Breaking developments lead this episode of The Signal: reports from Caracas after U.S. forces struck targets in Venezuela, with pastor and longtime LA activist Ricardo Moreno describing conditions and public reaction. Then our Politics, Tacos & Beer series continues with two local candidates—Marissa Roy for LA City Attorney and Pico Rivera Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Monica Sanchez for Congress—on how local law and leadership can protect communities.
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TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
00:00:00:02 - 00:00:04:07
ANNOUNCER
You're listening to Kpfk, 90.7 FM Los Angeles.
00:00:04:09 - 00:00:17:00
MUSIC INTRO
The whole run by a handful of greedy bankers and CEOs who nobody elected. What can't possibly last?
00:00:17:02 - 00:00:20:15
MUSIC INTRO
I'm going to tell you what I'm said.
00:00:20:17 - 00:00:24:04
MUSIC INTRO
But you really only have to remember I took two.
00:00:24:05 - 00:00:48:14
DINO
Good afternoon, Los Angeles. Welcome to The signal. I'm your host. You know, when I start this, we have a special show lined up today. A lot going on. And, including breaking news. No doubt many of you have heard or seen the images coming out of Caracas, Venezuela. As we now know, the United States, the administration, the Trump administration has indeed attacked the sovereign nation of Venezuela.
00:00:48:16 - 00:01:07:23
DINO
And we'll be going live to Caracas to hear directly from the ground as to what's going on there. But we're also going to continue with our regular program. And for the next hour, we're going to be cutting through the noise to talk about power, accountability, and the people shaping the future of this country, more so now than ever before.
00:01:08:01 - 00:01:37:21
DINO
This moment when the cost of living is high, trust in institutions is low, and the rise of authoritarianism is real. Our communities are being left asking the simple question who is government accountable to? Today's show? As part of our ongoing series political series called politics, Tacos and Beer, they broadcast space where we bring together Los Angeles leaders, candidates and thinkers to the table to get to know them as people first and as politicians and candidates.
00:01:37:21 - 00:02:07:01
DINO
Second. But first, let's go straight to Caracas, Venezuela, where my guests are. Joining me from Caracas is Ricardo Moreno, Presbyterian pastor, long time advocate and activist in Los Angeles, somebody that I've known for maybe 20 years. He was also a one time contributor to Kpfk. And the program Nostra Nostra was where they went up. Yeah. And team and, Ricardo, first of all, how are you doing?
00:02:07:01 - 00:02:11:01
DINO
How are things in Caracas, Venezuela?
00:02:11:03 - 00:02:45:23
RICARDO MORENO
So, Armando, greetings to your on all you team. Did I know they be attendees left? Well, running chunk is is 4 p.m. local time here. When they start getting in Cuban. The the bombs falling in the sky. It was around 1 a.m. at the time. So I don't think I've been awake all night, you know, following the news, from extended hours.
00:02:45:23 - 00:02:50:03
RICARDO MORENO
So. Yeah, we're still in shock. It's not too real. War.
00:02:50:05 - 00:03:07:04
DINO
And, Ricardo, what has been the initial response from your vantage point on the ground of your, you know, fellow citizen, your fellow, community member as to this, you know, this attack, this attack on a sovereign nation.
00:03:07:06 - 00:03:44:00
RICARDO MORENO
Well, first of all, people, it is like, you know, we are doing this, you know, the the issue for a U.S. military down here. Administrator West, only 5%, according to some, like 95% of Venezuelans lining. Why do you make sure in the soil, regardless of who you support. My brutal. You are against my brutal 95% of Venezuelans, even in the country, well past, U.S. military intervention.
00:03:44:02 - 00:04:19:21
RICARDO MORENO
Star is some real people. Do we believe that now the U.S. Air Force and Marines and the Delta Force, basically Delta Force, carry out this operation against Venezuela? One thing is when you look into the movies, Hollywood movies, one is when you hear about Iran, Palestine, Syria, Libya, just to name a few of the countries that the US are born with and embodied, but different us to watching and listening close to home.
00:04:19:23 - 00:04:38:02
DINO
Now, Ricardo, I understand that for a lot of Venezuelans right now, particularly, and in Caracas and in some of the areas that were attacked, many folks are staying behind closed doors. How are folks gathering information better understanding what's going on and what's next?
00:04:38:04 - 00:05:10:16
RICARDO MORENO
Well, there is different source of information from previous people speaking in support of the following videos. You know, in the U.S. and England and all the other European countries, people want to speak Spanish. The majority of the country, they are getting the news from police, you know, they they. Yeah. Channel news that they started they Chinese and groups in Latin America to local stations, TV stations and rebroadcast and a lot going on in.
00:05:10:18 - 00:05:40:01
RICARDO MORENO
But as you know, I don't really you can only move us what is going on in the sense because, you know, there are so many people posting lies, you know. So yeah. And then to what's up, you know, to stop trains communication people are bombing is getting information about, you know, what's going on in the ground. And it's basically, I see this is real worry.
00:05:40:03 - 00:06:01:12
DINO
And Ricardo, we haven't heard much as a, as a broadcast time for us here on the signal as to any confirmed casualties. But I understand that there was, well over 100 different sources that went into the country dropping bombs. And this was and what have you have you all heard of any casualties, whether military or civilian?
00:06:01:14 - 00:06:51:15
RICARDO MORENO
Yes. They the I'm thing they, they chief for joint chief of staff in the press conference with Donald, he was she went into detail and she took about 150 aircraft between Minx drawings on the helicopter, 150 and they are not exactly a number because they are in the process. But I can tell you already that, some, you know, the casualties, family members and friends were, in the Venezuelan for 21 year long opinion and a 30 year old man of concern, the National Guard and I all at once.
00:06:51:15 - 00:07:00:22
RICARDO MORENO
And they informed Venezuela they are killing their workers, not just wow, we are many here, but we are just starting to find out.
00:07:01:00 - 00:07:26:04
DINO
And Ricardo, you know, we are already hearing and indeed will be providing some additional information here, in our own studios of demonstrations that are beginning to form develop. I've seen footage again, just probably going on air with you, demonstrations that are beginning in places like, Latin America, Mexico, and indeed here in Los Angeles, New York and other parts of the state of the country.
00:07:26:04 - 00:07:32:23
DINO
Excuse me. Have the people come out to the streets in Venezuela protesting this?
00:07:33:01 - 00:07:58:17
RICARDO MORENO
Yes, they they are restarting people in the in the city of about us, which I wonder if we get screwed about in Latin America with his own party, you know, from the shields so that someone could hit us. It's close to 800,000 people that live in those hills. And. And they were. They need, to be, traveling support.
00:07:58:19 - 00:08:19:06
RICARDO MORENO
So there are people in this. Here's what they see. They see them and the other side of the of the city. I'm thinking the parts of the city now and the other parts we just went. Yeah. What did they were spying on? So people is starting to come down.
