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Angélica María Dueñas
Angélica María Dueñas (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 29th Congressional District. She lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.
Dueñas was elected as a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee on March 3, 2020.[1]
Dueñas previously ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 29th Congressional District. She lost in the primary election on June 5, 2018.
Biography
Angélica María Dueñas earned a bachelor's degree in political science and public administration from California State University at Los Angeles in 2007 and a master's degree in organizational leadership from Woodbury University in 2013. Dueñas' career experience includes working as the Southern California campaign coordinator for Jill Stein's 2016 presidential campaign, as a human resources manager with Gravity Defyer, and as a human resources specialist. She served as president and vice president of the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council and as a member of the Bernie Sanders Delegation to the 2016 and the 2020 Democratic National Conventions.[2][3][4][5][6]
Elections
2024
See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2024
California's 29th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 29
Luz Maria Rivas defeated Benito Bernal in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 69.8 | 146,312 |
 | Benito Bernal (R) | 30.2 | 63,374 | |
| Total votes: 209,686 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 29
Luz Maria Rivas and Benito Bernal defeated Angélica María Dueñas in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 49.3 | 40,096 |
| ✔ | | Benito Bernal (R) | 26.4 | 21,446 |
 | Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 24.4 | 19,844 | |
| Total votes: 81,386 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Dueñas in this election.
2022
See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas defeated Angélica María Dueñas in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 58.5 | 69,915 |
| Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 41.5 | 49,520 | |
| Total votes: 119,435 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas and Angélica María Dueñas defeated Margarita Maria Carranza, Andy Miranda, and Rudy Melendez in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 56.7 | 47,941 |
| ✔ | | Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 22.8 | 19,321 |
 | Margarita Maria Carranza (R) | 8.4 | 7,079 | |
 | Andy Miranda (R) | 6.1 | 5,167 | |
 | Rudy Melendez (R) | 6.0 | 5,057 | |
| Total votes: 84,565 | |||
| = 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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2020
See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2020
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas defeated Angélica María Dueñas in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 56.6 | 119,420 |
| Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 43.4 | 91,524 | |
| Total votes: 210,944 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas and Angélica María Dueñas defeated Brian Perras and Michael Guzik in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 58.5 | 56,984 |
| ✔ | | Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 23.0 | 22,423 |
 | Brian Perras (R) | 15.0 | 14,571 | |
 | Michael Guzik (D) | 3.5 | 3,373 | |
| Total votes: 97,351 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Abdeli Sanchez (D)
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas defeated Benito Bernal in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 80.6 | 124,697 |
| Benito Bernal (R) | 19.4 | 29,995 | |
| Total votes: 154,692 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House California District 29
Incumbent Tony Cárdenas and Benito Bernal defeated Joseph Shammas, Angélica María Dueñas, and Juan Rey in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tony Cárdenas (D) | 66.7 | 43,579 |
| ✔ | | Benito Bernal (R) | 17.4 | 11,353 |
 | Joseph Shammas (D) | 8.1 | 5,278 | |
| Angélica María Dueñas (G) | 6.4 | 4,164 | |
 | Juan Rey (Independent) | 1.4 | 944 | |
| Total votes: 65,318 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Angélica María Dueñas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Dueñas’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Our Issues, Our Priorities Heathcare For All Affordable Housing A Green New Deal Immigration Reform Criminal Justice Reform Progressive Foreign Policy Caring for Veterans Quality Public Education Protect Social Security Election Integrity |
” |
| —Angélica María Dueñas’s campaign website (2024)[8] | ||
2022
Angélica María Dueñas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Dueñas' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Healthcare MEDICARE FOR ALL As millions of people are thrown off their health insurance due to massive employment losses nationwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the case for Medicare-for-All better than any politician ever could. We must use this unprecedented moment to rally together to, once and for all, institute a single payer system; a move that enjoys major support across the political base of the country. We are the only major country in the world to not provide healthcare as a right, yet spend around $9,400 per capita- the most expensive in the world! That’s an average of 2.5 times more than other major industrialized nations who provide universal healthcare for ALL of its citizens. On top of high administrative costs, costly deductibles, and payments for procedures, most uninsured people are low-income and disproportionately people of color. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made history by expanding health insurance to 30 million Americans by requiring people to buy private health insurance policies and expanding Medicaid. However, it left private insurance companies in charge of our healthcare system. Their ability to consolidate power in order to command market prices continues to drive up costs. So, while people may have more "access" to healthcare, the legal requirement to buy into private health insurance left many with high premiums, and a heavy burden of debt. Basic human rights, like our healthcare, should not be privatized into a 100 billion dollar industry, PERIOD. But we can’t stop at healthcare coverage alone. We must reform our health system to focus on public health prevention as opposed to treatment. Investing to prevent chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, asthma, hepatitis, and other illnesses can save billions in healthcare spending per year. