Dr. Nadine Diaz feels as though she was thrust into community activism and politics out of necessity.
Metro had sent her family a letter saying that their Boyle Heights home on Cheesbroughs Lane could be slated for demolition to make way for the impending Metro Gold Line construction in the 1990s.
Diaz, a Boyle Heights native who is currently in the race for the Los Angeles City Councilmember seat representing CD-14, understood that if she didn’t defend her home back then, nobody else would.
With the threat of displacement literally at her doorstep, Diaz quickly was elected to the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Project Area Committee in 1995 to defend not just her family’s home, but as many homes in her neighborhood as she could. That year, she also was elected to the MTA Review Advisory Committee to further give a voice to her community, and, according to her, to avoid politicians corrupting the board.
“And there was a real pulse. I mean, the politicians had to not just deal with us, but to work with us. And we wouldn’t say no,” Diaz recalled. “We wanted equal representation. We wanted people at the table to make the decisions on what was happening in their communities.”
Fast forward to 2023, Diaz is vying for the CD-14 City Council seat for a second time. Her first attempt in 2015 earned her just over 4% of the vote in the city’s 14th District.
“I ran then because I believed we needed transparency, integrity, respect and equality. I’m running again because the corruption hasn’t stopped. It’s actually gotten bigger,” Diaz said.
When she’s not working as a geriatric social worker at USC’s Memory and Aging Center or serving as a Board Member of the Council on Aging for the LA City Department of Aging, Diaz gives back to the community in the form of education. She regularly teaches in classrooms across the Eastside as a high school substitute and at Cal State Dominguez Hills, as a part-time professor in the Department of Social Work.
To bolster her campaign, Diaz emphasizes prevention, intervention, and education, a slogan she coined as “PIE”. She incorporates it into her capstone for her candidacy because she believes that the Eastside has been long ignored by city officials.
“Everybody has a right to a slice of pie in America,” Diaz said. “And that slice of pie is missing when it comes to our people.”
Diaz feels her connection to the neighborhood and decades of activism is what sets her apart from the competition and said the district needs new leadership from someone who has a lifelong understanding of the neighborhood’s pulse.
The problems in CD-14, she said, go beyond political neglect. She pointed to environmental issues like the Exide disaster in Vernon and high pollution levels spurred from the industrial zoning in the area.
“First and foremost, we have to look at the history and what has already been implemented in terms of policy,” Diaz said. “And when I look at the 1930s, the City Council at that time voted unanimously to make our community industrial, to have all the industrial companies be built here, situated here to keep the Westside clean and healthy.”
Diaz also attributes the health of the community to pollution from the multiple freeways that snake around the region and the food deserts that exist throughout the Eastside. She has family members with cancer, neighbors with cancer, and a mother who succumbed to cancer last year.
“We have to look at the disparity as it relates to social determinants of health. And zip codes are identifiers,” Diaz said. “And when we look at that and compare that to other zip codes, there’s some things that, in my opinion, I call a plan by design.”
Similar to her dissatisfaction with city officials and their lack of support of public health policies, Diaz said issues like affordable housing and the homeless crisis have not been adequately addressed. And while the problem with homelessness is complex and has cost California a staggering $17.5 billion over the last four years, according to federal data, Diaz believes that curtailing the issue should be prioritized.
“We have to triage the homeless population. We have veterans, we have immigrants, we have children, and families. We have the mentally ill. We need local, state and federal politicians to create legislation to protect people. So we have to triage the need and also make sure that those who are on the verge of becoming homeless because of job loss, that we catch them quickly,” Diaz said.
In order to make her proposed policies a reality, Diaz stressed the importance of political activism within the community.
“I want to see an increase in voting. I think that more than anything else, the voting is really, really, really critical. And I think many of our representatives have failed in that respect. We need to educate, inform and bring them into the process,” Diaz said. “There’s a lot of voter apathy out there. And I’m hearing, ‘Well, we vote, but nothing ever changes.’”
