Community organizer Joaquín Vázquez said Saturday that he would run in this year’s primary election for California’s new 52nd Congressional District.
Five-term Congressman Juan Vargas has already announced his candidacy in the district, which includes the most populous areas of the old 51st District, including Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach, but not the border corridor though Imperial County.
District maps and numbers changed as a result of the 2020 U.S. Census and California’s loss of one seat in Congress.
Vazquez was born and raised in City Heights. During the coronavirus pandemic, he has advocated for housing rights and worked with the San Diego-area nonprofit Border Angels. He is the executive director at Organizing For Progress.
A campaign news release said Vazquez, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2020, is “eager to bring a new approach to local politics, with experience, a voice of conscience, and empathy to get the necessary resources for working families to bounce back from the global pandemic through legislation that helps them retake control of their lives.”
Candidates for the June primary election can file nomination papers with the Registrar of Voters starting Feb. 14 and must complete election paperwork by March 11.
City News Service contributed to this article.