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a whopping 90% of our healthcare dollars go towards preventable chronic conditions like heart disease and lung cancer; yet less than 3 cents of every $1 spent goes towards preventing those conditions. But insurance companies rarely cover preventive services, and pharmaceutical manufacturers rarely invest in preventive drugs. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies have exploited our healthcare system’s focus on treatment as opposed to prevention by price gouging some of the most critical life-saving drugs on the market. For example, the cost of insulin is ten times higher in the United States than other developed countries, and its costs doubled from 2012 to 2016. Not only are pharmaceutical companies not required to disclose how they calculate their prices, there is barely any meaningful federal regulation of prices. Drug spending per capita has increased 40% since 2007, while our health outcomes and life expectancy have gone down; begging the question – why have drug prices soared if we aren’t seeing the benefits in our health? Today, our healthcare system comprises roughly 20% of our annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and its profits are driven almost exclusively on costly treatments. In 2017, public health spending comprised just 2.5% of our roughly $3.6 trillion healthcare system. As stated above, we spend over $9,400 per capita on healthcare, but less than $32 per capita on public health. The result is more sickness, more death, and lower health outcomes. Systemic racism throughout our healthcare system leaves Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities with disproportionately higher rates of disease and death. For example, infant mortality rates among Black Americans are 2.3 times higher than for Whites, while Latinx Americans are nearly 3 times more likely to be uninsured than White Americans. We can reverse this trend by investing into community-based public health prevention programs and services. We can rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and ensure every American has access to healthy foods. Every $1 invested pin public health prevention saves $5.60 in healthcare treatment spending – a 560% return on investment. We can save the health of our communities by investing in their growth and prosperity. THE PROFIT MOTIVE Once we are able to eliminate private insurers and ruthless pharmaceutical companies from the equation, their ability to drive up prices for premiums, deductibles, and admin costs will, in effect, also be eliminated. That's more money in your pocket. The only ones who lose are private insurance executives and shareholders. On top of that, the for-profit private health insurance companies have proven ineffective when it comes to negotiating with for prescription drugs and other forms of medicine. A Medicare for All "Single Payer" System will provide universal health insurance which will eliminate out-of-pocket expenses, the aforementioned costs of the private health insurance bureaucracy, and be able to negotiate for affordable prescription drugs. WHAT IS SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE? The United States is the only country in the developed world that does not guarantee access to basic health care for residents. Countries that guarantee health care as a human right do so through a “single-payer” system, which replaces the thousands of for-profit health insurance companies with a public, universal plan. If you think this is politically unfeasible to win in the United States, take a look at the across-the-board support for the program. Afraid it can't work? It already exists for seniors! Medicare is a public, universal plan that provides basic health coverage to those age 65 and older. Medicare costs less than private health insurance, provides better financial security, and is preferred by most patients. Single-payer is often described as “Expanded & Improved Medicare for All.” A single-payer system would save at least $2 trillion in net savings over the course of ten years, which is now wasted on administrative overhead and monopoly profits. And, finally, the $2 trillion-dollar question: How do we pay for it? For starters, we can increase personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, an additional 2% tax on those who make more than $250,000 (less than 3% of the population) in taxable income, and a 6% premium on large, billion-dollar corporations. The rest of the necessary funding will be through the authorization of funds via the Federal Reserve. Aside from the savings we would accrue over time as a whole (as previously stated), small-to-medium sized employers, as well as labor unions, will be relieved from the burden of negotiating healthcare services for employees, as they will already be covered. As a first step in congress, we will support and co-sponsor H.R. 1384 - "Medicare For All Act" which will provide comprehensive healthcare coverage including at least the following:
CONTROL PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICING We need to end the monopolization of profits by big pharmaceutical companies by regulating the prices they charge for prescription drugs. On top of creating an government apparatus that can negotiate for better prices, we need to pass a bill that will allow us to purchase prescription drugs from other countries that are providing the same drugs by the same reputable companies from countries like Canada. In 2017, 13 Democratic Senators voted NO on an amendment that would lower prescription drugs by importing them from Canada. We need to pass legislation like the Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 that would allow the importation by individuals of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. We need to establish restrictions on certain anti-competitive patent settlements known as "pay-for-delay" agreements which effectively block generic drug competition, and we must allow the Federal Trade Commission to initiate proceedings to enforce these restrictions. Lastly, we will fight to require drug manufacturers to provide rebates for drugs dispensed to low-income individuals.