00:08:19:08 - 00:08:43:06
DINO
So. And as of right now, the vice president has assumed power. It has been reported to us that, she is in communication with, Marco Rubio and the administration, has any of that, been confirmed by the now sitting president of Venezuela? In Venezuela?
00:08:43:08 - 00:09:13:18
RICARDO MORENO
She don't mention has received in direct contact with Marco Rubio, but she addressed the country, like one hour ago. She delivered a charge by three by the same message. It's unseen day. In reality, when the U.S. intervention they have been of President Maduro and then to bowling to to the Venezuelan people to reunite, and, cheese directing all the the country discourse.
00:09:13:23 - 00:09:32:12
RICARDO MORENO
Cheese the referring to my when was the president just calling and then anxious to join in a strong position on the Latin American nations, against what is the clear violation of some rule? And it was a all.
00:09:32:14 - 00:09:54:14
DINO
And, Ricardo, as we wrap up and I want to again, thank you very much for making this time to thank my guests who are in studio, making this time also available to bring this special update. What is it that you want to share with our audience? Indeed. You were a longtime resident of Los Angeles when you and I first met and worked together years ago under the Chavez administration.
00:09:54:16 - 00:10:04:21
DINO
What's your message to the community of Los Angeles? What is it that you think is most important? They understand about what's happening in Venezuela today still?
00:10:04:21 - 00:10:28:07
RICARDO MORENO
God, you know, we have the spirits of Iraq, olive oil. William Bush telling them, I want the lies to reward that Iraq because, you know, promise of weapons of mass destruction. And they go away. They don't say, I'm sorry, we make a mistake. He was false intelligence. The same thing is happening in Venezuela. All the thing about drug trafficking.
00:10:28:08 - 00:10:53:08
RICARDO MORENO
I will be the head of the devil. Solis. It's a lie. No, you can. You can question. You cannot answer. That's not right. So I will ask all the listeners, especially those who say these things. Yes. To call you a member of the Senate to call for an expanded, a ban. And also set up a to.
00:10:53:10 - 00:10:56:04
DINO
Call your representatives. Federal representatives? Yes.
00:10:56:06 - 00:11:25:20
RICARDO MORENO
Yeah. Calling you representatives. You know, unusually for what are you are you or you, you citizen, say you call them and ask them to call a special session of Congress because only the risk, only because the only thing of the US Constitution to declare the war will happen today. And Venezuela is an what is one embattled USA against the storing company that has will not be against the U.S.?
00:11:25:22 - 00:11:40:11
DINO
And with that, Ricardo, I want to, wish you the best, my brother. Thank you for taking the time. When I first saw the news breaking of this, you one of the first people that I thought about it. Indeed. We were able to communicate early, early this morning. So I'm glad to hear that you and your family are doing well.
00:11:40:13 - 00:12:02:21
DINO
We want to wish you the best and hope to have you back very soon. Once this, this, this war, this aggression, starts to unravel. Ricardo Moreno, Presbyterian pastor, live from Caracas, Venezuela, a longtime member of the Los and Buddhist community and indeed a member of the extended family of Kpfk. Ricardo, thank you very much. And stay safe, brother.
00:12:02:23 - 00:12:07:20
RICARDO MORENO
Yes. Thank you. Carl, I want you call Alex Padilla.
00:12:07:22 - 00:12:26:07
DINO
That was Ricardo Moreno, a long time advocate activist from Los Angeles. We're going to take a quick break and come back with my first guest on the program as we discuss a run for L.A. City attorney. Stay with us through.
00:12:26:09 - 00:12:49:11
ANNOUNCER
Support for Kpfk comes in part from Rhythm Tribe in Concert live at Catalina Jazz Club, Sunday, January 4th, 2026. Rhythm tribe blends highball rhythms like bomba with Afrobeat and R&B to create a unique neo soul Latin fusion sound. Further information and tickets are available at Catalina Jazz Club, dot com and Dance master.com.
00:12:49:13 - 00:12:56:03
Unknown
How did you end up here so close?
00:12:56:05 - 00:12:58:19
MUSIC INTRO
It's over.
00:12:58:21 - 00:13:41:15
DINO
Welcome back. You're listening to The Signal. Here in Los Angeles, Kpfk 90.7, 98.7 and Santa Barbara 93.7, in San Diego, and of course, 99.5, in Ridgecrest, China Lake. I'm your host, Dino. And joining me now as we continue with the special broadcasts, for those of you able to tune in at the top of the hour, we had Ricardo Moreno, pastor, Presbyterian pastor, live from Caracas, Venezuela, as you no doubt have heard or seen, the country, the sovereign country of Venezuela, was attacked by the Trump administration, Department of Justice and others in an effort to, capture and extradite, Nicolas Maduro, the sitting president, which is now, as we understand, according to latest
00:13:41:15 - 00:14:11:23
DINO
reports, on his way to the US by way of the military. And you know, initially we thought, folks that, you know, maybe we should postpone part of our regular segment and decided not to for one simple reason and moments like this, I think it is imperative that we look towards the local elected officials and local representatives, because sometimes when the federal administration fails to provide that adequate representation for the community, it is imperative that we go to the local.
00:14:12:01 - 00:14:34:21
DINO
So joining me now is my first guest, who is currently a well, she's a longtime lifelong Angelino, an attorney and civil rights advocate who has spent her life, her career, indeed fighting for workers, tenants, consumers and communities harmed by the abuse of power. And she is running for Los Angeles City attorney with a clear vision. The office should protect people, not just defend City Hall.
00:14:34:21 - 00:15:00:08
DINO
I love that when I saw that Marissa, I love that. So she joins, our political series, politics Tacos and Beer, a space that we bring together to give candidates and thinkers the opportunity to show that they are people first. So with that, I want to, introduce Marissa Roy, who is running for L.A. City attorney. And, Marissa, I have no doubt that you're joining us at a very delicate time.
00:15:00:08 - 00:15:03:09
MARISSA ROY
Yeah, that's an understatement. Certainly. Right.
00:15:03:09 - 00:15:17:21
DINO
An understatement. So let's start off, you know, one of the things that, I mean, I would love to go into this, this, line of questions around, you know, what are your thoughts on this and all that, but I think we'll get to that. But, you know, the one question that I always enjoy asking people first is walk me through that moment.
00:15:17:21 - 00:15:27:03
DINO
Right. You wake up one morning and say, you know what? I'm going to run for city attorney, one of the most important positions in the city of Los Angeles and its governance. What was that like?
00:15:27:05 - 00:15:57:16
MARISSA ROY
You know, I don't think you can boil it down, really to a single moment. It's been a collection of moments. I think, we have seen the law not work for the people for such a long time. I mean, we saw it early hours of this morning, an unconstitutional attack on a sovereign nation. We see it down at the local level, where wage theft is growing unprecedented, where there is a growing housing crisis with no one standing up for tenants.
