It was an honor to be sworn in as your 2026-27 Cal Cities President at the Annual Conference and Expo in Anaheim. In my first President’s Message, I want to share a little about myself and my thoughts on our work in the coming year.

I’m the youngest of six in a Mexican American family raised in the Los Angeles area. At home with family and in school, I learned the value of service and purpose. I graduated from high school at 16 and from the University of Southern California at 18. I was a hard worker and book smart, but I was young and inexperienced in the world.

I married young and had a beautiful daughter. At 21, my husband decided he wasn’t ready to settle down, and he left. I was alone with no car, no money, a child, rent and bills to pay, and feeling ashamed. But the first step out of a tough situation is to face it and to ask for help.

With the help of my family, I recovered. I found a job working for state Senator Jack Scott, and in those seven years, I rebuilt myself. I learned to navigate state government and helped others do the same. I developed my professional and interpersonal skills, earned an MBA, and established an incredible network of colleagues.

When the senator’s term ended, I took a job as a regional public affairs manager with the League of California Cities. I am proud to be the first board member to have previously been on our staff. I later moved to Carlsbad to be closer to my mom, and in 2020, I was elected to the Carlsbad City Council.

I joined the board of the Cal Cities Latino Caucus in 2021 and the Cal Cities Board of Directors in 2022. I have served on the Environmental Quality policy committee and the Advancing Equity Committee and attended just about every San Diego County Division meeting for the past six years.

Commitment, collaboration, and compassion

At the Cal Cities annual conference, I told city leaders that I will focus on three things as president: commitment, collaboration, and compassion.

Our mission is to expand and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians. Let’s memorize it and recommit to it.

We protect our local authority, and we oppose blanket legislation that doesn’t respect our diversity of size, geography, economy, or circumstances. But we don’t just say no. We come to the table with solutions. So, let’s collaborate.

Let’s work together, unified as cities. Let’s sync up with coalition partners. Collaboration is a big part of how we achieve our mission. Cal Cities has excellent staff, and what we really need from you is your engagement. I encourage you to step up, show up, and follow through on calls to action.

Every one of us has relationships with two or more legislators. When those action alerts come from our regional public affairs managers, let’s pick up our phones and advocate with clear examples of how people in our communities would be affected by legislation.

This takes me to the third point: compassion. It is in our power to put people, our residents, and communities first. Let’s bring human dignity to the top of the list of what matters.

There is so much pain these days, so much division, and very real fears of not being able to cover our basic needs. Let’s be kind and thoughtful about our actions and our search for solutions. Working together, we can really make a big difference — doing so with kindness will help heal much of what is wrong in this world.

The year ahead is one of great opportunities, and I plan to leverage them to promote the interests of Cal Cities and its members. I look forward to building relationships with the new Governor and his team, so they understand the importance of cities and what they need to thrive. I will be a champion for cities with the Legislature and introduce city priorities to new lawmakers. I will be in Sacramento on a regular basis to support legislation that works for cities and oppose legislation that will bankrupt us or turn back the clock on progress. I also plan to visit city officials in communities throughout the state to listen to their concerns and ideas. I will take those concerns and ideas to Sacramento and Washington.

I look forward to partnering with you this year. I am thrilled and honored to be your President. Let’s have a great year together.