CARE FOR VETERANS AND CURRENT SERVICE MEMBERS It is important that we take care of those who have served our country. It is essential that we not only give them and their families the help they need but also show them that the government is there for them 100% no matter what. The horrifying and shocking realities surrounding the veteran population needs to be addressed: 20 veterans a day commit suicide, 50,000 live on the streets, 495,000 veterans are unemployed, and PTSD afflicts almost 31 percent of Vietnam veterans, 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan, and 20 percent of Iraqi war veterans. In addition, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) needs increased funding and resources to ensure sufficient staff and enough medical equipment, resources and adequate facilities to help solve the aforementioned issues. We will fight to ensure more adequate funding for the VA to:
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM From mass incarceration to police shootings and killings, and all the way to our court system of convicting officers' wrong doing, there is must needed room for criminal justice reform. Public trust on our police departments have deteriorated over the years, especially with the use of cell phone videos and body cameras. We know that police have always used excessive and deadly force disproportionately against Black and Brown citizens and our unhoused community members. We know that while Black and Latinx Americans comprise just 28% of our population, they are 56% of our incarcerated. Here in the state of California, we also subject our incarcerated to prison labor by having them on the frontlines of climate change fighting deadly wildfires at only $1 in pay per day. This public distrust is valid because many people, including the Native American, African American, Latinx, LGTBQIA+ and the Disabled community, have been unjustly targeted and sometimes end up dead for minor issues like traffic stops, disproportionately to Whites. We are outraged that when officers do get charged with murder or manslaughter, most often than not, they never get convicted. From the National spotlights of Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose, Philando Castile, to the local spotlights of Ezell Ford, Wakiesha Wilson, Jose Mendez and Jesse Romero, it is clear that there must be criminal justice reform. DEMILITARIZE POLICE AND INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY Over the past two decades as the United States wages a War on Drugs that has destroyed Black and Brown communities nationwide, our local police forces have grown more militarized and more deadly. We must repeal the federal “1033” program that allows for the transfer of military grade weapons from the Department of Defense to local police forces free of charge. In fact, the more local police use the military equipment, the more they receive – creating a perverse incentive to terrorize and oppress our communities. From 2006 to 2014, the 1033 Program facilitated the transfer of over 79,000 assault rifles, 600 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs), 205 grenade launchers, roughly 12,000 bayonets, nearly 4,000 combat knives, 50 airplanes, 422 helicopters, 479 bomb detonator robots, and $3.6 million in camouflage gear to local police forces. The initiative has transformed our police into powerful militias. WE MUST hold police institutions and the labor unions that protect them from prosecution accountable. We need to establish Civilian & Police Review boards in local communities to have a balanced check on police and make sure they are held accountable for any related police incidents resulting in death or bodily harm to individuals, whether by accident or on purpose. We must increase police training length, especially in terms of conflict resolution tactics. In some European countries, police training can go up to 3 years so that police can have ample time to learn to better understand, communicate with and calm distraught individuals. US police academies provided an average of 19 weeks of classroom instruction. We must also focus on increased training on de-escalation techniques instead of using deadly force. We must demilitarize our police forces so that they don’t look and act like they are going to war with our own citizens. We must have mandatory community policing requirements of proportional representation where police officers look and act like the people in the communities they are supposed to protect and serve. We must ensure that mental health patients who call law enforcement for help will be treated as medical patients, not criminals. In addition, we need to invest in medical and mental help programs to deal with those having substance abuse issues. We should be treating them from a health perspective, not a criminal perspective. END THE SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE AND INVEST IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE We must put an end to the school to prison pipeline. We can invest more in youth jobs and education, not jails and incarceration. This involves ending the War on Drugs that targets people of color disproportionately compared to our White counterparts. In addition, we need to take marijuana off the federal government's list of outlawed drugs / the DEA's Schedule 1 drug list where Heroin is on that same list. We must legalize and tax cannabis, while expunging all federal criminal records for non-violent drug offenses. And we must restore full access to civil liberties and social services to help break the cycle of recidivism. We must rebuild and invest in the economic growth and prosperity of our formerly incarcerated community members, and establish community-led healing efforts grounded in restorative justice. We can invest billions into mental and behavioral health services so that our community members receive treatment as opposed to prison for a chronic health condition. BAN PRIVATE PRISONS AND DETENTION CENTERS It is time to end the for-profit prisons industry with a direct ban. The prison industrial complex has led to a disproportionate amount of mass incarceration people of color and low-income people. In the United States, we have the world's highest level of prisoners (over 2 million prisoners) compared to any other country. The private prison industry’s business model revolves around maximizing arrest and prosecution to churn endless profits – not aid in the delivery of justice. Private prisons face little regulation and oversight, and nearly all have inhumane conditions including decrepit water and sanitation facilities, lack of healthcare services, frequent abuse by guards, and conditions that force incarcerated individuals to live in squalor. We must abolish this system of tyranny. END MANDATORY MINIMUMS We must eliminate mandatory minimums and three strikes laws, which we have seen disproportionately leads to tougher sentencing for Black and Brown people than Whites. According to the Yale Law Journal, Black men were nearly twice as likely to be charged with an offense that carried a mandatory minimum sentence than White men facing similar circumstances. Judges have historically selected longer and tougher sentences for Blacks, even if they have the same criminal history as Whites. USE OF FORCE We must evaluate and reform our current laws regarding the "use of lethal force" to ensure that police officers who are in the wrong of unjustly killing people are indicted AND convicted. There is an overwhelming number of police shootings each year that ends up as "justifiable" in the eyes of the law however, when we see cases like that of Walter Scott, who was shot 3 times in the back while running away, or Eric Garner who was choked to death even though his hands were up and there was large presence of police officers around, it begs to question: what must you do to get an indictment or a conviction for police officers? There is too much leeway for law enforcement officers who get away using lethal force. There must be transformative reform.
