Roman Reed

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Roman Reed

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Associate

Chabot College, 1996

Bachelor's

University of California, Berkeley, 2008

Personal

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Stem cell advocacy and research

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Roman Reed (Democratic Party) ran for election to the California State Assembly to represent District 25. He lost in the primary on March 3, 2020.

Reed also ran for election to the Fremont City Council to represent District 6 in California. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Reed completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Reed was a 2014 Democratic candidate for District 10 of the California State Senate.

Biography

Reed earned his A.A. from Chabot College and his bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley in 2008. His professional experience includes working in stem cell advocacy and research, as the executive director for the Stanford Partnership for Spinal Cord Injury and Repair, as an adjunct professor at Singularity University, as a community activist, and as a local commissioner.

Organizations

As of his 2020 campaign, Reed was affiliated with the following organizations:

• World Stem Cell Summit Advisory Board
• Christopher and Dana Organization
• The Roman Reed Core Laboratory at UC Irvine
• The Roman Reed spinal cord injury grant program at Gladstone Institute
• StemRemedium LLC

Elections

2020

Fremont City Council

See also: City elections in Fremont, California (2020)

General election

General election for Fremont City Council District 6

The following candidates ran in the general election for Fremont City Council District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Cox (Nonpartisan)	31.6	4,327
	Submit photo	Charles Liu (Nonpartisan)	24.5	3,351
	Submit photo	Yogi Chugh (Nonpartisan)	24.1	3,307
		Roman Reed (Nonpartisan)	10.4	1,422
	Submit photo	Jhansi Kalapala (Nonpartisan)	5.1	696
	Submit photo	Andrew Quang Nguyen (Nonpartisan)	4.2	569
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	32

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,704
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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California State Assembly District 25

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 25

Alex Lee defeated Bob Brunton in the general election for California State Assembly District 25 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alex Lee (D)	70.5	135,733
		Bob Brunton (R)	29.5	56,775

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 192,508
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 25

The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Assembly District 25 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Brunton (R)	20.8	19,612
✔		Alex Lee (D)	15.4	14,542
	Submit photo	Anne Kepner (D)	13.6	12,823
	Submit photo	Anna Song (D)	12.7	11,992
	Submit photo	Natasha Gupta (D)	10.4	9,778
	Submit photo	Carmen Montano (D)	10.2	9,672
		Anthony Phan (D)	7.2	6,780
		Roman Reed (D)	5.9	5,549
		Jim Canova (D)	3.8	3,623

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,371
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: California State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Bob Wieckowski (D) and Peter Kuo (R) defeated Mary Hayashi (D), Roman Reed (D) and Audie Bock (I) in the blanket primary. Wieckowski defeated Kuo in the general election.

California State Senate, District 10, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Wieckowski	68%	111,162
	Republican	Peter Kuo	32%	52,302
Total Votes				163,464

California State Senate, District 10 Blanket Primary, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Wieckowski	35.4%	36,773
	Republican	Peter Kuo	26.3%	27,332
	Democratic	Mary Hayashi	20.6%	21,448
	Democratic	Roman Reed	13.6%	14,098
	Independent	Audie Bock	4.1%	4,284
Total Votes				103,935

Endorsements

In 2014, Reed's endorsements include the following:

• Stuart M. Gordon, Founder of Gordon & Rees
• Art Torres, former State Democratic Party Chair and State Senator
• Dan Lydon, Fremont Fire Chief
• Garrett Contreras, former Hayward Fire Chief
• Tony Freitas, former Piedmont Police Chief
• Kevin Moore, Councilmember
• Yogi Chugh, Fremont Planning Commission
• Dirk Lorenz, former Fremont Planning Commissioner
• Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
• Peter Wilderotter. CEO Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
• Dr. Ann Tsukamoto, Stem Cells Inc.
• Dr. Arlene Chiu, City of Hope
• Dr. Bernie Siegel, Genetics Policy Institute
• Dr. Brock Reeve, Harvard Stem Cell Program
• Dr. Ben Barres, Stanford University
• Dr. Gary Steinberg, Stanford University
• Dr. Giles Plant, Stanford University
• Dr. Graham Creasey, Stanford University
• Dr. Irving Weissman, Stanford University
• Dr. Mary Bass, Stanford University

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Roman Reed did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

California State Assembly District 25

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released February 9, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Roman Reed completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reed's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in this District all of my life, I have went to schools here, raised a family here and donated my time to making this community the best it can be. However, my work is not done. I want to continue my effort in the State Assembly, representing District 25. Government works best when its leaders listen and I pride myself on always listening, learning and working in a collaborative style to solve problems and rectifying issues to make communities better. I am proud to have the support of Eric Swalwell, Member of Congress, Steve Westly, Former CA State Controller, John Dutra, Former CA State Assemblymember,

