Issues
Protecting Reproductive Rights
Joanna and her husband struggled with pregnancy and infertility before eventually having boy/girl twins and second daughter two years later. Joanna experienced severe complications with each pregnancy, including spending months on bedrest and a ruptured uterus that would preclude her from having any more children. Joanna is also a survivor of sexual assault. From her own experiences, and as a mother to now 17- and 20-year-old daughters, Joanna deeply understands the contours of the abortion debate and the paramount importance of reproductive freedom. Joanna’s grandmother also had an illegal abortion in the 1940s, traveling across state lines, where she received such poor medical care that she almost died.
A lifelong women’s advocate who founded an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice and pro-democracy candidates, when Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Joanna again was spurred into action. She mobilized thousands of activists in Orange County to rally in support of women’s reproductive rights, provided resources to community members on organizations to support travel and medication abortions for women in affected states, and proudly advocated for Measure 1 in California to provide a constitutional right to abortion access.
Joanna knows that reproductive freedom is a women’s health, economic, and gender equity imperative. But it is more than that, women’s rights require reproductive autonomy. And with MAGA extremists in Washington looking to ban abortion nationwide and reduce access to much-needed reproductive care – even here in California – Joanna will tirelessly fight – like she has for decades – to protect the right to control our own bodies and lives. Joanna won’t stop until Congress codifies abortion rights so that all women in our country have the same access to reproductive access that American women had for the 50 years before Roe was overturned.
Combating Climate Change
Joanna believes that the 47th is the most beautiful congressional district in the country. She was born and raised in Orange County, and she grew up surfing its beaches and hiking its trails. As President of WAVE, Joanna supported efforts to bring sustainable energy choices to constituents of local cities. However, corporate polluters and climate policy inaction are hurting our environment and our community, through oil spills, the threat of wildfires, coastal erosion, and rising tides.
Climate change requires urgent action which Joanna views as both a challenge and an opportunity. Joanna supports widespread investment in clean technology, providing incentives to consumers to choose renewable energy sources, and fostering public-private partnerships to collaborate on solving the biggest threats posed by climate change. Joanna will prioritize investments in training our community to ensure we become the green tech capital of the U.S.
In Congress, Joanna will work to end offshore oil drilling and ensure that corporate polluters are held responsible for their reckless oil spills. She will also bring back federal funding to invest in fire mitigation and to address coastal erosion and sea level rise.
Ending Gun Violence
As the parent of three school and college-aged children, ending gun violence is personal for Joanna. In 2012, her youngest daughter was in first grade – the same grade as the students targeted in the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children. Our community has also suffered from mass shootings in Seal Beach and Laguna Woods. These tragedies should have been the catalysts for gun safety reform. It is unconscionable that gun violence is now the number one cause of death of children and teens.
We must address gun violence in our communities and schools to keep our children and families safe, and we must hold the NRA and the gun industry accountable. As President of WAVE, Joanna supported efforts to stop gun shows on Orange County Fairgrounds. She also led efforts to remove guns from dangerous people, including domestic abusers and people experiencing a mental health crisis.
But even as California continues to strengthen gun laws, national laws put our families at risk. In Congress, Joanna will push to close loopholes in the background check system, ban the purchase of certain assault weapons, regulate ghost guns, and make investments in mental health and community violence intervention programs designed to stem the dangers existing by those who present a clear and present danger to our fellow citizens. Our students, families, and communities deserve better than to live under fear of gun violence. We can and must do better.
Promoting Economic Growth
It is a sad reality in our country that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That’s why Joanna is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or special interests and never will. In Congress, Joanna will prioritize measures that will grow our economy, support small businesses, invest in job training programs, and bring good jobs close to home.
District 47 is a hub of innovation and is at the forefront of developing new technology. In conjunction with Joanna’s vision to bring economic opportunity to the district and Orange County through investments in green technology, she believes Orange County can be a leader in other types of innovation and technology, including gaming, crypto, and digital asset development. Orange County is already home to some of the world’s best video game development companies who utilize blockchain technology and infrastructure for web3 gaming. The web3 and digital asset space is muddled with regulator uncertainty, lack of authority, and no framework for core operating principles. When in Congress, Joanna will join efforts to establish robust consumer protections and set clear rules of the road for market participants.
Fighting for Affordable Healthcare
When Joanna was born, Medicaid paid the hospital bills because her father was unemployed after returning home from the Vietnam War. Joanna knows that no one should have to go bankrupt after a visit to the hospital, and families and seniors should never be in a position to choose between paying for treatment and medication or putting food on the table. Every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care. While Republicans continue to attack access to affordable health care, Joanna will work to safeguard the Affordable Care Act, expand access to Medicare, and lower the cost of prescription drug prices.
Addressing Hate and Antisemitism in Our Community
As an attorney and organizer, Joanna has been fighting for those with marginalized voices for decades. In the past several years, our community has experienced a significant rise in hate crimes against the Asian American and LGBTQ+ communities, and we have seen an alarming rise in antisemitism.
As president of WAVE, Joanna frequently partnered with local faith and nonprofit leaders to combat hate in our community. In 2020, Joanna was proud to receive the Anti-Defamation League’s Marcus J. Kaufman Jurisprudence Award, in recognition of “outstanding members of the legal profession who serve as role models of ethics and leadership in the legal community and embody the ADL’s mission to secure justice and fair treatment for all.”
In Congress, Joanna will work with her colleagues to enshrine protections for the marginalized groups and provide funding for anti-hate and bullying programs.
Supporting Public Education
Joanna’s mother was a public school educator, and instilled in her the value and importance of public education. She is a proud product of Orange County’s excellent public schools, including Saddleback College. Public education transformed Joanna’s life, and that’s why she’ll fight for all our students to have access to great public education, no matter the zip code they live in. She’ll also advocate for smaller class sizes and teachers to have more resources and better pay.
Defending Social Security and Medicare
Joanna understands firsthand the importance of Social Security and Medicare for seniors. Her parents rely on Social Security, and after receiving a frightening lymphoma diagnosis, Joanna’s father would have had insurmountable health care costs if not for Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance. Yet, Republican extremists continue to threaten to gut Social Security and Medicare and seniors’ hard-earned benefits. Joanna knows that these programs have supported seniors and hard-working Americans for years, and she will fight to protect those who have paid into them their entire working lives.