PROTECTING OUR CIVIL RIGHTS At a time when our civil rights are under attack by a conservative government and Donald Trump, we must ALL stand united ready to resist and to fight back against any form of oppression, bigotry, xenophobia, sexism, or racism. We must realize that our strengths and what makes America great is our diversity, our culture, and our differences. To be able to be the most diverse country on Earth is why we are the wealthiest and most industrialized nation on earth. We must treat each other with respect, compassion, and with dignity regardless of the color of one's skin, their gender identity, who they love, or what faith someone practices. We cannot go back towards the days of segregation and a life based on fear, we must only move forward. RACIAL JUSTICE Black Lives Matter: We must recognize that there is a problem in the United States of America that has stemmed from the roots of slavery which has played an effect on the social conditioning of society today. Our system in the U.S. has failed the African American community. African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated, unemployed, homeless, lack quality education, live near unsafe environmental conditions, face tougher prison sentences, and more likely to be killed by police compared to other racial groups other than Native Americans. We will work to overthrow the current system that has failed African Americans and people of color so that they have the same chances to succeed as everyone else should. Latinx Justice: African Americans and Latinx make up half of the total prisoners in America even though they represent only a quarter of the entire population. Like the African American community, the system has also failed the Latinx community as well as they too face a disproportion of incarceration, unemployment, lack of quality education, imminent threats of deportation, and live near unsafe environmental conditions. As discussed we must combat a system of wealth and income inequality that has had a profound effect on the African American and Latinx community. We must provide quality public education and healthcare as a right, a living wage, affordable housing, and more opportunities for work. We must reform our criminal justice system that disproportionately targets African Americans and Latinx, leaving them incarcerated or killed at the hands of police. In addition, we will work to ensure that African Americans do not receive tougher sentencing than white people with the same history. We will stop racial discrimination in education against students, including punishments for behavior or preferential treatment based on race. We will also ensure quality public education as a right for all races. We push for the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would strengthen voting rights by expanding and strengthening the government's ability to respond to voting discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, sexual preference, or membership in a language minority group. We will work to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to require school districts in state that receive ESEA funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the bases of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identify, and religion WOMEN'S RIGHTS Equal pay: We will work with Congress to come up with a way to ensure that there is equal pay regardless of gender or race. If people are working the same position with the same amount of skill and job experience, they should be paid the same. Women of Color only make anywhere from 55 to 63 cents for every dollar a white man makes. We will support legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act to stop gender wage discrimination. Also, we will work to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. Right to choose: We will work to protect reproductive rights and a right for anyone to choose what they decide to do with their body. We will provide safe and legal to access to social services, medicine, and abortion, such as protecting Planned Parenthood. We will provide quality child care as a right, including more Head Start programs and universal Pre-K for new and working mothers. Parents deserve all the necessary help in the beginning phases of their children’s lives. While they are working to make a living for their family, they must also have help in raising their child to be the best they can be. We will work to pass legislation that provides 12 weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave. LGBTQIA+ RIGHTS LGBTQIA+ Rights are Human Rights. We will work to ensure that the future of this nation considers the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and any other marginalized community as such. We will work to cosponsor and pass the Equality Act, which would add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equality Act would prohibit worker, education, segregation, and public service discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. We will work to pass the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA), which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and guarantee that the federal government will respect legal marriages of same-sex couples and provide them with federal spousal rights and protection. We will work to pass the Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act which would amend the federal code to ensure all lawfully married same-sex couples will receive Social Security spousal benefits, regardless of where they live. We will work to pass the Stop Harming Our Kids Act that would encourage states to prohibit licensed counselors and therapists from engaging in dangerous practices to try to change the sexual orientation or gender expression of LGBTQIA+ minors, often known as “conversion therapy." We will pass a single payer Medicare for ALL system that would cover HIV/AIDS screenings & treatment and necessary sex reassignment surgeries and treatments. NATIVE RIGHTS We stand in solidarity with our indigenous sisters and brothers facing threats of pipelines being built on their land. We will work to ensure that all treaties are honored and respected by the United States government and the companies that try to build on and extract resources from sacred lands. In addition, we must empower tribal sovereignty in order for tribes to protect and restore their sacred lands. We must also ensure that with tribal sovereignty that tribes can carry out their own prosecution and have jurisdiction over crimes or actions taking place on tribal lands. We will work to ensure that Native Americans have equal access to safety, education, healthcare, and affordable housing, as currently wealth and income inequality hits hardest for Native Americans. 