Meet the Candidates

My name is Zac Bowling and I’m running to be your delegate in AD 18 to push the party forward. I’m a lifelong Democrat, progressive, union member, and grassroots activist fighting for affordable housing and social justice. I also serve as the newly elected President of the City of Alameda Democratic Club.

Like many millennials, I struggled with skyrocketing housing costs and a lack of affordable housing. Twelve years ago, I decided to get involved and challenge the status quo. As an activist, I focus on protecting renters, solving housing affordability, and ending homelessness.

I’ve worked on hundreds of grassroots efforts, locally and in the state, to advocate for and push legislation on housing, homelessness, tenant rights, climate change, public transit, and fair wages. Three years ago, I helped found East Bay YIMBY, a pro-housing advocacy group, where I serve as a volunteer lead.

I’m also a community organizer. I’m known for running several large local social media groups across the region, where I use those platforms for social good to raise awareness on local issues, promote locally owned businesses, and raise money for causes and organizations (like the Alameda Food Bank). On TikTok and YouTube, I have an educational/advocacy channel with 100,000 subscribers, where I cover housing and transit issues and where I work to turn out young people on progressive causes.

*I want to bring this activist energy to the party.*

The next two years are crucial for Democrats to work to keep and win control of the House, Senate, and White House and push back on right-wing extremism. As your delegate, I'll work within the state party to ensure we win in 2024 and stand up against fascism and hate.

Two years ago, I was honored to be elected as a delegate. I’m proud of the work we did. I lobbied the party to endorse a number of housing bills and new party planks, including arguing on the floor of the convention in favor of a bill to build affordable housing. I want to use my experience to make sure the East Bay has a seat at the table in different committees, and I want to help new delegates in AD18 navigate the party, so we all have a strong voice.

As your delegate, I pledge to fight for affordable housing, better transit, livable cities, and equity for everyone in the state party. I hope I can count on your vote for me and the AD 18 Unity slate.

Hello, my name is Mayra Alvarado and I am proud to be a resident and teacher in East Oakland. As a daughter of immigrants, I remember how hard my parents had to work to provide for our basic needs. I am forever thankful to them. I saw them work through difficult situations due to not being unionized laborers. They often would work overtime with no pay and without the proper protective equipment and tools. Our working class should never be treated this way; not in the past, the present, nor in the future.

This is why I am proud to be an advocate for our rights as a leader within our teachers’ union, Oakland Education Association. As a strike captain during the 2019 OUSD Teachers’ Strike, we were able to work together and realize our goals; we won contractual language for newcomer teachers and an increase in salary, among other huge wins. I was a strike captain before I ever made a political campaign call. I’ve continued my political organizing work serving as your CADEM delegate for my first term since 2020.

I want to serve as your delegate for Assembly District 18 because I want the California Democratic Party to be more reflective of our working class and work together to fight for our rights. For too long we've been placed under the needs of corporate interests and I want to serve as your delegate to this change, now.

If reelected as delegate for AD18, I will continue to fight for:

• Community schools

• An end to over policing of Black and Brown folks in our neighborhoods

• Healthcare for all, including:

o Increased funding for mental health care

• A living wage

• Bargaining rights

• A budget that reflects a true interest in our communities

I’m asking for you to vote for me, Mayra Alvarado, and for the rest of the Unity Slate. Follow me on Instagram at: @maestra.alvarado

My name is Carlotta Brown. I am an advocate for housing for all, reproductive rights and mental health care, and equitable public safety. As a Black Self-Identified woman, I strive for progressive transformation and equity, and I am asking for your vote to be your delegate for AD18.

As the daughter of an East Texas sharecropper’s youngest son, I have been fueled by my family’s story of resilience while enduring life under Jim Crow. I have watched as my parents overcame incredible odds to achieve their version of the American Dream: serving in the military, achieving homeownership, and completing postsecondary education. I carry with me their commitment to public service and belief in the hope of our country, and am unwaveringly invested in ensuring all are empowered to write their own stories of progress and success.

As a Bay Area native and renter involved in local, state, and federal politics, advocacy has been the means by which I have put my personal investment into practice. Whether phone-banking to take back the House of Representatives or executing community-facing projects and programs, no action is too big or too small to strive for the greater good. I have served our community with the East Oakland Collective as an advisory board member, the City of Oakland’s Safety and Service Oversight Commission as chairwoman, with Advance for the Biden Harris Administration, and as a Super Volunteer for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. In every endeavor, I approach service from a socially-conscious lens.