Scott Haggerty, Supervisor, Alameda County District 1, Alan Nagy, Mayor, City of Newark and Demetress Morris , Vice-Chair, City of Milpitas Planning Commission. My support is diverse and spans across all of the District. I am experienced, hard working and passionate about making a difference for the betterment of all of us. I have passed laws in several states, served on various local commissions and volunteered for many different non profits so I know the importance how government interacts with the community. For more information please visit my website at: www.romanforstateassembly2020.com

I would be proud to have your vote!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Create Safer Schools for our kids by offering better pay for teachers and free lunches for our kids
• Fight the effort to stop Climate Change
• Fund STEM cell research for Science and for Job growth and expansion

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Stem Cell research is a passion of mine. I helped pass laws in two states to benefit people with spinal cord injuries. Passing the Roman Reed spinal cord injury research law in California and Alabama.

The law produced, the Asterias Trials headquartered in Fremont, CA, America's FIRST FDA approved human clinical trials with hESC Stem Cells. Our funded research of pioneer Dr. Hans Keirstead resulted in paralyzed people getting back the use of their arms. We created jobs from blue-collar building of labs and maintenance to white-collar scientists and post doc students.

K-12 Education we have to do a better job educating, protecting and assessing our students. Our state has fallen too far behind and we can and need to do a better job.

Climate Change must be addressed before it is too late.

Transportation, Affordable Housing and Homelessness are all unavoidable policy areas that I plan on working collectively with in solving, not only in Sacramento but locally with both Santa Clara and Alameda Counties and regionally as well with agencies like MTC and ABAG.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my father. He provided me with a hard work ethic and taught me to always give back, I also have a lot of respect for John F. Kennedy. My father liked him and explained to me why he was important, as he did with Jackie Robinson, a true pioneer that blazed the trail for other African Americans to play professional baseball.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity

Respect
Character

Dignity

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have respect, character and a I pride myself on being a very dedicated and hard worker. Nothing in life comes easy and I understand that hard work is what gets things done.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listening to the concerns of the community you represent.

Representing your constituents at all time.
Being accessible to all of your constituents, not just the Special Interest groups but all residents that you represent.

Lastly, fighting hard to deliver for your constituents.

What legacy would you like to leave?

A legacy where people understand that hard work pays off. I want people to look back at me and understand that despite my disability, I pulled through it and made the best of it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My opportunity to vote, I was proud of it

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Dishwasher at Minerva's. I did it for over a year.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Jackie Robinson Story. He is a hero who fought for quality with his mind, athleticism and soul.
I live by his quote..."A life is not worth living, except in the impact it has on other lives."

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Thor

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

St. Elmos Fire, Man In Motion

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

The biggest struggle for me was not being a football player making a tackle in one moment and then the next moment being injured and finding myself paralyzed, but rather shopping for a size 20 shoe. In all seriousness, the struggle of being paralyzed is not mine, it is really those of others, in how others view me, how others make it a point to not talk about it in fear they may hurt my feelings, how awkward situations can be from time to time. Look, I am in a wheel chair, I have accepted it as part of my life, others should as well, that's been the struggle. I still get to wake up, drink coffee, hug my kids, take them to school, just as those that can walk can!

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

We have a bi-cameral system as well. A State Senate comprised of 40 Senators and a State Assembly comprised of 80 Assembly Members. There is not much of a difference, the processes are the same, it is more duplicative than different,

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do not think it is necessary, but does help. I think if you look at U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate you will see that experience does not always pay. I do think you have to have knowledge on the role and how to run meetings and what the Brown Act means, so there should be some local experience needed.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Infrastructure in Water, Transportation and Housing.
Also, how we deal with Climate Change considering CA is a coastal state and sea levels are projected to rise.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

I think there has to be respect. Whether it is agreeing on issues or disagreeing on issues, respect can be in both regards. With a diverse state with many different districts with many different but equally important needs we need a Governor that understands this and understands that debates can be fruitful as long as they are conducted with respect.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Of course it is imperative to build relationships with with fellow colleagues in the legislature both within your party and outside your party. It is good for your constituents to prove you can work together to get things done.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Appropriations

Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media
Budget
Education
Transportation
Utilities and Energy
Veterans Affairs

Water, Parks, and Wildlife

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

N/A

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I would love to be the Speaker of the Assembly, but aside from that being the Majority Whip would be of great interest to me.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Mr. John Dutra from Fremont.
He was a compassionate, respectful and productive member of the State Assembly. I am quite humbled to have his support.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