1 out of 4 Native Americans live in poverty with a high school graduation rate of 67%, a lack of adequate healthcare and housing, poor infrastructure, and the highest risk of killing by police compared to all other racial groups. As part of our platform we are fighting for criminal justice reform, universal healthcare, public education as a right, a Green New Deal, and housing as a right. RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES We will work to ensure that there is a separation between church and state and that public law should be independent of anyone’s religion. We will protect the freedom to express your religious faith or non-religious faith as upheld by the Free Exercise Clause in the First Amendment, and oppose any legislation that indiscriminately targets people from a certain religion to enter the country such as Donald Trump's travel ban that affects predominantly Muslim countries.
FOREIGN POLICY BASED ON PROSPERITY AND PEACE In the international arena, we must work multilaterally to advance U.S. interests, not force them upon other nations through regime change. In Congress, we will always seek peaceful approaches, while advocating for the use of diplomacy, and not wage preemptive wars without being attacked or facing an immediate, unavoidable attack. It is time to put the breaks on the war machine. In the same manner, we will work with countries that do not violate human rights, including women's rights and labor rights. We prioritize foreign aid to governments whose actions are consistent with our values and principles. We propose the establishment on thorough military spending audits to find any wasteful spending or fraudulent charges from sub-contractors. We will create partnerships with other countries to grow small and medium businesses to bring jobs to the US. Reducing our military budget by 50%. Currently we use 50% of our discretionary budget on military spending. TREATIES
We are a nation of Natives as well as immigrants, and some of our most valued possessions came from the minds of immigrants. As Americans, we must be welcoming to those just like our parents, those that come from a past we will never fully understand, and those that just want to provide the best for themselves and their children. For those that want to come in this country with documentation, we commend you for working hard in your current country, saving up money in order to live the U.S. with Documented status. For the 11 million undocumented immigrants (3% of the U.S. population) who are here currently, we must allow them to come out of the shadows without fear of deportation and hefty financial penalties. Many have escaped from a country where war, crime, and poverty has overcome their homes, which we can take a part of responsibility through U.S. Imperialism, bad trade deals, and wars. We should be uniting families not separating them. BUILDING A MOVEMENT FOR CITIZENSHIP WE recognizes that it is very difficult for immigrants, documented and undocumented, under our outdated immigration system to become a U.S. Citizen and to come out of the shadows. We recognize that change can happen only from the bottom-up, and not from the top-down. With our election into Congress, we will mobilize millions of Americans of all races, especially the Latinx and Immigrant community to fight for the change they need one election at a time. These people will elect officials who recognize the importance of comprehensive immigration reform and will seek a welcoming path to citizenship. FULL LEGAL STATUS FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS WE will push for legislation that will provide legal status for ALL immigrants! CITIZENSHIP FOR DREAMERS. WE will work to pass a modern day DREAM Act which would allow undocumented immigrants who came into the United States before the age of 16 an expeditious pathway to citizenship. In addition, we will work to expand educational benefits such as receiving financial aid and be eligible for in-state tuition rates. HEALTHCARE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS WE will fight for undocumented immigrants to receive adequate health care through Medicare for ALL. In the near term, we will support expansion of Medicaid to cover undocumented immigrants. No one should face death or struggle to receive the healthcare they need because they could not receive any healthcare due to their undocumented status. RIGHT TO COUNSEL WE will work with Congress to fight for Undocumented Immigrants to have Legal Representation, especially for children who currently have to represent themselves in front of a judge in immigration hearings. It does not make sense to have trial and not have legal representation especially if you are not familiar with the law. It is very sad to know that there are 10 or 12 years who have to defend themselves in front of a judge against getting deported. WHISTLE-BLOWER PROTECTION WE will protect all workers regardless of immigration status who report employers who exploit them by making them work in unsafe work conditions that violate health codes or safety codes. We will fight for undocumented workers who get threatened with no pay, overtime, or wages withheld due to threat of being deported. Currently, many undocumented do not file any complaints in fear of being deported, it's time to change that. BAN AND CLOSE ALL DETENTION CENTERS WE will work with Congress to end ALL detention centers whose main goal it is to