I graduated from the National Democratic Training Committee's Staff Academy and attended The Collective PAC’s Black Campaign School to continue refining my skills and education beyond my MPA and 10+ years of relevant experience. I am an executive board member of Black Women Organized for Political Action and an alumni of Emerge California. It is this combination of inclusionary growth-mindedness and experience that has equipped me to be an asset to your political investment and our shared belief in Democratic values. I hope that I and the AD18 Unity Slate can count on your vote. Thank you.

As your delegate I’m committed to representing our communities in Alameda, Emeryville, and Oakland, fighting for your needs and values. My priorities will focus on pushing the Party to support substantive justice reform, environmental justice, equitable housing policies, M4A, and economic equity. In a state with an abundance of resources, the Democratic Party should be the advocate of working class people who have all of the resources they need to reach their dreams.

A son of 2 Mexican immigrants, I was born in Oakland, raised in Fruitvale, and incarcerated from the age of 17-25 costing me the “formative years” of my life. Those years helped me recognize that my experiences weren’t unique; but results of decades of discrimination, community divestment, and political disenfranchisement. During my incarceration, I came to appreciate political engagement. Seeing the changes in legislation that provided second opportunities for people like me, could unravel systems of marginalization. This realization came at a time when I was devoid of my rights but I knew, even if I could not vote, I could encourage and educate others to engage in this critical democratic act.

The belief of voting being crucial for self-determination, informed my work, and efforts post-incarceration. In early 2019, I authored a resolution for the Oakland City Council in support of the Assembly “Free to Vote Act” which would allow Californian parolees the right to vote. Being on parole, without the right to vote, this was a moment that proved to me an individual that was system-impacted could write and inform these very systems. I’ve also worked on campaigns to provide additional funding for children and their families in Alameda County.

In the last two years since I was first appointed a delegate, I’ve completed my Bachelor’s Degree from Cal, worked on Climate Resilience, and housing to help create vibrant communities where everyone can benefit. Having lived with up to five family members in a one-bedroom apartment that my family could only afford because of rent-control, I know how difficult it is for too many people. These experiences drive my belief that housing is a human right which impacts every facet of life. In the face of growing inequities, overt-racism, and outright political violence, I want to be at the forefront for our community to push our party, state, and country forward.

My career is devoted to building power for working class communities, especially communities of color. Political involvement and action are key to that. That’s why I’m running.

I have almost 30 years of experience as a labor and community organizer. For the last 17 years, I’ve had the honor of working with Teamsters Joint Council 7 and over 100,000 Teamsters in Northern California, the Central Valley and Nevada. During this time, we’ve passed some of the strongest laws in the country protecting immigrant workers from retaliation and dealing with the misclassification of workers as independent contractors instead of employees. We organized Silicon Valley’s army of shuttle bus drivers and tens of thousands of other workers. We’ve marched, went on strike and set up gauntlets in the Capitol halls. When workers join together in unions we have more power.

Before this, I helped Bay Area private security officers organize with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Prior to that, I organized in Oakland with the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN). We did community-led campaigns for tenants’ rights, better public schools, fair housing and more. My organizing career began in Northeast Thailand where we challenged a system that exploits workers within global supply chains and creates environmental justice issues.

I was appointed by Governor Newsom to both the Future of Work Commission and the Commission on Health and Safety and Worker’s Compensation. I also serve as an officer to the Alameda and South Bay Central Labor Councils. These positions and my experience give me great insights into the issues California workers face.

As a union political director, I’m responsible for endorsing candidates, making political contributions, running campaigns, meetings with elected officials and more. What excites me most is how we leverage politics to win for working people.

As a father, I focus on addressing climate change from a Labor perspective. Democratic leadership in our state can help create an economy that works for our children, our communities, and workers. However, corporations relentlessly push back against that agenda. I’m running because we must win this fight.

I am a past Delegate to the CDP and ask for your support for the Unity Slate to represent AD18’s Democrats at future conventions.

My name is Courtney Welch and I would be honored to serve as a delegate for AD-18.

My city of Emeryville has joined AD-18 from redistricting and I am excited for the opportunity to serve our new district. I believe public service, especially on the local level, is a key element in creating communities that ensure that we are a place where everyone can thrive, especially the most vulnerable among us. It is pertinent that the California Democratic Party has representation that understands the needs of everyday Californians and that we are supporting and endorsing policies and candidates that will work to address the state’s major issues in an equitable and sustainable manner.

