“I am running to make a real difference for families struggling with healthcare, childcare, and high housing costs, as well as to build on the remarkable legacy of Assemblywoman González. From expanding affordable housing to tackling corporate polluters to protect our health and climate, my life’s work has been to fight for a better San Diego for everyone and that is what I will fight for in the state assembly, ”Gomez said.
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