increase their bottom line at the expense of separating families and deporting undocumented immigrants. In addition, we will fight to ensure that if they are released for non-violent crimes that they don't get deported the minute they get out of jail. ABOLISH ICE WE will work with Congress to defund ICE. If we are made aware of an ICE checkpoint in our district, our will staff inform the community. We will tweet, post and share so our community is able to stay safe and protect their loved ones from separation. LESSEN THE BURDEN OF PROOF FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS WE will protect immigrants, especially children, who flee their home country because they are victims of domestic violence and criminal gang activity or war. Currently, it’s not good enough to tell or convince the government that if you get sent back to a war torn country like Honduras, you might die unless you prove that people want to kill you because of your race, political identity, etc. Children are saying if "I go back, I’m going to get killed by gangs", however, our government says “you can’t prove that”. Children should NOT have to prove that. We should lower the burden of proof so that children and families can keep their life. ENSURE IMMIGRATION COURTS ARE SUFFICIENTLY STAFFED AND FUNDED WE will fight to ensure that immigrants are given a sufficient amount of time to defend themselves in immigration hearings. Currently, judges can decide immigrants’ fate, including children and families, in 7 minutes without sufficiently reviewing all the evidence and circumstances. Seven minutes can decide a family's future, that is unfair. END THE 3 TO 10-YEAR BAR WE will fight to end the 3 to 10-year bar on undocumented immigrants who leave the United States to apply for a Visa from their own home countries and try to come back to America for a better life. What we're seeing are people going back to their home country to obtain their Visa but getting denied and up getting stuck in their country 3 - 10 years. A majority of undocumented immigrants won’t do it and will live here in the shadows.
EDUCATION IS A RIGHT We believe that it is time to transform our educational system all the way from early child care through college and beyond. The time for Quality Public Education as a RIGHT is LONG OVERDUE. TUITION-FREE PUBLIC COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OUR campaign is calling for Tuition-Free Public College & Education regardless of how much one's family makes. We believe Universal Public Higher Education through College should be a RIGHT, just as we believe Universal Healthcare should be a RIGHT. Nowadays, a college degree is required for most jobs in the private sector. In addition, a college education is key to success and survival in the competitive national and global economy because as many other nations (who do provide tuition free public college) know: Knowledge is Power. How would we pay for it? A Wall Street Speculation Tax. Put a financial transaction tax per total trade dollar amount: 0.5% on Stocks, 0.1% on Bonds, 0.005% on Derivatives, and 0.001% on all other Financial Securities traded. For example, in the LAST SEVEN business days of December 2017, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had $213,954,582,805 worth of Stock Trades. If there were a financial transaction tax of 0.5% on those stocks, that would equate to $1,069,772,914 worth of revenue generated to go towards education. That could cover 66,092 undergraduate students going to Cal State University of Los Angeles (CSULA), and only 27,000 are enrolled per year! That could also cover 47,791 undergraduate students going to UCLA for a year. AND that's only SEVEN DAYS worth of trading from ONE stock exchange. Wall Street investment firms, hedge funds, etc. are MORE than capable of picking up this small progressive tax, it just depends on who's going to push for it. We know the bought Democrats and Republicans won't because Wall Street are their biggest campaign supporters. Wall Street & the Big Banks received $16 trillion in federal assistance from the Fed with close to zero percent interest to bailout the greed and recklessness of Wall Street that contributed to the Great Recession where 9 million people lost their jobs, 4 million homes were foreclosed, 2.5 million businesses were shut down, and millions of hardworking Americans saw their retirement disappear. Wall Street & the Big Banks have recovered, but the American people HAVEN'T. It's time for them to pay their fair share! It should be noted that this will pay for itself, every taxpayer dollar that goes into education generates $7 in return in revenue and public benefits, this is what gave way to the GI Bill after WW2. In addition, the University of California (UC) Schools used to be free at least for California Residents before 1970. CANCELLATION OF STUDENT DEBT As of 2016, there is currently $1.3 trillion of student debt outstanding with about 44 million Americans paying off their student loans. Students leave around with an average of $35,000 in student debt with a 5-7% interest rate when they graduate, and 11% of students are likely to default on their payments. For that 4.8 million who are likely to default, they are burdened with the socioeconomic effects of insecurity, damaged credit scores, wage garnishments, and can lose public employment or even a driver's license. In Los Angeles, what we are seeing in areas with higher median income households are students with higher average loan balances especially with more expensive private colleges/universities but lower rates of delinquency meaning that those with money are able to take care of the costs. However, in areas with lower median income households, students have lower loan balances attending more public colleges/universities, but are more likely to default on loan payments. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, before the Great Recession, total outstanding student debt ranked well below mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and home equity lines of credit as sources of household debt. Now it trails only mortgage debt... Student loans are the new mortgages. Student debt is polarizing our students as it becomes clear that a degree is now a requirement into the job market that doesn't exist. 