I am a native of Oakland, currently a city council member in Emeryville serving as Vice Mayor, and a former AD-15 delegate (2019-2021). In addition to my elected role, I serve on the Alameda County Housing and Community Advisory Committee as chair, and on the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women. Through my public service, I work on several issues such as homelessness, public safety, affordable housing, poverty, and gender and health equity. I would bring a strong background in community service and knowledge of what is needed to address these matters to my role as an AD-18 delegate.

Thank you for participating in our democratic process, I hope to earn your vote, and please consider voting for the other members of the Unity Slate.

I have worked in health care for 20 years, and I'm currently a CDP Delegate appointed by Senator Nancy Skinner. I ask for your vote for me and the UNITY slate for AD 18.

I am a proud Executive Board member of SEIU-UHW, representing thousands of workers in our region, member of AFRAM and API caucuses. I am a Patient Care Technician in the Intensive Care Unit at Kaiser Oakland. Working through the COVID pandemic has been a challenge and a privilege.

Teams of health care workers that I led lobbied State Legislators to get safe housing for essential workers who were exposed to COVID during pandemic. When schools closed, we were able to get child care funding from State and County governments. I helped our campaign to establish COVID sick leave pay and extend it as the pandemic has continued. Finally, we lobbied Legislators for the Law which ensures healthcare workers and other essential workers have quality safety equipment so we can continue to provide great service to our community.

We spoke with Legislators to get them to create laws which will help reduce the rising costs of healthcare and increase equity in care. I believe in making healthcare a right in California! Our Union is working hard to address the crisis caused by short staffing. I helped lead conversations with local elected officials who helped us stop the outsourcing of jobs in Oakland, and with Legislators in 2022 to pass Laws which provided bonuses for healthcare workers to encourage them to stay in the profession. We will be supporting major legislation in 2023 meant to help retain and recruit health care workers.

In 2014 I was a leader of UHW's campaign to help over 20,000 Californians gain health insurance at our enrollment Town Halls. I have collected signatures as part of UHW's campaigns to qualify three different state initiatives on the ballot, including the Statewide $15 minimum wage initiative which was quickly signed into law after we qualified it for the ballot. I've also trained and led volunteers in my Union's 2016 and 2018 campaign phone banks for candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party. In 2018 and 2019, I participated in civil disobedience actions to bring light to Kaiser's violations of Labor laws. In Georgia, Arizona, and Utah I canvassed voters to oppose State Legislative plans to deprive Medicaid eligibility expansions which voters approved.

Hello Community! My name is Jada (Sounds like Jah-Duh) TaylorFolse and I am excited to be on the ADEM18 Unity slate card. I have served the healthcare industry for over 30 years from management to front line staff to organizer of my co-workers to vote for Union representation. I want to bring my extensive personal and professional leadership skills to our State Party.

Born and bred in the Bay Area and an Oakland resident since 1991, I have seen the old and the new Oakland and am dedicated to making our future brighter.

I am on the bargaining team on behalf of my co-workers at LifeLong health clinics who are represented by SEIU-UHW, negotiating a contract which will help workers and patients.

During the COVID pandemic I have been part of the City of Oakland’s food security council. Food insecurities is something I’m very passionate about. I was successful in helping the council supply 100 healthy and tasty meals a day from a local farm to table non-profit. For two years, 80 tenants who were formerly homeless didn’t have to worry where their next meal was coming from. I have run a food pantry for my neighbors as well as cooking them a weekly hot meal. I also love volunteering at local food pantries.

In my health clinic job I help consumers with complex mental and physical disabilities manage their lives. Seeing people recover is one of the best joys to witness.

For the last year I have enjoyed being a collaborator with The Oakland Lowdown which is a neighborhood safe news and art space supporting the needs of their Oakland neighbors.

I continue to be a fierce advocate of social justice, the homeless population, and food insecurities.

In my free time I enjoy supporting and escorting American Legion veterans on Honor Flights to Washington DC to witness the war memorials. This year I was able to bring my dad on this trip of a lifetime.

My spouse and I love hosting family gatherings, our grandkids, spending time in nature and of course our fur-babies.

I am honored and beyond excited to be a part of this ADEM 18 election and look forward to joining you all in community.