00:15:57:18 - 00:16:24:09
MARISSA ROY
And I have always believed and used my career working in government as an attorney to try to rebalance the scales for the people. And I think I got my start at the L.A. City Attorney's office. I've always watched that office, and I was watching in the last couple of years, observing and studying with the UCLA Labor Center, as we saw wage theft filings go down as we saw little to no enforcement of our tenant anti-harassment laws.
00:16:24:10 - 00:16:44:17
MARISSA ROY
As we saw articles coming out on the L.A. times that the current city attorney was telling her attorneys not to sue corporations. And then when Trump was elected, I think that was a big moment where I realized that we are going to need a city attorney who is at the forefront fighting for the people. We can't have a city attorney who's protecting the powerful.
00:16:44:17 - 00:16:50:02
MARISSA ROY
And so I think that was really the moment I was like this, we need our city attorney in the court fighting for us.
00:16:50:07 - 00:17:02:17
DINO
Now, for those of us that aren't political scientists or policy wonks, as most of us on this program are, what exactly is, the city attorney's office? What does it do?
00:17:02:18 - 00:17:22:18
MARISSA ROY
It is so much I always kind of call it one of the most important, least understood positions. It really is the person who is responsible for the equal application of our laws and the protection of civil rights, and the protection of rule of law in our city so it can intersect in a lot of different ways.
00:17:22:20 - 00:17:51:14
MARISSA ROY
So housing, for example, when the city council passes a housing project and the current city attorney obstructs that housing project, it prevents us from actually seeing housing built and getting more people inside. It affects our taxpayer dollars. When we see the current city attorney spending, you know, on pricey law firms billing thousands of dollars per hour and then sending us into a huge budget deficit, it means that that money is taken from other essential services we rely on.
00:17:51:16 - 00:18:13:19
MARISSA ROY
It's also you see how much the city attorney impacts us through inaction. There are all the things that the city attorney is doing to block good laws or block services. But then there's also so much that's not being done. A lot of people don't know. But the city attorney in Los Angeles has the power to sue any corporation for anything unlawful, unfair or deceptive, which is a massive power.
00:18:13:19 - 00:18:30:13
MARISSA ROY
We could be holding bad landlords accountable. We could be going after wage theft. We could be going after corporate polluters. We have the power here to sue the Trump administration. But because we don't see any of that, I think a lot of the way the city attorney impacts us is actually through her inaction.
00:18:30:15 - 00:18:39:12
DINO
You describe yourself over people's as a people's lawyer. Yeah. What does that mean when it comes down to these powerful interests? You just described that can be sued?
00:18:39:14 - 00:18:59:23
MARISSA ROY
Yeah. So I have worked as an attorney, for state and local governments my entire career. But when I file a case, like, right now at the California Department Justice, I file as the people of the state of California, because that is our power to be able to bring these lawsuits in the name of the people. And in so many ways, the government is often in a much better position to bring these lawsuits.
00:18:59:23 - 00:19:16:02
MARISSA ROY
Like, I think back to a case when I was at the city attorney's office, it was a wage theft case against two car washes in Silver Lake, where car wash workers were getting paid as little as 450 an hour. And you know, what it meant is they were being forced to work more hours than they were actually getting paid.
00:19:16:04 - 00:19:33:19
MARISSA ROY
And they knew that the employer was violating the law, but many of them were undocumented. It was the first Trump administration, and they were getting threatened with our immigration consequences. So when we filed that lawsuit as the people, no one had to put their name on it. We could afford them the anonymity. We could protect them from retaliation.
00:19:33:19 - 00:19:59:07
MARISSA ROY
And we won them each back between 10 and $40,000. And so I think that sometimes it's not fair to expect people who are being abused by these massive, powerful corporations to then expand the resources and the time and the risk to fight for the rights themselves. The government should be fighting for them. And that's kind of how I've always been as a government attorney is fighting for the people.
00:19:59:08 - 00:20:39:03
DINO
Now, Marissa, we've covered issues of wage theft. We've covered a lot of city, government issues here on this program for the greater part of this past year. And one of the things that I've always appreciated about local government is that there are those who step up in the absence of federal, support of the federal administration, you know, playing its, due diligence and ensuring that citizens are protected, etc. and, of course, on the heels of what happened today and it's likely to continue to happen, you know, when federal policies threaten local communities, how should Los Angeles use the legal authority it has?
00:20:39:05 - 00:20:55:11
MARISSA ROY
I mean, I think so. Just to kind of give some background on wage theft, we are the capital of wage theft in Los Angeles. I don't think a lot of people know about that. $2.5 billion is stolen every year from LA workers. And what that kind of means is, sometimes it looks like you work more hours than you're getting paid.
00:20:55:11 - 00:21:16:09
MARISSA ROY
You're not getting rest breaks that sometimes means you are getting classified as an independent contractor so that hundreds can be deducted from your wages. And so we have the power as a city attorney's office to be fighting and holding these employers accountable and putting that money back in workers pockets when we don't have, you know, a National Labor Relations board that's doing that work.
00:21:16:09 - 00:21:40:09
MARISSA ROY
When the federal government is, you know, abandoning that duty. My, my first case ever at the L.A. City Attorney's office was fighting port trucking companies that had misclassified drivers as independent contractors as a ruse to deduct hundreds of thousands from their wages. And sometimes drivers were taking home like $0.10 on a paycheck. You think of how that impacts families that communities are whole local economy.
00:21:40:11 - 00:21:57:08
MARISSA ROY
And we sued to stop that. And so when I think of how, I want to act as city attorney right now, out of 500 attorneys in the office, only six. So like, 1% is devoted to workers rights. Oh, wow. I know it's and that's on the city attorney's website. I am quoting that number directly from her.
00:21:57:10 - 00:22:21:06
MARISSA ROY
And we could be massively scaling up that work, not only going after wage theft, but also going after the abuses. The gig economy, which has become an end run around paying people, going after abusive work conditions, and the influence of AI and automation and big tech, on our economy, we really could be rebalancing the scales if we had a city attorney willing to use those powers and hold power to account.
00:22:21:08 - 00:22:45:00
DINO
My guest is Marissa Roy, a lifelong Angelino, an attorney civil rights advocate who has spent her career fighting for workers, tenants, consumers, communities harmed by the abuse of power. She is currently a candidate for Los Angeles City attorney. And you know, Marissa, when it comes down to the voters, what should voters prioritize when choosing the next city attorney?
00:22:45:03 - 00:23:04:21
DINO
And obviously, it's a very biased question, right? You're running for it. But, you know, our voters are very, you know, in tune, very bright, very sharp, very engaged in the day to day politics, especially, those supporters of Kpfk in this program. But what should they be looking out besides the name Marissa. Right.
