Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 9

Ron Gochez was born and raised in South Los Angeles. He is the proud son of two working-class migrants who were undocumented at the time of his birth. His mother left El Salvador because of the civil war. He's never met his biological father from Mexico.

After graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1999, Ron enrolled at San Diego State University where in 2004 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science. Two years later, Ron earned a Master of Arts degree in Education at UCLA. He is currently in his 8th year as a high school history teacher in South Central LA.

Ron is a proud member of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). He was elected to the South Central Neighborhood Council, where he was elected as Vice President of the Council. He is a leading member of multiple community based organizations and coalitions, including the Southern California Immigration Coalition, the Association of Raza Educators, the South LA Power Coalition and Union del Barrio + coalitions that have supported union actions from San Diego to Oakland. He has collaborated with many prominent grassroots education, human and immigrant rights groups, and through the SCIC has coordinated events with SEIU 721's Latino Caucus.

Ron is a dynamic grassroots community leader and an internationally recognized political analyst. He has appeared in hundreds of television and newspaper interviews from across the world, and is a key figure in Los Angeles when it comes to Immigrant Rights, Black and Brown Unity and workers' rights issues. Ron has already played an integral role in winning important political battles and bringing significant change to the working people of Los Angeles.

Because of a political campaign that Ron began in 2005, the LAPD and subsequently, the State of California changed their policy around the 30-day car impounds. In conjunction with his teaching peers, Ron helped establish ethnic studies programs that brought Latin American Studies and African-American courses to two different high schools in South Central. Ron currently teaches US History, Latin American Studies and African-American Studies at Maya Angelou Community High School.