I implore registered Democrats to go and register so you can place your VOTE for me, Jada Taylor Folse.

Hard-working, loving mother to 4, Oakland Native who was born into a family of service.

I come from a family of Faith-Based & Community Leaders, Veterans, Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, Educators, Health Providers, City Workers, all who have given to Oakland & Aboard for Centuries.

In both my professional and personal life, I have committed to living my purpose of uplifting equity, equal access to opportunity, social & economic justice, food insecurity & all the other systemic hardships on the shoulders of our Black, Brown & Minority Communities!

Looking forward to getting into lots of good trouble in the name of righteous & love. Everyone deserves to live freely & to be served with intentions to change.

#LetsGo

My name is Ivan Garcia. Proudly raised in East Oakland, the child of a single-mother, and being system impacted – I’ve witnessed the structural inequities within our East Bay community firsthand.

My journey fighting for progressive values began when I was 15 years old.

Most recently, I organized with the Yes on Measure H campaign in Oakland, ensuring that the College & Career for All Fund was reauthorized and that students will continue to have access to expansive career pathways. I’ve also been on the picket lines, supporting graduate students and student researchers demanding a living wage across the UC system.

On the front lines, I’ve led efforts to stop coal from being transported through West Oakland, served on the Oakland Youth Commission, and built coalitions with youth across Oakland to work on issues such as homelessness and public safety. Following the tragic murder of George Floyd and the protests fighting against the continued assault on black and brown bodies, I was appointed to Oakland’s Reimagining Public Safety Task Force. I’m proud to be an advocate for investing in systemic, root causes of violence: access to housing, social services, and education.

I’m running as a CADEM delegate to be a voice for working class families. Our community continues to change rapidly, but working class people are struggling more than ever. I will work to ensure the Democratic party makes progress on housing affordability, climate change, healthcare, public education, and increased investments in marginalized communities that allow working people to access upward mobility within our society.

With a commitment to social justice, I’ve also worked at the ACLU, organizing across the country for reproductive freedom and access to abortion. Similarly, I’m dedicated to fighting against gun violence. I’m a proud leader with Brady and Team ENOUGH, a youth-led gun violence prevention organization. I helped found Team ENOUGH’s California program; teaching underrepresented students about gun violence, and equipping them with the skills of grassroots lobbying to advocate for change.

My generation doesn’t have the luxury of time. We are faced with the existential threat of climate change, increased police violence, and unaffordable costs of living. I would be honored to have your vote, working to bring our East Bay community together towards a sustainable future.

Rowena Brown is an East Bay native and a fierce advocate for Assembly District 18. As a proud product of public schools and alumnus of the Peralta Colleges and Mills College, Rowena has lived, worked, and played in Oakland for more than a decade. Rowena currently serves as the District Director for Assemblymember Mia Bonta while completing her studies at the University of California, Hastings. She also serves as an appointed delegate to the California Democratic Party, fighting for progressive values and marginalized voices in our state party.

As a Black and Queer woman, who lost both of her parents by the age of 17, Rowena knows firsthand why representation in the democratic process is key to transforming our communities. Rowena works to bring people together and build the coalitions needed to form a government that works for all. Assembly District 18 needs a champion who will fight for the rights and dignity of East Bay residents Rowena is determined to fight for the right to healthcare, the right to safety, the right to housing, and the right to succeed regardless of our skin color, zip code, or school district.

Rowena has served the working people of AD18 for more than a decade. From teaching civics to young people in Oakland to providing free eye exams and glasses to K-12 students, Rowena works to ensure our students have the tools they need to succeed. During the worst months of the pandemic, Rowena connected vulnerable families to COVID-19 resources, including testing and vaccination sites, renter's rights and benefits, and healthy food for communities at major risk from the virus. That passion to help working families carried over into her current job in the State Assembly, bringing together communities, labor unions, neighborhood groups, and small businesses to ensure that we have effective representation in Sacramento.

As a quintessential organizer, Rowena has guided progressive and labor candidates to victory throughout the East Bay, and she will continue to lead the fight on behalf of working families.

Please vote Rowena Brown for California Democratic Party Delegate, Assembly District 18.

Fellow Democrats, my name is Alex Randolph, and I am running to be your Assembly District 18 Delegate. I’ve previously been a delegate to the California Democratic Party and saw first-hand how critical it is to guarantee that our voices are represented when important decisions about the future of our party, state, and country are made.

