U.S. House of Representatives, District 12

What does a U.S. representative do?

Representatives are your local community’s voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of Congress write and vote on bills, including the federal budget. The winner will serve a two-year term.

Candidate Statements

Candidate Statements are excerpted from the statements provided to election offices, where available.

Lateefah Simon

  • BART Board Director
  • Democrat
  • Experience: “Born legally blind, Lateefah relies solely on public transportation to go about her day and sought to make BART more affordable for working families and transit-dependent people like herself.”
  • Public Safety: “Close loopholes in federal gun laws … increase mental health and drug addiction treatment, lower barriers to access existing programs, and provide resources to expand programs geared to prevent recidivism.”
  • Israel and Gaza: “I believe that we must focus on a lasting and peaceful two-state solution … I want to see a significant reduction in global military spending.”
  • lateefahsimon.com

Jennifer Tran

  • Professor
  • Democrat
  • Perspective: “I’m a proud daughter of Oakland. I was born and raised here in a family of immigrant refugees. I have a different perspective than millionaire career politicians from San Francisco who want to use our political stage as a stepping-stone to power.” 
  • Experience: “As a trained researcher and business leader, I’ve spent years analyzing our dysfunctional systems. I’ve identified the smartest program to turn around our region and many other similarly failing cities.”
  • Priorities: “In my first 100 days in office, I’ll propose a key bipartisan legislation — the Modern Cities Act — to actually solve these urgent urban problems with sensible solutions while creating economic opportunities for local residents.”
  • drtranforcongress.com

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