00:23:04:23 - 00:23:27:13
MARISSA ROY
I think they should really be looking at the track record. There are two very different options for City attorney right now. You have a current state attorney, who has is a former corporate, bankruptcy attorney. And I have spent my entire career fighting for the people, not just fighting. I we talked a lot about economic justice. But I'm currently a consumer protection attorney suing meta right now.
00:23:27:15 - 00:23:48:14
MARISSA ROY
I spent, the first Trump administration representing the county and all their lawsuits against the Trump administration. I investigate violations of state housing law. I have spent my entire career looking at how we can use the powers of these local and state law offices to fight for workers, to fight for tenants, to fight against big tech and to fight against the Trump administration.
00:23:48:16 - 00:23:54:16
MARISSA ROY
We need a city attorney who's fighting for us in court right now, and who has the relevant experience to do that.
00:23:54:18 - 00:24:23:09
DINO
So, you know, as we begin to wind down, well, first let me ask you this. How's the campaign going? It's not easy. I mean, did you have a sit down? I this is one of my other my second favorite question. Yeah. What possessed you to run for office? And the second one I like to ask candidates. And just about every candidate that's come through the studio is, you know, did you sit down with your family, friends, partners, children, allies, whatever.
00:24:23:14 - 00:24:32:07
DINO
And did you say, hey, guys, get ready because I'm about to embark on this journey that's going to include this. What was that conversation like?
00:24:32:09 - 00:25:04:06
MARISSA ROY
You know, I think my I think about my my mother in particular, who, is an immigrant from India and, you know, I think that in a lot of ways, like she has been sort of used to government corruption, I think, as so many immigrants are. And I think she's a daughter who has spent her legal career, you know, fighting powerful companies and fighting the federal government.
00:25:04:06 - 00:25:17:20
MARISSA ROY
And that has always put her a little bit on edge about the target that could be on my back. And so, I think the hardest conversations were talking about stepping up in this moment to run, not just for city attorney, but on this platform.
00:25:17:20 - 00:25:18:18
DINO
Sure.
00:25:18:20 - 00:25:45:19
MARISSA ROY
That is about fearless, though, about challenging power. And I think there's a lot of acceptance in that. And so that was a hard conversation. I've been I've been lucky to, and grateful for the support, even if I know it's support coming with a little bit of anxiety. But, there is no other moment when we needed our city attorney as much and where we needed a city attorney who's fighting for the people in court.
00:25:45:19 - 00:25:49:01
MARISSA ROY
And so that, in my mind, is is more important than anything.
00:25:49:03 - 00:26:00:05
DINO
As a child of immigrants. How is that informing your campaign today? How does that connect you with the everyday people of Los Angeles? We're still under attack by the Trump administration.
00:26:00:09 - 00:26:16:19
MARISSA ROY
You know, I my mom didn't become a citizen until I was an elementary school. And so I think about how different it could have been growing up in a Trump administration. And I think that's why,
00:26:16:20 - 00:26:34:13
MARISSA ROY
When Los Angeles was under attack by the National Guard and the city attorney didn't file that lawsuit, I mean, thank God for the California Department of Justice and Attorney General Rob Bonta. He filed that lawsuit. It was the ACLU and public Counsel that filed the lawsuit against Ice. And City Council later pressured the city attorney into joining.
00:26:34:15 - 00:27:00:05
MARISSA ROY
I wouldn't need any pressure to jump into court against the Trump administration, because I know the personal impact of sitting at the sidelines, and that's my family. That's so many families in Los Angeles. And that's why I believe so much that in this moment, we need a city attorney who's a fighter. And why I think why even, you know, despite and ironically, my mom's anxieties, that's part of what drives me to want to do this run.
00:27:00:09 - 00:27:06:05
DINO
Sure, sure. And as we write, as we wrap up, as we wind down, I got two more questions.
00:27:06:06 - 00:27:07:12
MARISSA ROY
Okay?
00:27:07:14 - 00:27:19:09
DINO
Why should folks vote for you? Well, let's answer that one first. Why should folks give me a minute worth of. This is exactly why you need to vote for a person like me.
00:27:19:11 - 00:27:42:22
MARISSA ROY
I think because this office could be the largest public interest law office. This could be a law office that is in in the courts against Trump, that is prosecuting rogue Ice agents, that is putting stolen wages back in your pocket, that is preventing your landlord from abusing and unlawfully evicting you. This could be an office that fights for you.
00:27:43:03 - 00:28:07:19
MARISSA ROY
And, you know, we do so much to elect, Progressive Council members. But when they pass these laws and then the city attorney isn't enforcing them, too many bad corporate actors think they have a blank check, right? This is really the position that levels the playing field. And I'm the attorney who, in this race, who has the most experience suing Trump, doing wage theft work, fighting for tenants as a government attorney.
00:28:07:21 - 00:28:18:08
DINO
And considering that this is our politics, tacos and beer, series within the show. Well, what's your go to, political topic, I presume? It's law.
00:28:18:13 - 00:28:20:04
MUSIC INTRO
It's always law.
00:28:20:06 - 00:28:23:04
MARISSA ROY
So you took litigation? I'm very boring.
00:28:23:06 - 00:28:26:21
DINO
And, what's your favorite taco, and what's your favorite drink of choice?
00:28:26:21 - 00:28:42:10
MARISSA ROY
Oh. Favorite taco? I have to go. I'm a downtown girl, so. Tacos. Chimborazo. Thomas at Grand Central Market classic, their taco, Alpha store. And then I'm actually a whiskey girl. And my favorite whiskey is actually from Oaxaca. It's called Sierra Norte.
00:28:42:11 - 00:29:06:04
DINO
You're kidding me. Look at that. Right? I did not pick you as a whiskey girl. But then again, you know, most people won't see me as a Scotch man. Or maybe. Yeah, maybe they do. So my guests. Thank you. Marissa. My guest has been Marissa Roy, lifelong Angelino, an attorney, a civil rights advocate who has spent her career fighting for workers, tenants, consumers and communities harmed by power.
00:29:06:04 - 00:29:13:14
DINO
She is running for L.A. city attorney. And Marissa, where can people learn more about your campaign, about you and your favorite dog?
00:29:13:16 - 00:29:15:02
MARISSA ROY
All right. Thank you.
00:29:15:03 - 00:29:16:09
DINO
Give us a give us a website.
00:29:16:11 - 00:29:23:10
MARISSA ROY
Oh, sorry. Marissa. Roy.com. Marissa. Dot roi.com girl.
00:29:23:10 - 00:29:24:09
DINO
That was the biggest piece.
00:29:24:09 - 00:29:24:15
MUSIC INTRO
That was.
00:29:24:20 - 00:29:26:03
RICARDO MORENO
Important part.