Diaz said she is being conscious about who she accepts donations from to fund her campaign, and had just raised $2,517.21 at the time of writing. She said she refuses to take money from corporations, developers, big pharma and petroleum companies.
“I’m not backed by huge supporters. I’m backed by hard working people,” Diaz said.
“I want to see an increase in voting. I think that more than anything else, the voting is really, really, really critical. And I think many of our representatives have failed in that respect… There’s a lot of voter apathy out there. And I’m hearing, ‘Well, we vote, but nothing ever changes.’”
Dr. Nadine diaz
When asked about the current Councilmember and the political fallout he has been facing over the last year, Diaz said that city leaders need to lead by example and shouldn’t be motivated to secure high-level positions because of the pay involved. LA City Councilmembers are paid roughly $218,000 annually, which is about $35,000 more than the governor’s yearly pay, according to the State Controller’s Office.
“It’s still going on. Every other three months someone else has put their hand in the cookie jar. And they need to go. They need to resign. There needs to be policies and regulations and rules created and implemented to prevent the corruption that goes on,” Diaz said. “And there needs to be major repercussions.”
Looking back at her life of activism and community involvement, Diaz said she is indebted to her late paternal grandfather, António Diaz, for inspiring her work.
“And one thing he told me before he died, is that you always have to remember who you are, where you come from, what your purpose is, why you’re here and what you plan to do to make a difference for the voiceless,” Diaz said.
BOYLE HEIGHTS BEAT CANDIDATES PROFILES
Here are the nine candidate profiles published so far, in alphabetical order:
Samir Bitar: ‘I see what’s not being done and I know how to do it’
With a background in museum management, the CD 14 hopeful says his top priority is bolstering the district’s civic arts profile, including creating more affordable housing for local artists and restoring historic sites
Wendy Carrillo: ‘We need a fighter… somebody that’s from here’
The Salvadoran immigrant and assemblymember hopes to bring change to Council District 14 – including Boyle Heights, the community where she grew up
Nadine Diaz: ‘I’m running again because the corruption hasn’t stopped’
Born and raised in Boyle Heights, the 61-year-old educator and healthcare professional looks to lead CD-14 from a health and social-worker perspective
Genny Guerrero: ‘I address what’s actually happening and bring solutions to it’
The El Sereno native and CD-14 hopeful talks about mobilizing voters for the March primary, better ways of handling the city’s housing crisis and her ideas for being ‘transparent and receptive’ as a councilmember
Teresa Y. Hillery: ‘I can be a bridge between communities’
The lawyer and public transportation advocate says she wants to empower neighborhood councils in CD-14, which she aims to represent
Ysabel Jurado: ‘I am in tune with what people are saying on the ground’
Touted as the go-to progressive among CD-14 candidates, the Highland Park attorney believes in ‘development without displacement,’ increasing renter protection and a more holistic approach to public safety
William ‘R’ Morrison: ‘It’s all about neighbors caring for neighbors’
A veteran of multiple political races, the conservative Republican vying for CD 14 is focused on homelessness and public safety as his campaign’s core issues
Nick Pacheco: ‘I have the experience; I’ve done it’
The former CD 14 councilmember is trying once again to recapture his seat, rallying for community involvement but relying mostly on past accomplishments
Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Vargas: ‘I have nothing to lose’
The youngest aspiring candidate to CD 14 –and only Socialist running– believes the city should do more for its working class, including affordable housing and free public transportation
After read this..I started thinking to support you Voting for you..since I promise never vote again for Democrats.. especially since the video of KEVIN DE LEON. HE HAS TO RESIGN .OR WE DON’T WANT MORE DEMOCRATS..ABOUT NURY DIAZ.. SHE’S YOUR RELATIVE??
AND GIL CEDILLO AND HERRERA..WE DON’T WANT THEM IN DISTRICT 14. I’M FROM HIGHLAND PARK..