At this time, NO.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

As I campaign door to door, I ran into a homeless family. I spoke to them for almost an hour. Their story touched me. The father lost the job and the mother had to get a second job to pay for their rent. They have two kids, finally after an expensive car repair bill, they fell short on their rent. Soon thereafter, the mother lost one of her two jobs and the father could not find work. Instead of digging themselves a hole and lying to the landlord, they paid what they could and left their apartment. They decided to become homeless so they could save up and get an new place, they have been on the streets for almost 6 months. Their kids have not missed a day of school and have to sleep in their truck and take baths at gas station restrooms, but they are optimistic that they will get back not their feet. It is sad that one turn of event can change their lives, especially with the price of housing, they know they will never buy a home in the Bay Area, but just want a one or two bedroom to rent but in Fremont that is 1700-3000 a month plus deposit and last month. Very sad, these are the families that we must help out, but it also brings to mind that homelessness is not a one story show, it has many different stories, this is one and I know there are others that are quite different.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2014

Reed's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Excerpt: "I believe we are just a decade away from some major finds [with stem cells] – and even cures – if we have the resources and commitment from state government. As Senator I want to fight to generate the energy and resources we need to do this."
• Excerpt: "I want to restore funding to local schools, bring major new research and technology employers to Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, create more opportunities for youth and improve quality of life for all of us."
• Excerpt: "I also want to fight to protect women’s healthcare, marriage equality, working people, a clean environment and safety net services for people in need."
• Excerpt: "As your Senator, serving local people will be my focus. I won’t live in Sacramento and I won’t be wining and dining donors at the homes of lobbyists. I will come home to be with my wife, kids and constituents."

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

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External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart

Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the California State Assembly

Leadership

Majority Leader:Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Minority Leader:James Gallagher

Representatives

District 1

Heather Hadwick (R)

District 2

Chris Rogers (D)

District 3

James Gallagher (R)

District 4

Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)

District 5

Joe Patterson (R)

District 6

Maggy Krell (D)

District 7

Josh Hoover (R)

District 8

David Tangipa (R)

District 9

Heath Flora (R)

District 10

Stephanie Nguyen (D)

District 11

Lori Wilson (D)

District 12

Damon Connolly (D)

District 13

Rhodesia Ransom (D)

District 14

Buffy Wicks (D)

District 15

Anamarie Avila Farias (D)

District 16

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D)

District 17

Matt Haney (D)

District 18

Mia Bonta (D)

District 19

Catherine Stefani (D)

District 20

Liz Ortega (D)

District 21

Diane Papan (D)

District 22

Juan Alanis (R)

District 23

Marc Berman (D)

District 24

Alex Lee (D)

District 25

Ash Kalra (D)

District 26

Patrick Ahrens (D)

District 27

Esmeralda Soria (D)

District 28

Gail Pellerin (D)

District 29

Robert Rivas (D)

District 30

Dawn Addis (D)

District 31

Joaquin Arambula (D)

District 32

Stan Ellis (R)

District 33

Alexandra Macedo (R)

District 34

Tom Lackey (R)

District 35

Jasmeet Bains (D)

District 36

Jeff Gonzalez (R)

District 37

Gregg Hart (D)

District 38

Steve Bennett (D)

District 39

Juan Carrillo (D)

District 40

Pilar Schiavo (D)

District 41

John Harabedian (D)

District 42

Jacqui Irwin (D)

District 43

Celeste Rodriguez (D)

District 44

Nick Schultz (D)

District 45

James Ramos (D)

District 46

Jesse Gabriel (D)

District 47

Greg Wallis (R)

District 48

Blanca Rubio (D)

District 49

Mike Fong (D)

District 50

Robert Garcia (D)

District 51

Rick Zbur (D)

District 52

Jessica Caloza (D)

District 53

Michelle Rodriguez (D)

District 54

Mark Gonzalez (D)

District 55

Isaac Bryan (D)

District 56

Lisa Calderon (D)

District 57

Sade Elhawary (D)

District 58

Leticia Castillo (R)

District 59

Phillip Chen (R)

District 60

Corey Jackson (D)

District 61

Tina McKinnor (D)

District 62

Jose Solache (D)

District 63

Natasha Johnson (R)

District 64

Blanca Pacheco (D)

District 65

Mike Gipson (D)

District 66

Al Muratsuchi (D)

District 67

Sharon Quirk-Silva (D)

District 68

Avelino Valencia (D)

District 69

Josh Lowenthal (D)

District 70

Tri Ta (R)

District 71

Kate Sanchez (R)

District 72

Diane Dixon (R)

District 73

Cottie Petrie-Norris (D)

District 74

Laurie Davies (R)

District 75

Carl DeMaio (R)

District 76

Darshana Patel (D)

District 77

Tasha Horvath (D)

District 78

Christopher Ward (D)

District 79

LaShae Sharp-Collins (D)

District 80

David Alvarez (D)

Democratic Party (60)

Republican Party (20)