00:29:26:05 - 00:29:30:11
MARISSA ROY
I'm still learning how to be a candidate. Everybody. I'm better at being a lawyer.
00:29:30:12 - 00:29:35:11
DINO
All right, so, thanks for joining us. We'll be right back. We're taking a quick break, and.
00:29:35:13 - 00:29:43:14
MUSIC INTRO
I'm going to tell you what you are listening to. But you really only have to remember to talk to a signal.
00:29:43:16 - 00:29:46:19
MUSIC INTRO
There's a signal.
00:29:46:20 - 00:29:50:05
MONICA SANCHEZ
Coming up with Mighty.
00:29:50:05 - 00:29:58:19
MUSIC INTRO
Dino only on Kpfk, 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
00:29:58:21 - 00:30:05:13
MUSIC INTRO
I'm your boss. I live on Monday. Say in your.
00:30:05:16 - 00:30:07:16
MUSIC INTRO
Chat I got some say never stop and.
00:30:07:21 - 00:30:14:10
MUSIC INTRO
I said I can all get inside and get you to get up outside of your knee.
00:30:14:10 - 00:30:15:20
MUSIC INTRO
And like I say.
00:30:15:22 - 00:30:22:12
MUSIC INTRO
If you say out a revolution, you oh.
00:30:22:14 - 00:30:25:20
MUSIC INTRO
Signal presidential. Look, if I say.
00:30:26:01 - 00:30:36:11
MUSIC INTRO
Me, it's me with his head and they look at me and say to him, Get Dennis on two hands. They say, no president.
00:30:36:11 - 00:30:51:19
MUSIC INTRO
They get. So let's get get angry that he made it this way. They do fine. It's just it's.
00:30:51:21 - 00:30:53:22
MUSIC INTRO
It's.
00:30:54:00 - 00:31:36:06
DINO
Good afternoon and welcome back. You're tuned in to the signal. I'm your host, Tino. And for the last half hour, we've been cutting through the noise, talking about power, accountability and people shaping the future of this city and this country. We also had a special report coming to us live from, Caracas, Venezuela, with, the signals, you know, friend and ally Ricardo Moreno, a Presbyterian pastor and longtime advocate, activist, who, spent the greater part of 20 years here in Los Angeles and at one point actually was a contributing member to the Kpfk radio network on the Spanish language program nosotros.
00:31:36:08 - 00:32:01:14
DINO
Thank you, Ricardo, for joining us. And then, you heard from our first guests, Marissa Roy, lifelong Angelino, an attorney and civil rights advocate, spent her career fighting for workers, tenants, consumers and communities harmed by the abuse of power. She is running for L.A. City attorney. We now segue way to our second guess. Somebody who I've had a chance to chat with over the last 24 hours in preparation for this program.
00:32:01:16 - 00:32:21:07
DINO
And first of all, I got to say this for those of you who've been following the signal here on Kpfk, you know, it's a labor of love. You know, I've been doing this program for a while now, thanks to my producer in L.A. who used to pay me with tacos. And yes, we do have this special segment called tacos, Politics and Beer.
00:32:21:07 - 00:32:42:21
DINO
But I come in and I charge my taco, a breakfast burrito, and I get paid. Paid in full, right? Sigh. And you know, I jokingly made that comment, to my next guest, doctor Monica Sanchez, city Council member for the City of Pico Rivera and candidate for US Congress. But I got to start this segment, by giving props to Mama Estelle.
00:32:42:23 - 00:32:44:04
MAMA ESTELLA
Estella. Estella.
00:32:44:08 - 00:32:47:08
DINO
Stella. Estella. Stella as she.
00:32:47:09 - 00:32:48:01
MAMA ESTELLA
Was. Stella.
00:32:48:06 - 00:33:13:03
DINO
Okay. Mama. Stella who? By the way, how dope is this, you guys? Mama Stella sent me a bag of tacos. Two types of tacos. And I was like, man, you know? Yes. Others to the other half of the studio, the station's next door. I was like, I could squeeze in one of those tacos, man. Looking at my producer, like, put that sucker in a microwave and it's warm it up.
00:33:13:03 - 00:33:38:11
DINO
Home cooked meal. So, Mama Stella, thank you very much for sending over those tacos. By no means is this, my endorsing the candidacy of Doctor Sanchez. But I got to tell you, I went far. I'm got, like, I'm going to say it, so thank you for that. But. Yeah, joining me is doctor Monica Sanchez, city council member for the city of Pico Rivera, an educator, a working mother and candidate for Congress.
00:33:38:13 - 00:33:56:09
DINO
Her leadership is grounded in local government, lived experiences. As a council member, she has worked on issues impacting working families, public health, education, economic stability, and bringing neighborhood level experience into a now national conversation. And welcome, welcome to the show. Doctor Sanchez, hi.
00:33:56:09 - 00:33:57:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
00:33:57:20 - 00:34:18:05
DINO
So, Doctor Sanchez there, go to number one question that I always ask folks of all the candidates we have here, and I just asked our previous guests, you know, one day, Doctor Monica Sanchez wakes up, has a cup of coffee, and, I don't know, has an epiphany of sorts, writes ly. And says, I'm going to run for Congress.
00:34:18:07 - 00:34:23:08
DINO
What the hell? Talked walk me through that process is what happened. How did you reach that conclusion?
00:34:23:08 - 00:34:47:04
MONICA SANCHEZ
No, it wasn't a one day decision. I think it started this, over a year last year in 2025. The, in Pico Rivera in my city. We were hit hard in June, ice, came out to our city. We had a young man that, he was a U.S. citizen in his 20s, was detained by Ice, a Walmart worker.
00:34:47:04 - 00:35:09:07
MONICA SANCHEZ
He was actually he got involved to trying to help his coworker that was being detained. And we also had, Ice agents that came in and, urinated on our school, one of our schools in the city, and, hearing these stories, I actually spoke to the mother of this young man, and that was heart wrenching for me.
00:35:09:07 - 00:35:41:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
I thought of my own son and, And I felt helpless. And I reached out to. We reached out the city as well, our city manager, my colleagues to our, to our congresswoman. Her name is Linda Sanchez. We have no relation, but she's a great champion, for us. And she's a Latina as well. And she helped us to connect the mother, to find out where he was being held because, we found I found out that it's not like here.
00:35:41:17 - 00:36:05:19
MONICA SANCHEZ
It's not like local. In our city, we have the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. You can look up a system and find out what detention center they're in. At the federal government level, they could take you anywhere in the nation. And, so this young man was in downtown L.A.. We had another instance of, a daughter of, of, undocumented immigrant.
00:36:05:21 - 00:36:32:14
MONICA SANCHEZ
She was, detained and she was sent to a detention center in Arizona. And we had a heart wrenching she gave a heart wrenching testimony. And, it's very difficult to hear those stories and feel like your hands are tied. And so that happened in June. And then in November, we hear of residents that we had thousands of households in, in my city that were impacted by the Snap benefits being being cut.