50 years ago, one could not get hired a job without a high school degree; today, many employers won't even consider hiring someone without a college degree. We believe it's time we bailout our students and forgive their student debt. We call on the Federal Reserve to buy back the $1.3 trillion outstanding in student loans and declare it uncollectable - null and void (write-off the debt). The Fed was able to prop up more than $16 trillion in loans with close to zero percent interest to bailout the greed and recklessness of Wall Street that contributed to the Great Recession where 8.8 million people lost their jobs, 6 million homes were lost, and millions of hardworking Americans saw their retirement savings disappear ($3.4 trillion). Bailing out our hardworking students and their parents will increase their cash flow, increase spending, increase the possibilities of idea creation and entrepreneurship, and give more quality time in finding that career path that they studied for so that they employ their full potential. We will push for the student loan bailout through the Fed because like Bernie Sanders said, "The Federal Reserve must be reformed to serve the needs of working families, not just CEOs on Wall Street." IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FROM PRIVATIZATION We will work to ensure that no public schools are privatized or taken over by corporate charters that end up running schools like a business. We oppose charter schools that don't agree to their districts' collective bargaining agreements with classified workers and teachers. Charters shouldn't be used to bust unions. We also share concerns about some charter schools that have served as vehicles for the enrichment of real estate speculators. From speaking with teachers, a lot of these charter systems make it seem that the opportunity is equal for everyone, but some still screen students or give admission to those who have a special interest into the school's particular educational focus or sometimes make students write 5 page essays without grammatical errors, etc. One of the reasons is because the schools need to have "numbers" (standardized test scores at a certain level). Our strategy is to improve all public schools by providing them with the resources they need, rather than hiring teachers and classified workers with lower pay and benefits. We will also oppose any voucher system that would re-direct public education funding to private schools, including through tax credits. We believe that public schools should be a place for ALL students to have a quality education and should not be burdened by any financial desires from those "managing" the schools just to make profit. Educators should have the freedom to be more innovative in their classes without restrictions by mandates, and teachers should have resources and technology incorporated as it is crucial in the learning environment, something that is currently being underutilized and underfunded. Right now, through this pandemic, we are seeing the impact that such a lack is having on the education of our children. We also believe that educators should not be graded or measured based on standardized tests by students. We believe that there should be adequate measures that will empower educators, such as a well-rounded curriculum that not only lets students learn the subject matters but also helps them become better members of their community. The No Child Left Behind Act focuses heavily on math and literacy which takes away other opportunities for growth such as working in teams and creative/critical thinking which is crucial after graduating from school. Also, many schools receive funding based on how well the schools perform in terms of standardized testing and that has a major drawback on educators and students especially with low-income families and communities of color who lack fewer resources to begin with. We also believe that teachers should have additional resources when it comes to full inclusion teaching where teachers teach both special education and general education. This can put lots of pressure on the teachers as the teachers sometimes do not specialize in special education. We will work to ensure critical consciousness among educators, making sure that teachers who are going into urban schools, have a critical education or theoretical background, and have an understanding of the systemic issues students are facing, especially students of color. You cannot have a top down approach from people who have never set foot in the community that students come from. There needs to be community involvement, even from the students, when it comes to decision-and-policy-making in education. We will work to make educational institutions more welcoming especially to students' parents whose first language is not English so that there is no intimidation and that there is a clear understanding between parents and educators. END SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE We will work to end the school to prison pipeline, where schools have zero tolerance policies which we will work to remove. According to the ACLU, "Zero-tolerance” policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while cops in schools lead to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school. Students of color and even undocumented students are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of disciplines. This is why it's critical that the teachers and administrators come from a critical background because those who don't have their idea of what "defiance" is which is deemed as "unacceptable" behavior in their eyes. Zero tolerance policies do not consider what is going on in the communities these students are coming from. TAKING CARE OF OUR EDUCATORS We will work hard to ensure that our teachers get paid more. Currently, educators with a college degree are making around $31,000 starting pay. Close