ON the issues

  • • Brian has dedicated his life’s work to ensuring that California’s children get the absolute best education and support in safe, modern schools.

    • He is an advocate for well-funded public schools and sees the proliferation of charter schools, especially in marginalized communities, as a root cause of declining educational outcomes and unequal educational experiences.

    • Brian believes that the explosion of unregulated charter schools and collocation has reinstated the “separate but equal” educational environments experienced during segregation and intends to continue fighting against this “destructive force” in our communities.

    • Brian has been instrumental in reforming school discipline to focus more on the social emotional needs of students.

    • A proud son of immigrants, Brian was one of the main authors of El Monte Union High School District’s Ethnic Studies program.

    • As a legislator, he intends to leverage his passion for advocacy and policy development to support initiatives that improve behavioral access

  • "We need a leader in District 48 who cares deeply about halting the climate change devastating our poorest communities, one who can stand firm and say 'no' to Big Oil and its coffers. Brian Calderón Tabatabai has shown that he is ready to be that leader." - Matt Abularach-Macias, Deputy Campaigns Director

    • The poor and disenfranchised communities in our state typically suffer the brunt of climate change. Brian knows we must address the environmental injustice created by redlining and racially restrictive covenants. Brian will the address skyrocketing rent and overall housing crisis that leaves residents displaced.

    • As a legislators, Brian will use his position to move legislation that protects families, strengthens labor and guarantees basic human conditions like safe housing, health care, clean water, quality education and fair wages.

    • California has allocated substantial funds for infrastructure investments to facilitate the transition to a so-called green economy. However, Brian knows we must acknowledge the potential risk of exacerbating income inequality during this transition. Wealthy individuals can adapt swiftly, leverage tax incentives and bolster local economies with substantial tax contributions. That advantage is not extended to local communities, unfortunately.

    • Brian knows it’s crucial that disadvantaged communities be included in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. This requires a coordinated effort at the local, state and federal levels to address various challenges hindering their prosperity.

    •As a West Covina city council member, Brian was the sole vote to deny Amazon's application for a Last Mile warehouse that would have wreaked havoc on our community, particularly on our environment. He joined with a coalition of local residents, labor unions and climate justice activists to fight the plan, and ultimately forced them to withdraw their application.

    • Brian has been an advocate, in partnership with the Clean Air Coalition, in fighting against the Quemetco Battery Plant expansion. As California state increases our reliance on electric vehicles it has done so without creating the infrastructure to properly recycle the batteries that allow these vehicles to function.

    • By neglecting this reality, Assembly District 48 has had to carry the burden of having the only battery recycler on the West Coast. Quemetco’s planned expansion puts the lives of our predominantly Latino and Asian community at risk and is why Brian will push for legislation to create the infrastructure throughout the state to guarantee that everyone shares in the cost equitably.

    • Brian supports a ban on new oil drilling permits in California, as well as a ban on fracking and cyclic steam injection. Urban oil drilling is an example of environmental racism that has harmed many BIPOC families. The lack of regulation has caused preventable deaths and health crises in California’s most vulnerable communities.

    • Overturning common-sense regulations that protect the health of people shows that some in our society continue to advocate for profits over people.

    • Big Oil continues to be a major contributor to Blanca Rubio’s campaign. Brian has pledged to never accept fossil fuel money and intend to fight to ensure our neighborhoods do not carry the burden of climate inaction.

  • • Housing should be accessible and reasonably priced for individuals and families at various income levels, ensuring that no one is priced out of a safe and stable place to live.

    • Brian is an advocate for increased funding for affordable housing development and rehabilitation projects. Public-private partnerships and incentives for developers to include affordable units in their projects are effective tools.

    • He also favors the elimination of parking minimum requirements, which reduces construction costs and promotes efficient land use, allowing for the creation of more housing units within the same space.

    • Brian supports the implementation of inclusionary zoning policies that require a certain percentage of new developments to include affordable units, integrating neighborhoods across socioeconomic levels.

    • He will work with nonprofit organizations that focus on affordable housing initiatives, leveraging their expertise and resources to create more affordable housing options.