00:36:32:16 - 00:37:06:21
MONICA SANCHEZ
And, what I realized was a lot of the problems that came to Pico Rivera, what people were telling me, moms and daughters coming to me stem from federal, federal impacts that that came down to us. And that's what's happening at the local level. We're getting the repercussions at the local level. And so, in November, when a prop 50 passed, I think a couple of days later, they said, a friends of mine had told me this, actually colleagues, and said you should run for Congress.
00:37:06:21 - 00:37:28:06
MONICA SANCHEZ
You should run for Congress. And I said, no, the only thing I'm going to run for is I'm going to be running the treadmill. I've been eating too many tacos and and, you know, the holidays. So, I, I, a few people had said you should run, you should run. And I said, no. And there was this was the same story when I, when I was asked to run for city council.
00:37:28:08 - 00:37:48:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
I never aspired to to run for any political office. I was a teacher. I was a K-12 teacher. I was a teacher for middle school. And, I taught language arts, social studies, health and PE. And then I went on I went to UCLA, and I was a teaching assistant at UCLA in education. And in the Chicano Studies department.
00:37:48:18 - 00:38:12:05
MONICA SANCHEZ
So, and I told you when I was in high school, in our conversation earlier, I wanted to be a veterinarian because I love animals. So I had no aspirations. It was it was, I guess over a year, and I just got pushed, I guess, into this because I learned that the federal level is, Congress, and that's where I need to go, and this is where it needs to.
00:38:12:05 - 00:38:19:23
MONICA SANCHEZ
I need to make a big impact right now. And I can make an impact. And with prop 50, it's an open seat. I forgot to mention that.
00:38:20:01 - 00:38:49:16
DINO
Yeah, I know we've covered, we've covered that topic here extensively, actually. And you know, this is, for as far as I'm concerned, like a continuation of that. Right? Because it is an open seat as a result of the props prop 50 redistricting effort that took place. Late last year. And Pico Rivera, you know, it's a population somewhere around 60,000, as I understand, highly diverse, 95, 90%, give or take, is Hispanic or Latino, with a median age of about 39.
00:38:49:18 - 00:39:04:09
DINO
Yes. And as I understand, foreign born, we have about 30% of the citizenry there now you represent. And by the way, let me make a correction and I apologize. But you are actually vice Mayor pro tem.
00:39:04:13 - 00:39:27:03
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes, I'm mayor pro tem this year. Our city, we rotate every year. In December. The mayor is a ceremonial mayor, not an elected mayor. And each year we rotate positions. So among our council, we vote one person to be mayor and one to be vice mayor, which is mayor pro tem. And then, the next person will that person will then cycle in as mayor in the coming year.
00:39:27:04 - 00:39:53:13
DINO
Now, in the city of Bigo Rivera, you have a five member, structure, Mayor pro tem and three council members. Right? Correct. And in this case, you are the only female. Yes, that has representation in this council. How is that? How is that informed? Not only your experience, as an elected official, but moved you in a direction to say, hey, listen, I'm game.
00:39:53:13 - 00:39:56:22
DINO
I can do this at the federal level. Walk me through that.
00:39:57:00 - 00:40:22:13
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes. You know, I think that the the main thing for me when I started my political career, it was actually during the first Trump administration, and I saw the lack of representation, in my city at the local level, and there were no moms. There were, decisions that were being made, I felt that were not family friendly policies.
00:40:22:15 - 00:40:44:14
MONICA SANCHEZ
And I have two sons and my, of course, my very close with my mother. She, she lived with us during Covid and, I was I felt that decisions were being made and in different sectors that were not taking into consideration our family. When people like me, where I'm my dad is 70 years old, he's retired.
00:40:44:16 - 00:41:05:03
MONICA SANCHEZ
I'm not gonna tell you my mom's age because she'll kill me, but, she, you know, she's she's not. She's still capable, but she has health ailments. She has high blood pressure. She needs medication daily. And then I also have to take care of my sons. And so I'm in this they call the sandwich generation where I'm, responsible to help.
00:41:05:05 - 00:41:32:13
MONICA SANCHEZ
I worry about my parents, and then I'm also responsible to take care of my kids and still trying to manage my own career and and a household. I'm a single mom. I'm divorced, and, happily divorced, and, and, you know, it's it's very it's a very difficult position to be in. And I felt that the local government as well as the federal, policies were not taking in consideration, people like me, and I'm hard working.
00:41:32:13 - 00:41:54:23
MONICA SANCHEZ
I'm not a welfare mom. I'm not. I have a doctorate degree. I've been on city council for six years. I am my dad is Mexican. I'm Mexican-American heritage, and I'm not lazy. I'm not, you know, looking to get a handout. I'm probably the hardest working woman you'll ever meet. And, and I signed up to do these things, and my family thinks that I'm crazy for it.
00:41:54:23 - 00:42:15:21
MONICA SANCHEZ
My dad even asked me, how much money do you make on city council? And I told him we get a stipend. By the way, smaller cities like mine, we, we don't get, big salaries, so that's why I work. Also, as an educator that pays the regular bills. And then I my nighttime job, my political job and my weekend job and my holiday job.
00:42:15:21 - 00:42:29:18
MONICA SANCHEZ
I have to take paid time off vacation time. I'm taking them, and for me to leave, to run for Congress. And I had to do that for city council as well. People don't realize that, I don't consider myself a politician. I consider myself a public servant.
00:42:29:23 - 00:42:50:05
DINO
Excellent. So. And I can attest to that because sometimes, you know, we look for opportunities to talk to our guest, prior to coming on air. And in the case of Doctor Sanchez, it was like three in the morning. I'm just kidding. But we did have a great conversation, yesterday. And let's talk about a little bit about the priorities, right.
00:42:50:06 - 00:43:12:12
DINO
We know that across the board, the world is changing. And one of the things that continues to come to the forefront of this battle, that is, the current administration and its lack of investment in our communities is this issue of health care. You referenced, the need to set your mom have. I think we all have some need, around health care issue.
00:43:12:12 - 00:43:15:18
DINO
But what are your priorities as a person running for Congress?
00:43:15:20 - 00:43:41:20
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes, I, I believe that we really need to extend, family health care options, extend the benefits. As I mentioned, I am employed, and I have my son and my health insurance benefit my mom, she retired, but she still works part time. She can't. She's not old enough for for Medicare. And she they were going to charge her over $900 for health insurance deductible, and not including her medication.
00:43:42:01 - 00:44:12:12
MONICA SANCHEZ
And that's a lot of money. And maybe not to a millionaire that's in Washington, DC, but to those of us that are working families on one income, that's a lot of money a month. More than a car payment. That's that's almost some people's rent. Double, double people pay now, double the rent. So, I would like to maybe extend services, like allowing me to put my mom and my dad on my health insurance benefit and as well as my children.
