Nadine Diaz is a healthcare professional who teaches at various universities and colleges, including Cal State Dominguez Hills. She was born in Boyle Heights, and her family has been in the district for three generations, according to a profile by Rafu Shimpo from last September.
It’s not the first time Diaz has run for the seat. In 2015, Diaz challenged then-incumbent José Huizar, who was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal. That was the same race in which former LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina challenged Huizar for the seat.
She is a geriatric social worker at USC’s Alzheimers Disease and Research Center (ARDC). She is also an adjunct faculty member at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she teaches social work research and policy, and other subjects. She has a social work doctorate from USC that she earned in 2019.
Diaz’s website includes a bio that shares her family’s history and their ties to Boyle Heights. Her mother was born at the Tule Lake Japanese internment camp during World War II. Diaz says she is of Mexican, Japanese, Basque, and Yaqui Indian descent.
You can also find a video statement (transcript) Diaz made on the City Clerk’s website.
Connections. It’s all about who you know:
Diaz said in a four-year-old LinkedIn post that she has used her contacts in government to “help leverage recruitment and retention efforts” at USC’s ADRC Outreach, Recruitment, and Education Core. The post celebrated a Channel 35 segment involving neurologists from the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s work, and said the city television channel has worked with the ADRC to raise awareness on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as to get more people to take part in research on those health conditions.
Diaz says as part of her advocacy for the ADRC, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Alzheimer disease research, meeting with members of the US Congress including Lucille Roybal-Allard, Linda Sanchez and Maxine Waters.
Diaz served as a Democratic Party delegate from 2001 until 2016, for an Assembly district that was represented by Fabian Nunez and John Perez, who became Speaker of the California Assembly in 2010.
A Boyle Heights Beat profile says Diaz fought displacement of her family’s home in 1995 by Metro for the Gold Line project when she was elected to served on a committee of the Community Redevelopment Agency. She also said she was elected to the MTA Review Advisory Committee. She noted that Richard Alatorre had wanted those seats to be appointed, but the community pushed to have elections to fill those seats.
Her campaign volunteers include Mary Lou Trevis, a founder of the Mothers East Los Angeles, and Michael Ramirez, whose family ran the Ramirez Pharmacy.
Fundraising: Who is handing out the cash?
Diaz has raised just over $7,000, which includes one maximum $900 amount from a behavioral health case manager at Indian Health Services of Santa Clara Valley. She also contributed to her own campaign – one amount of $550 last August, and another amount of $200 last December. The contributors are all individuals, with listed occupations including: housewife, barber, social worker, administrative assistant, dentist, and architect.
A graphic designer provided a $240 non-monetary contribution (also called an “in-kind” contribution) that is not money, and the amount represents the value of a service or supplies that was given to the campaign.
“For me, asking for money is the big thing,” Diaz said, when asked about the small amount of donations in her disclosures.
“I’ve asked people for money, but again … it’s just hard for me.”
Diaz said it is difficult for her to ask for money when it’s for a political campaign, even though she is accustomed to asking for money on issues she cares about, including as a member of the board of directors for the Casa Treatment Center.
Spending inside the Campaign:
As of Feb. 17, Diaz has spent nearly $2,000 to Site Mammoth and GoDaddy for web work, and $2,800 for campaign literature and mailers, including several payments to a company called JC Division and one payment to GI Prints. Both are graphics and printing businesses in her neighborhood. She said she felt it was important to support local businesses within the district.
Gifts and income:
Guerrero’s disclosure on gifts and income in 2022 (using the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest) says she has no reportable interests.
Endorsements, and what’s being said:
Playwright and actor Herbert Siguenza, a co-founder of the performance group Culture Clash, recently made a video for her, she said.
Diaz is endorsed by the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter, according to her website’s endorsement page.
Diaz’s responses to Unrig LA’s questions about good governance issues – such as democracy vouchers, lobbying, ethics reform, council size, charter reform and public comment – can be found here.