Lena Gonzalez has always fought for justice: racial, economic, environmental, digital—you name it. She strongly believes in fighting for what is right—and she’s never wavered. Lena is a powerful advocate for equity and inclusion, building systemic change to our park programs, and working with advocates on a Justice Fund for our immigrant communities. She believes in safety and support for Black and Brown lives and has walked in solidarity with residents in SELA and LB for the Black Lives Matter movement. Reinforcing her dedication, Lena also supported a number of police reform measures led by the CA Legislative Black Caucus, ensuring oversight while also advocating for understanding during this time of community uprising. 

Most recently, Lena was given a score of 100 and placed on the CourageCampaign’s All-Star List by the People's Report Card of California, which publishes a scorecard of legislators' records on prioritizing constituents' needs over corporate lobbyists. Due to her profound legislative history and voting record on behalf of the people of California, this award underscores her commitment to transparency and always fighting for people, not corporations.

During Senator Gonzalez's last campaign, she ran specifically on the issue of environmental justice and California's climate change crisis. She believes we cannot ignore the many raging wildfires roaring around our state or the poor air and water quality we experience. As a Senator representing the Port of Long Beach and our 710 corridor communities, she has fought against industries that have continued to pollute our communities and create health hazards for children and families.

Lena supports a climate plan that drastically reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and instead invests dollars, time, and resources toward a new Green Economy for Long Beach and Southeast LA. She is currently working with her colleagues in the legislature on a climate change plan that prioritizes our air, water, and health, while also working with labor partners to create a Blue-Green alliance that promotes green jobs. On the Long Beach City Council, Lena championed the #FoamFreeLB policy that banned Styrofoam in our city. In the State Senate, Lena has supported legislation to ban single use plastics and reform our Department of Toxic Substances. She will continue to be an environmental advocate and has taken the No Fossil Fuel pledge. 

As a mom and digital equity advocate, Lena proposed legislation to close the Digital Divide. She authored a forward-thinking policy, coined Broadband for All, which determined that every Californian should have access to high quality and high speed internet regardless of zip code (SB1130). This Pandemic has shone a light on the digital inequities in our state. Drawing from her experience as a former Social Responsibility Manager for Microsoft, she will continue the pursuit of this righteous cause—an issue of educational equity.

As a member of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, Lena is a strong advocate for Early Childhood Education and providing much needed support for families and the essential workforce who care for our children daily. The current crisis is showing us that California is in dire need of more early education slots for low income families who need to get back to work. It also has shown us that our early childcare workers need critical PPE to keep themselves and our children safe. Lena will also continue engaging our K-12 and higher education systems—as well as parents, students, teachers, classified employees, and administrators—ensuring that our state budget and policy decisions are creating true educational opportunities for all during this important time in our state’s history.

Senator Gonzalez firmly believes in Healthcare for All and that quality healthcare should never be determined solely by employment. Since CA has the 5th largest economy in the world, Lena believes that all Californians, regardless of zip code, should have access to safe and quality healthcare, especially as we fight this global Pandemic. As a member of the Senate Health Committee, she has always prioritized people over profits and has garnered the support of local frontline workers, including the Community Clinics Association, CA Nurses Association, CA Professional Firefighters, United Health Workers, and more.

Lena's first bill (SB1255), recently signed by Governor Newsom, fought against the insurance industry’s discriminatory practice of denying Californians living with HIV of Life and Disability Income Insurance. Lena was also awarded the Healthy Kids Champion award this year by the CA American Cancer Association for her co-authorship of SB793, which banned flavored tobacco for kids and confirmed her stance against receiving tobacco industry contributions. 

Lena was appointed to serve as Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response—leading the Senate’s efforts on COVID-19 and engaging with the Newsom administration on proactive measures to safeguard and prepare our California communities.

Economic Inclusion means a little something different to everyone, but it should never exclude anyone. As the proud daughter of a Teamster, Lena has always known the value of hard work and has championed this belief throughout her legislative career by supporting our hard-working California families. She formerly advocated for a Citywide Project Labor agreement, which focused on getting people back to work in high skilled labor jobs—especially those in high unemployment zip codes. Lena has supported legislation for hotel service and garment worker protections, as these employees—mostly women—have been deeply affected by this Pandemic. She has also supported the CA Federation of Labor and numerous working family organizations from truck drivers, nurses, hotel workers, municipal employees, maritime workers, and more. 

Senator Gonzalez has also been at the forefront in support of California’s small businesses, listening intently to their concerns as our state has weathered the Pandemic. Acknowledging small business owners' frustrations and concerns, Lena has hosted various small business town halls to provide clarity and support. Lena has also highlighted women and minority owned businesses for their resilience, strength, and contributions to our community. Lastly, Lena and her team have helped over 400 people with unemployment insurance claims during this crisis. Regardless of where you are in life, Lena will fight to ensure you have the resources you need for upward economic mobility.

Senator Gonzalez believes that housing is one of the largest crises of our era. As we face a global Pandemic—our largest health crisis yet—we still cannot ignore the many Californians who are in deep financial stress. Many are facing eviction, homelessness, and foreclosure, both before COVID-19 and now as we move deeper through this crisis. Lena believes strongly in tenant protections to keep people housed as well as controls on drastic rent increases that will ensure people are not priced out of our district and state.

This is why Senator Gonzalez has fought hard as a Long Beach City Councilwoman and now as your State Senator—to champion legislation that protects renters and homeowners during the Pandemic by ensuring residents are not evicted and homeowners are provided forbearance. Lena has been a tireless advocate for affordable housing—working on a Senate Working Group over this last year focussing on legislation that would require affordable projects for low income families up and down the state, addressing our state’s homelessness crisis. This is why she has been supported by CA YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), who firmly believe in bold and creative solutions that keep every Californian in mind.