00:44:12:14 - 00:44:33:00
MONICA SANCHEZ
I have an adult child as well. He's 27, and he was kicked off my benefit. So he's working full time. I'm working full time. He doesn't my son doesn't live with me. My oldest, but he's lived in the same city, and I still subsidize, you know, I'm still he's he's a young adult. And so that's that's something that is, difficult with taking care of the young adult.
00:44:33:00 - 00:44:56:07
MONICA SANCHEZ
Taking care of the child, taking care of the 70 year old, making sure my dad's not trying to climb trees again because he's a farm worker. He told you he works in the orchard, so I was I sometimes come home and find him trying to, you know, prune the trees in the palm trees. And I worry about him getting injured and hurt and, so that I would love to see extended family health care benefits.
00:44:56:07 - 00:45:14:18
MONICA SANCHEZ
Make sure we extend coverage. And also making sure we don't have exorbitant, costs, deductibles or, Something happened to me in May. I had an accident hiking, and I had to go to an emergency room. I thought I broke my ankle, and I got a bill in the mail, for almost $500.
00:45:15:00 - 00:45:15:05
DINO
Wow.
00:45:15:09 - 00:45:38:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
And to this day, I've been fighting, my insurance company to cover that bill because I was out of location, I had to go to, a different emergency range, and it was over $500 for them to check my blood pressure and take an X-ray and bandage my ankle. And I still have that bill that they're pending, and they keep sending me a bill every month saying, pay this $500.
00:45:38:16 - 00:45:46:14
MONICA SANCHEZ
And I said, no, I gave you my medical insurance card. It's covered. And so I'm still trained in communication with, my insurance company.
00:45:46:16 - 00:46:13:23
DINO
And Doctor Sanchez. So two things that are really important right now. You would be joining you know, the front line, in fighting for issues like, immigration. Right. You that talk about the the giant neon pink elephant in the room, immigration issues. Right. Walk me through your agenda on immigration issues if and when you were to be elected for Congress.
00:46:14:01 - 00:46:41:13
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes, I think the I believe the, the largest impact for us is protecting our, our citizens and our Constitution, making sure that our rights are not being violated. As I mentioned to you, we have U.S. citizens that are being detained and making sure that we're holding this presidential administration accountable. It seems that, this is something that is being violated.
00:46:41:13 - 00:47:02:14
MONICA SANCHEZ
And I think, you know, we have three branches of federal government. We have the legislative executive, and we have the, and we have the judicial. And we're using the court system locally in Pico Rivera. We we are one of the first, cities that signed off on, the lawsuit against Ice and, for violating our, our vitally violating the Constitution.
00:47:02:14 - 00:47:25:00
MONICA SANCHEZ
Essentially, we have rights, and we need to make sure that we're protecting the rights of our our citizens. And so that's number one, I think, another factor that is really impacting that I haven't heard a lot of people talk about is our businesses, are really severely being impacted. People do not want they're afraid to go out and shop.
00:47:25:02 - 00:47:47:09
MONICA SANCHEZ
Even if they might be, they might not be, undocumented. They might be permanent residents. My dad is one of those. My dad is not a US citizen. He's a permanent resident. They are more fearful to go out and be picked up. Also, we're having a shortage of workers that were, that are, immigrants to work in our restaurants and businesses.
00:47:47:11 - 00:48:19:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
So our small mom and pop, our taco shops, they're being they're being hurt. And to where I've heard of restaurants, I've seen restaurants that are locking their door until they see the customer that's at the door, and then they'll let them in because they're afraid that ice will come and, take the workers. And even if they are undocumented, permanent residents, immigrants, even if they are U.S. citizens, the, you know, the current administration are picking everyone up and asking questions later.
00:48:19:18 - 00:48:36:17
DINO
My guest is Doctor Monica Sanchez, A Sanchez, a city council member for the city of Pico Rivera and, who is an educator, a working mom and a candidate for U.S. Congress. And that is, remind me of the seat I already drawing a blank.
00:48:36:22 - 00:48:38:06
MONICA SANCHEZ
U.S. House of Representatives.
00:48:38:06 - 00:48:40:12
DINO
U.S. House of representative, district.
00:48:40:14 - 00:48:54:22
MONICA SANCHEZ
3830. That includes Pico Rivera, Montebello, El Monte South, El Monte, Bolin Park, Diamond Bar, portions of Orange County, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, and portion of Placentia. North Whittier in West Whittier.
00:48:55:02 - 00:49:22:20
DINO
Now, Doctor Sanchez, one of the things that sets you apart and we might have touched on this and during our pre-interview is although you are a sitting elected official, mayor pro tem at in the city of Pico Rivera, you're not a career politician, at least not yet. And, you know, one of the things that we've covered on this program in the past is this issue, this topic that is, you know, the recycled politician, right?
00:49:22:20 - 00:49:43:17
DINO
I ran for assembly. Then I went to a Senate and then I went to, you know, whatever federal. And I'm back and some of your your opponents are in this, in this category. What sets you apart from that type? All right. On the one hand, to be fair, yes, one would argue. One could argue one. That just means I have more experience.
00:49:43:19 - 00:49:52:18
DINO
On the other hand, it's safe to say that some in our community are just tired of that. What's your take on that issue?
00:49:52:20 - 00:50:15:03
MONICA SANCHEZ
I think my strengths are that I have experience at the local level. I know the direct impact that these federal, this federal administration legislation are impacting us. So I don't need a briefing to know about what percentage inflation has gone up. I go I went just yesterday grocery shopping, buy eggs and bacon. Last year. Bacon used to be $5 a pack.
00:50:15:03 - 00:50:32:01
MONICA SANCHEZ
Now it's over $10. But I did find eggs on sale. I have a coupon from superior, so I do use coupons and that's what we have to do right now just to buy eggs and groceries for our families. I have two sons. I have my mom, my parents, and I think that I am grounded in the community.
00:50:32:05 - 00:50:59:04
MONICA SANCHEZ
I'm present, with the day that, the young man was detained by ice. I have we we have the phone number of the mother, and it's difficult to hear those. I see them in the grocery store, and they approach me, and they either hug me or they yell at me. And it's difficult at that, at the local level to explain to them the difference between federal legislation and local.
00:50:59:06 - 00:51:16:08
MONICA SANCHEZ
And so I think that my strength is that I am grounded in the community. I'm not doing this for a title. I'm not doing this for fame, because and we don't get a lot of money. I don't have a lot of money. I'm not a millionaire. Someone asked me when when I told them when I announce my candidacy, and someone asked me like, oh, you have $1 million?
00:51:16:13 - 00:51:19:21
MONICA SANCHEZ
Because that's the perception that millionaires are in Washington, D.C..