to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession with in the first 5 years due to low pay, while many teachers work multiple jobs because they cannot afford to qualify for mortgage loans, rent an apartment, or even have the money to pay off their student loans. No one should have to go to school or work and worry about whether their rent will be paid or there will be food on the table. Teachers give a lot of what they’re asked for which can be stressful and exhausting which might force them out of the profession to more lucrative positions if they are not being valued. We will also work to give teachers more self-care days so that they have time to take care of themselves. UNIVERSAL PRE-K AND HEAD START We will work to ensure Universal Pre-K high quality programs for 4 year-olds regardless of their parents' or families income, race, etc. Research has shown that the earlier a child starts learning, the better he or she does in his or her future. Currently, our country is not doing enough to give ALL kids that chance to learn and succeed in their early ages. Three in ten 4-year-olds are currently enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Just like kindergarten is available to 5 and 6 year-old children, we believe that pre-k should be available as well to ALL children 4 years of age. According to the National Association for the Education of Young children, the term universal pre-K means that these programs are available for any child in any state, regardless of the child’s abilities and family income. Universal pre-K would also allow thousands of mothers to enter into the workforce and help families spend less on education and add additional income for a family. Brain development during the years leading up to kindergarten lays out the foundation for child's future as well as it promotes creative learning, age appropriate educational exercises, the development of language, and early literacy, cognitive, and social skills. This goes beyond the child's years; it lasts a lifetime. We will also work to protect Head Start programs that prepare young children from low-income families, especially families of color. Head Start provides children with early childhood development such as developing reading and math skills from birth to age 5 and they also provide nutritional services. This takes off a heavy financial burden from low-income families and families of color as they can focus on being able to make an income and also not worry that their child is not getting the quality care they need. From the Office of Head Start, Head Start has served over 30 million children and their families in urban and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.
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” |
| —Angelica Dueñas' campaign website (2022)[9] | ||
2020
Angélica María Dueñas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Angelica Dueñas participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 20, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Angelica Dueñas' responses follow below.[10]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Ending All Wars Universal Healthcare Tuition Free Education/Federal Education Loan Forgiveness[11][7] |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Getting big money out of politics - Ending Citizens United. Addressing the homelessness issue - Universal Rent Control, Municipal Seizing of Bank Owned Homes and house homeless through HUD and Section 8.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[7]
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” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Angelica Dueñas answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?
| “ | We've Had Enough - Michael Jackson Love was taken from a young life |
” |
| “ | Honesty, Integrity and a Strong Moral Compass.[7] | ” |
| “ | Corporate-Free, Dedicated to the Fight for Social Justice. I am a mother of five children - I have a personal motivating force to make our community one where all our children can thrive.[7] | ” |
| “ | To listen to the needs of their community and to write, champion and support legislation that addresses those needs. We need to be vocal and not be afraid to make a stand.[7] | ” |
| “ | I would like for our Congressional Office to also be a Community Center. A place where the community can feel safe and share space.[7] | ” |
| “ | Whittier Narrows Earthquake - Oct 1 1987 .... I was 3 years old.[7] | ” |
| “ | My very 1st job was working in Food Service ... I worked there for about a year and a half.[7] | ” |
| “ | I like Halloween because I like to dress up. And I love Christmas because its a month full of excitement and my kids make it so much fun.[7] | ” |
| “ | My pillow. It's perfectly comfy.[7] | ” |
| “ | Baby Shark ....[7] | ” |
| “ | I would say it depends on what the person has been doing while holding the seat. There are some Representatives who have made good decisions, some really bad decisions, and some a whole lot of nothing. We need to get rid of those making bad decisions and those who are wasting opportunities to make our communities better.[7] | ” |
| “ | Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Natural Resources[7] | ” |
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House California District 29 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Our Members, accessed September 22, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Angelica Dueñas," March 15, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Angelica Dueñas," May 17, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Angelica Dueñas," November 12, 2020
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Angelica D.," accessed May 12, 2022
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Angelica Dueñas," November 26, 2023
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Angelica 4 Congress, “Our Issues, Our Priorities,” accessed February 9, 2024
- ↑ Angelica Dueñas for Congress, “Issues,” accessed May 5, 2022
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Angelica Dueñas' responses," May 20, 2018
