Fourth in a series
Re “Cubas Draws a Bright Red Line Between Her Beliefs and Price’s”
[img]1900|left|Ms. Ana Cubas||no_popup[/img]Given the sleek technology that underpins even thumb-sized campaigns, Ana Cubas is being honest rather than stylish when she talks about her old-fashioned, door-to-door campaign to upend Curren D. Price Jr. tomorrow for the vacant 9th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.
Walking into her quarters the other morning, it could have been 1950, inside or outside of the back office in South Los Angeles where she furiously was dialing voters at the rear of a multi-use building that once could have been a warehouse – tall walls, skyscraper ceilings and huge open spaces.
When Ms. Cubas spoke, her voice volleyed from the walls to the ceiling and back.
No phone banks.
No army of staffers.
No shining lights.
At the center of this quintessential no-frills campaign is a woman of accomplishment who not only has had to fend off her opponent but also his media allies while scuffling for her own light media notice.
This is gritty work by someone who probably is up against longer – active not passive – odds than anyone on the runoff ballot.
Ms. Cubas, an Ivy League-educated 42-year-old community activist, is coming off of 3½ years as East Side Councilman Jose Huizar’s chief deputy. Before that, she spent three years with Mr. Huizar when he was president of the LAUSD School Board.
What Cubas Learned
“The main lesson I learned from him was to focus on the communities, the neighborhoods that need help the most,” she said. “In Council District 14 (where she worked), you have Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Eagle Rock. Boyle Heights was the neediest community. That is where (Mr. Huizar) lives, and that is where we focused a lot of our time, city resources, our attention and energy.
“That is what I will do as a Council member. If you look at the neediest places in Council District 9, this is where my campaign office is.
“As a Councilwoman,” says Ms. Cubas, “I will make sure the poorest communities within District 9 will get more attention.”
She believes that personalizing her campaign is the fastest, clearest way to distinguish herself from Mr. Price, who owns a lengthy public service resumé , from the Inglewood City Council to both chambers of the Legislature in Sacramento, and now back to Los Angeles.
“Since I started last year,” Ms. Cubas says, “I have campaigned the same way, through the primary and now the general. I share my story with people. I came to this country as an immigrant at the age of 10,” after Ms. Cubas’s grandmother, her primary caretaker at the time, died. Her parents, 16 when she was born, reunited and raised her in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t know a word of English when I came here,” says Ms. Cubas, who speaks with the accent-free confidence of a Rhodes Scholar.
Pardonably, she beams at the mention of her parents, and the values they conveyed to her.
Models for a Work Ethic
“My dad used to stand in corners, begging for work as a day laborer. He picked up the trade of house painting. My mom, to this day, cleans houses and offices for a living.
“I emphasize to people my humble background. I emphasize to people how this country is great. This city is great. I was able to succeed in school, to go on to U.C. Berkeley, where I graduated with highest honors, with a bachelor’s in sociology.
“I tell them I have a master’s degree from Princeton University in public affairs, and in urban and regional planning, how I have worked in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Dept. of Education, in Sacramento for the Legislative Analyst’s office, in City Hall and for LAUSD.
“I tell people about my immigrant experience, my work experience, and my vision that has been consistent for the primary and the general.”
With looking-you-in-the-eye conviction, Ms. Cubas leaps across the finish line, saying confidently but not boastfully, “I believe I am the best candidate for this district because of those three things.
“I truly reflect (the heavily majority Latino) constituency in District 9, and I will be the one to truly help them.”