00:51:19:21 - 00:51:21:05
DINO
And indeed there's a majority.
00:51:21:05 - 00:51:39:18
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes. And it's about corporate. It's about money. And I said, no, I don't, but, I have a campaign. I'm asking people to give me $25 to my online Lincoln. Well, is very successful. I had over 500 donors from across the nation. So I have text messaging in social media, grassroots. And I feel very excited about that.
00:51:39:18 - 00:52:03:11
MONICA SANCHEZ
I got a lot of support. Also, I think I learned from the school of hard knocks. You know, I was a young mom. I went to community college. I was able to get my bachelor's degree from Cal Berkeley. Got my master's from UCLA, my doctorate. I got a divorce during that time when I was in school, and, I, I've been able to I have resilience, I've been able to pivot.
00:52:03:13 - 00:52:28:04
MONICA SANCHEZ
And you just have to be able to pivot. We've been through these difficult times before, during Covid, during the first for the Trump administration. And I remember when I was in Berkeley going to some protests, and I feel like I participated in a protest in Pico Rivera as well. And fortunately, our, our protest in the city was, peaceful.
00:52:28:06 - 00:52:38:19
MONICA SANCHEZ
And, another good colleague of mine, council member, we both stood together, and I feel like that was a proud moment for us to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community.
00:52:38:20 - 00:53:06:18
DINO
Doctor Sanchez, at some point you said, okay, you know, it's a combination of things. Several months Trump immigration. I decided I'm going to run. And I always like to ask these specific questions because I think they resonate with our audience. You know, I like to remind our audience that politicians are not there's nobody here with a superhero cape other than a single mom other than somebody struggling and learning to make it through.
00:53:06:20 - 00:53:20:14
DINO
What was the conversation like with your family? Right. You mentioned, okay, divorce, but you have your sons, you know, mom, who is now my second favorite mom. And I have to say that because sometimes my mom listens to the radio.
00:53:20:14 - 00:53:21:21
MUSIC INTRO
So you haven't met her yet?
00:53:21:21 - 00:53:53:01
DINO
I haven't met her. But, you know, I'm a woman who makes bomb tackles. We're going to work on that. But what was that conversation like? I'm deciding to embark on this journey. Anybody who runs I'm a firm believer always has a chance at winning. And if you do, you would be on the frontlines of one of the most significant battles in modern American history, as you would be essentially going up against what I don't shy away from calling an authoritarian, totalitarian regime such as the Trump administration.
00:53:53:01 - 00:53:55:13
DINO
What did Mommies Stella say?
00:53:55:15 - 00:54:13:16
MONICA SANCHEZ
I had an a, it was great. I invited the family, over my my son, my both my sons, my mom and I told them, you know, I have an announcement. And my mom says, don't tell me you're pregnant.
00:54:13:18 - 00:54:17:00
MUSIC INTRO
I said, no, because nobody.
00:54:17:02 - 00:54:18:03
DINO
Does that. When you and mom.
00:54:18:03 - 00:54:20:21
MUSIC INTRO
But,
00:54:20:23 - 00:54:38:19
MONICA SANCHEZ
So, so that's funny. But, you know, I, I recognize that I, this is a family affair. Even, the whole family effort. My mom is watching my son for me right now, and they always ask me, you know, I've had people ask me like, it's a big job. Like, what are you going to do with your kids?
00:54:38:21 - 00:54:42:02
MONICA SANCHEZ
So it's like, why don't they ask the men candidates that right?
00:54:42:04 - 00:54:42:15
DINO
That's right.
00:54:42:16 - 00:54:58:01
MONICA SANCHEZ
And I say, I think the same thing I do now, you know, I bring them with me, or I got my family member to watch them or friends babysitters and, you know, he's 12 years old. So, what's your son's name? Michael. Nico. Nico from Pico. Shout out to Nico.
00:54:58:02 - 00:55:03:10
DINO
And shout out to Nico. Nicholas. Which, Nico? I don't know if you know this, but I means factory of the people, so.
00:55:03:10 - 00:55:04:20
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes.
00:55:04:21 - 00:55:12:11
DINO
So, doctor, Sanchez, as we wrap up, where do where do as common folk go find out more about you.
00:55:12:13 - 00:55:38:01
MONICA SANCHEZ
You can go to my website. That's doctor Monica sanchez.com. Dr. Monica sanchez.com. Or you can find me on Facebook. Doctor Monica sanchez for Congress or my Instagram at my councilwoman. I'm still councilwoman on Instagram. I didn't change that, but I'm still a councilman. Councilwoman underscore doctor Sanchez.
00:55:38:01 - 00:55:50:19
DINO
And what's the final message for our audience? As we wrap up as we go out, you mentioned I wanted to make sure that every chance to talk about your socials and where to learn more, but give us that one liner that's going to convince folks to vote for you.
00:55:50:21 - 00:56:09:18
MONICA SANCHEZ
Yes, vote for someone from the community. I don't know if people know this, but to run for Congress, you people don't have to live in the district. So some candidates will come in and put in a lot of money and ads and pictures and fancy movies and videos and things. But, you know, I live in the district and that's why I'm running.
00:56:09:19 - 00:56:32:23
MONICA SANCHEZ
I visit these cities regularly Montebello, Pico Rivera, El Monte, South Omani, Whittier, these are all bordering cities. And I just yesterday met with some of the business owners. So I'm from the community. I'm open to speak to the community. And I think in Congress right now, we're at the forefront. We need level headed people that are going to work together.
00:56:32:23 - 00:56:51:22
MONICA SANCHEZ
Maybe I'm willing to work on bipartisan legislation. We need to work with others to come up with solutions. And right now, all I hear is complaints about the problems and blaming. But let's talk about the solutions and how can we come together. Republicans and Democrats, black and white, Latinos and everyone.
00:56:51:23 - 00:57:15:17
DINO
My guest has been Doctor Monica Sanchez, mayor pro tem for the city of Pico Rivera, and she is running for, Congress. Doctor Monica Sanchez, thank you for joining us here on the signal. Excuse me. For people, if you want to find out more about the protests that are going on all over the US, I'm being given one news source, newsweek.com.
00:57:15:19 - 00:57:37:04
DINO
That is, where you can find out what's happening, as you all no doubt heard. And we covered here, the world is changing. And that includes in Venezuela, where the administration did, finalize or initiate an attack on the sovereign nation. And I want to close out with this and today's conversation, this conversation reminds us that leadership isn't about titles.
00:57:37:06 - 00:57:57:20
DINO
It's about who you fight for and who you listen to. Public service, at its best, isn't about ambition. It's about responsibility. It's about showing up when the work is hard, when the outcomes are uncertain, and when the stakes are real for everyday people. Today's guests remind us that leadership is not abstract. It's grounded. It's live it.
