Meet James Coleman, Candidate For Peninsula Assembly Seat

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — James Coleman, a South San Francisco councilmember, is running to represent the 21st Assembly District, a redrawn district held by the outgoing Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco).

In a game of local political musical chairs, the seat is open after Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco) announced he wouldn’t seek reelection and instead run to represent the area in Congress, with Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) stepping away from her seat after this year.

The redrawn district is similar to what was referred to previously as the 22nd District, stretching from South San Francisco to East Palo Alto.

The moves mean a majority of the Peninsula will have fresh representation in both the state Assembly and Congress for the first time in more than a decade, as Mullin has held the seat since 2012.

Coleman is one of seven candidates running for the open seat. The primary is June 7, narrowing the field to two candidates before the Nov. 8 general election.

Learn more about Coleman and his goals for the district as voters cast their ballots before and on Election Day June 7th in the following exclusive Q&A with Patch.

Age (as of Election Day)

23

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

I graduated from Harvard with a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a minor in government. I have also conducted undergraduate research in a neuroscience lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Occupation

South San Francisco City Councilmember

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

South San Francisco City Councilmember

Campaign website

https://james4california.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I was born and raised in San Mateo County. My father was a FedEx worker. My mom is a Taiwanese immigrant who worked as a lab assistant at Kaiser. Growing up working-class profoundly shaped my values.

When I was 5, my father suffered a traumatic injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down, and my mother had to work two jobs in order to make ends meet. At a young age I experienced what it was like to fall through the cracks. I wanted to study biology to learn how people could heal from chronic injuries, and I wanted to work to make sure that our government worked for all of us, and not just the very few.

In the middle of my junior year of college, I was evacuated from campus and returned back to my hometown of South San Francisco. We saw how COVID disproportionately affected the working families in our communities, in housing, healthcare, childcare and our education system. We saw how the public health crisis of police brutality was not just a distant injustice, but a real and present problem in our own community. And I ran for city council to bring the change and the justice that we wanted to see in our community.

On the city council, I’ve seen that the many issues that we are facing are very systemic in nature and the disparities exist far and wide. We need bold action to address many of our issues and create a society in which working people don’t just survive, but thrive in our community. I’m running for state assembly with a very clear purpose — Sacramento can’t just work anymore for the wealthy and well connected. It has to work for all of us.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am the only candidate in the race that does not accept money or gifts from corporations. We must curb the influence of corporations and big money in politics. We have a supermajority of Democrats in the state legislature and we must leverage that majority for progressive change. As the fifth largest economy in the world, California has the opportunity to lead the world and the country in various areas including universal healthcare, fully funded education, climate justice, tenant protections and affordable housing.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Mixed-income social housing

There has been increasing friction between housing advocates, the building trades and the environmental community. But, social housing is one way in which we can build much needed housing, while guaranteeing high labor standards, high sustainability standards and true maximization on the affordability of the housing that is built.

A Tax on Extreme Wealth

The richest among us must pay their fair share and fully fund the programs and resources that many of our working families depend on. This includes a wealth tax on billionaires and corporations, progressive income taxes, split-roll for Prop 13, parcel taxes on large commercial office properties, property transfer taxes on large properties, and CEO taxes on corporations in which their CEOs make exorbitantly more than their average worker.

Environmental Justice

It is our generation that will be bearing the brunt of climate change and we are already feeling its effects — sea-level rise, wildfires, drought, pollution. We need aggressive action on climate change through adaptation and mitigation. I will work to hold PG&E accountable for the mismanagement of their infrastructure. We must look to use clean and renewable energy, democratize energy production, invest heavily in public transit and protect our clean water from polluting entities.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

On the city council, I’ve led on various progressive issues, passing a $5 hazard pay for essential grocery/drugstore workers, implementing a guaranteed income pilot program providing $500 per month for 12 months to 160 families, and setting South San Francisco on a path to build mixed-income social housing. Over the past year, I have worked with a coalition of teachers, unions, parents and advocates to draft a ballot measure that would modestly tax the largest corporations; fund universal childcare and preschool for all 3, 4, and 5 year olds in the city; and raise the wages of our childcare teachers to a living wage.

Before being elected to the city council, I was a community organizer. I have organized with Sunrise Movement Boston, the Harvard Undergraduates for Environmental Justice, Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard and YDSA. My work was focused on environmental, economic, and racial justice. I graduated from Harvard in May of 2021 with a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a minor in Government. I have also conducted undergraduate research in a neuroscience lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.

I am running on an unapologetically progressive platform that includes a wealth tax on billionaires and corporations, a living wage, getting big money out of politics, building mixed-income social housing, aggressive action on climate change, universal childcare, Medicare for All, and more.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

One of the best pieces of advice shared to me by one of my mentors was to not wait to take action and enact positive change in my community.

Oftentimes, young people are stonewalled and told to wait their turn in politics. We hear from the same people in power that they want to see more young people get involved in politics, and then turn around to support the same “old boys club” election after election. It’s why there is such a large barrier to young candidates when running for elected office.

But what I learned is that despite this, the vast majority of residents and voters want to see more youth representation in elected positions, and for there to be a real change in the status quo —which has not worked for the majority of people. It’s why I ran in the first place, and successfully won a seat on the city council.

And it’s why I’m running for State Assembly, so that our generation has a hand in shaping the policies to address the issues that impact us the most.