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the inequalities in our communities, particularly access to public health services and education. As we continue to recover from the global health emergency, we need to ensure that we do it with a focus on equity and support communities that are often left behind. My career has been dedicated to public service and political activism. I am a proud life-long democrat and have fought to ensure that people of color and the LGBTQ+ community have a seat at the table for the past two decades.

As a community college trustee, I helped established the countries first true free universal tuition program in the country and raised critical funds to provide scholarships for undocumented and LGBTQ+ students. I know first-hand that access to higher education not only transforms lives but saves them. A first-generation college graduate raised by a single mom I faced my set of challenges like many of you, I wouldn't be here today without my community college. As your Delegate I will fight to make higher education free across the board.

I have served my community as a public servant, mentor, volunteer, and activist. For the past couple of years, I have served on the Board of Directors of Equality California, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil-rights organization and the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club. I worked hard to get LGBTQ people appointed and elected to public office. As hate crimes increase even in our own backyard, it is more important than ever that we unify as progressives and stand against discrimination of any kind in any community.

I pledge to be accessible and transparent. Let me know how we can build a stronger and more inclusive Democratic Party together! You can reach me at alex@alexrandolph.com or 415-886-7501.

It would be a tremendous honor to represent you in AD-18 and ensure that our party reflect the diversity our state. With your support there is no doubt that we can do it! Please for ALEX RANDOLPH and the entire Assembly District 18 Progressive Labor Unity Slate.

Onwards!

My name is Seth Steward and I am running to be your AD18 delegate to continue criminal justice reform and to open up new opportunities for disenfranchised communities.

Raised by a single mother, my brother and I learned the values of service, excellence and fairness. I spent 13 years as a prosecutor handling hate crimes, domestic violence, and other serious cases while collaborating with alternative courts and diversion programs. I managed the District Attorney’s Neighborhood D.A. Program, served as spokesperson and engaged in community outreach. The current system is broken. We cannot continue to destroy communities. We need reform. We must rebuild trust and create justice and fairness for all.

I teach criminal law at Oakland Technical High School and Merritt College and serve as Scholarship Chair for the Peralta Colleges Foundation Board of Directors. I teach because I believe supporting people at the front end means less victims and defendants on the back end.

I am a proud Air Force veteran. I joined after the bombing of the Boston Marathon. The Air Force Rescue motto is “These Things We Do That Others May Live.” I bring this level of duty and commitment to the Democratic Party.

As Chief of Staff for Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb, I drafted legislation banning chokeholds and carotid restraints by police, and worked with Oakland’s leaders to ban ghost guns and ghost gun kits. It is critical to bring these and other safety policies to all of California.

As a proven prosecutor, veteran, public school teacher and policy leader, I have what it takes to develop progressive criminal justice policy in the Democratic Party and create new opportunities for under-resourced communities.

Thank you for your consideration. Please take the time to vote in this election.

I respectfully ask you for your vote.

My name is Kevin Jenkins, I am a proud native of Oakland and I am running for delegate because I know first hand the importance of service to the community.

I graduated from Oakland Senior High School, continued my education at San Francisco State where I earned my BA in Urban Studies and Planning and completed my Masters Degree in Public Administration at California State University East Bay. After, college I worked in local government and with community based organizations with a focus on helping working class people. For the past five years my work has been centered around advancing housing justice for children, youth, families and all Californians.

In 2020, I was elected to the Peralta Board of Trustees. In that role, I worked with my colleagues to guide the district through the pandemic, hire a chancellor, and stabilize the district's finances to ensure Peralta’s longevity for future generations. Through the support of my community, this November I was elected to the Oakland City Council, representing District 6.

I am running to serve as a delegate for Assembly District 18 to ensure that the California Democratic Party and its platform is reflective of working class people that serve as the backbone of the democratic party. I want to ensure that the party is aligned with the values that voters hold.

I want to ensure:

That all Californians have access to quality affordable health care. As a person who grew up without access to health care, I realize that it's imperative that our party stand for access to quality affordable health care.

That all children and youth have access to quality education, regardless of location, that will prepare them for jobs and economies of the future.

That we are working on solutions to lower the cost of housing and developing plans to house our unhoused residents.

That we develop policies that protect our environment and put us on a path to sustainable renewable energy sources.

I humbly ask that you vote for me, Kevin Jenkins and the rest of the Unity Slate so that we can advocate for your priorities with the democratic party.