Meet Antonio López
Dear neighbor,
My name is Antonio Lopez. I am a poetician working at the intersections of poetry and politics to fight for social change. My family came to East Palo Alto on July 4, 1983, the same week of the city’s historic incorporation. We love this community. The story of East Palo Alto is my story.
At 18, I left home, becoming the first in my family to go to college. For the next eight years, I went from Duke University, to Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford, proudly representing the United States as a Marshall Scholar.
In 2020 I returned home to begin my PhD at Stanford. I returned to a community and country still facing the same issues as when I left: kids unable to log on to class because there was no Wifi, black bags sitting in front of the curb, and various heart wrenching scenes. When I went to check in on my neighbors, I saw floor after floor vacated by tenants who couldn’t afford to stay, who had to face the daily dilemma during COVID, “Do I go to work and risk my whole family and I sick, or stay home but remain unemployed.” That pain, and the struggles of our elected officials to fix it, drove me to get involved. That summer, I ran for office for the first time and with the help of local student volunteers, won my election by just 69 votes.
Since returning, I have served the city of East Palo Alto as councilman, and have served the greater community as district representative for State Senator Josh Becker (D-13), and I also serve on the board of directors for several local organizations, including:
As a believer in the transformative power of education, I have also participated and organized a number of campaigns in support of our local school districts, including Measure I, which will provide $161M in infrastructure improvements for the Ravenswood School District, and Measure W, which brought $591M in infrastructure improvements to the Sequoia Union High School District. As your supervisor, I am excited to take my experience, energy, expertise, and work to build a county where you can raise your family, where you feel not only safe, but also empowered. Join me and we can build a county that represents not only the best of today, but the promise of tomorrow.
My name is Antonio Lopez. I am a poetician working at the intersections of poetry and politics to fight for social change. My family came to East Palo Alto on July 4, 1983, the same week of the city’s historic incorporation. We love this community. The story of East Palo Alto is my story.
At 18, I left home, becoming the first in my family to go to college. For the next eight years, I went from Duke University, to Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford, proudly representing the United States as a Marshall Scholar.
In 2020 I returned home to begin my PhD at Stanford. I returned to a community and country still facing the same issues as when I left: kids unable to log on to class because there was no Wifi, black bags sitting in front of the curb, and various heart wrenching scenes. When I went to check in on my neighbors, I saw floor after floor vacated by tenants who couldn’t afford to stay, who had to face the daily dilemma during COVID, “Do I go to work and risk my whole family and I sick, or stay home but remain unemployed.” That pain, and the struggles of our elected officials to fix it, drove me to get involved. That summer, I ran for office for the first time and with the help of local student volunteers, won my election by just 69 votes.
Since returning, I have served the city of East Palo Alto as councilman, and have served the greater community as district representative for State Senator Josh Becker (D-13), and I also serve on the board of directors for several local organizations, including:
- El Concilio Latino de San Mateo, which provides education and employment opportunities for underserved communities throughout San Mateo County.
- The Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency, a collective of cities and water district designed to purchase water on a wholesale basis from the San Francisco Regional Water System.
- Mannakin Dance Theater, which was profiled by Palo Alto Weekly as the first ballet studio for East Palo Alto families.
As a believer in the transformative power of education, I have also participated and organized a number of campaigns in support of our local school districts, including Measure I, which will provide $161M in infrastructure improvements for the Ravenswood School District, and Measure W, which brought $591M in infrastructure improvements to the Sequoia Union High School District. As your supervisor, I am excited to take my experience, energy, expertise, and work to build a county where you can raise your family, where you feel not only safe, but also empowered. Join me and we can build a county that represents not only the best of today, but the promise of tomorrow.
Paid for by: Lopez for San Mateo County Board of Supervisors District 4; Committee to Elect Antonio FPPC No. 1463228