Irvine native Alex Mohajer aims to be the first openly gay legislator elected from Orange County — and potentially the only Iranian in the California Legislature.
Mohajer, president of the LA-based political advocacy organization Stonewall Democrats, is running for a Senate seat that includes Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Villa Park. If elected, Mohajer, the son of a single mom from Iran, said he wants to advocate for working-class families and address mental health resources if elected.
“I understand the struggle and sacrifice of families like mine and the value of a good public education which is why I’m going to fight for the economic dignity of working-class families, small business owners and teachers right here at home,” Mohajer said. “We also need to address mental health in the state and make sure we expand access to resources.”
It is the ongoing demonstrations in Iran led by women — as well as the lack of Iranians in the California Legislature — that inspired him to run, he said.
“To the Iranian diaspora, there’s not as much attention on this as we’d like,” Mohajer said. “My mom taught me at a young age to be civically minded, and she taught me the value of engagement and how important it is, particularly for immigrant families, to vote, to show up.”
His activism for “Iranian people’s fight for basic human rights” extends to the rights of women, LGBTQ people and marginalized communities at home, Mohajer said.
“These issues are intersectional and relevant to each other,” he said. “And so that’s a lot of what I want to be centering as I get into my campaign.”
Climate, too, is important to Mohajer, who said the U.S. “cannot rely on a gridlocked federal government to move us on climate change.”
“I’ve taken a pledge to accept no fossil fuel money in my campaign to be free to advocate for bold, swift climate change action,” Mohajer said. “And I want to bring clean energy economy right here to…
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