    • Brian will explore ways to streamline the approval processes for affordable housing projects to reduce delays and costs. He will also support policies to prevent the conversion of affordable units to market-rate housing.

    • He supports strengthening renters’ protections by implementing just-cause eviction policies, limiting rent increases and providing tenants with adequate notice and due process. He also advocates for funding and resources to ensure that tenants have access to legal assistance and representation when facing eviction.

    • Brian serves on several major boards dealing with homelessness, most recently being appointed by Speaker Anthony Rendon to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC), which administers the federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Programs.

  • • Brian has stood hand-in-hand with workers and union leaders to prevent retail giant Amazon from bringing a new facility — and low-wage, non-union jobs — to the community.

    • As a union family, Brian and his wife support the formation of unions and the proliferation of good jobs and wages that they represent.

    • As a representative for LA County on the League of California Cities Public Safety Commission, he has spoken out against the retail lobby, which is responsible for billions of dollars in wage theft and job elimination through self-checkout. In his own community, he recently proposed an ordinance to reduce reliance on self-checkout and protect working families in retail.

    • Brian believes that workers should always be able to freely choose to unionize — without employer interference — and when negotiations break down, they should always retain the right to strike.

    • The business community has a crucial role to play in local and state economies. Small businesses are key, providing economic gains and employment for California residents. As these businesses prosper, they allow workers to earn the wages they deserve and support their families.

  • Working families are the backbone of District 48’s communities. Brian considers burdensome red tape and fees to be unnecessary obstacles to starting a new business and keeping the doors open.

    Brian’s small business platform focuses on investing in downtown centers from Baldwin Park to Glendora. Despite the tumultuous economic conditions that have squeezed the greater Los Angeles area, small businesses represent 99% of the businesses that have opened in the city since 2022. Moreover, they represent 63% of net new jobs nationwide.

    Brian’s support of a single-payer health care system would address a primary concern of nearly 7 in 10 small business owners unable to afford and/or sustain providing health care to their employees. Brian knows that the lack of affordable housing hamstrings business owners seeking to recruit and retain top talent, and he is a proponent of public-private partnerships and development incentives that mandate inclusion of affordable units in developers’ projects.

  • • Brian believes that health care, like a quality education and housing, is a human right.

    • He strongly supports the establishment of a single-payer health care system in California.

    • Brian, who supports AB 1690, or the Health Care for All Act, and has signed the “Nurses’ CalCare Patient Protection Pledge,” is also an advocate for Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s single-payer health care plan.

    • He did not support SB 770, the unified health care financing bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom has already signed into law, because he feels it delays needed reform as our population continues to age and the urgency for single-payer intensifies.

    • Brian will push for increased funding in underserved communities and advocate for single-payer health care to eliminate the economic barriers to care.

    • Brian’s lifelong commitment to issues of transparency, social justice and community empowerment aligns with the principles of a publicly-financed health care system for all.

    • A single-payer system has the potential to reduce costs by eliminating profiteering, administrative waste and excessive marketing expenditures associated with private insurance.

    • A single-payer system can ensure that every Californian has access to quality health care without financial barriers.

    • With employee insurance costs among the fastest-growing expenditures for small business owners, a single-payer system would lower their overhead.

    • Single-payer systems result in better health outcomes. The economy benefits from increased productivity and decreased absenteeism.

    • By leveraging his experience as an elected official and his engagement with a wide range of community organizations and stakeholders, Brian will work alongside advocacy groups, health care professionals and concerned citizens to build a broad coalition of support for this critical reform.

    • This campaign would involve raising awareness about the benefits of a single-payer system, engaging in grassroots organizing, collaborating with legislators and advocating for necessary policy changes at the state level.

    • Moreover, his background in education and his dedication to championing the voiceless have equipped Brian with the skills to communicate complex issues and mobilize communities.

    • Using these skills, Brian can engage with Californians statewide, listening to their concerns and sharing the compelling case for a single-payer health care system.

    • Once elected, Brian will engage his colleagues in Sacramento, find common ground in their policies to achieve this goal and advance meaningful health care reform that benefits all Californians.

    • More than anything, Brian wants to work toward the implementation of a health care system that prioritizes the well-being of all Californians and ensures equitable health care services.