Both of the candidates running in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election for California State Assembly District 13 — Denise Aguilar Mendez (R) and Rhodesia Ransom (D) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
Here are the candidates’ responses to the question: Who are you? Tell us about yourself.
Aguilar Mendez:
“I have worked in grassroots leadership for almost a decade at a state level opposing/ supporting legislation to block bills or push bills through. I work bipartisan to put in place protections for children, families and Californians so that the community feels represented. In the work I’ve done with my non profit Freedom Angels we have helped bring about critical victories to our state: defeating SB866, which would have medically emancipated all 12-year-olds; ending AB659’s mandate of the HPV shot for children in public and private school and college; and the passage of SB14–which was initially blocked by the Assembly Public Safety Committee–to finally classify child human trafficking as a serious felony. Working at the Capitol every legislative session since 2015, I have been ‘boots on the ground.’ With logged countless hours in Sacramento, building relationships with both parties and understanding how the legislative process works. I decided to run for Assembly and help course-correct bad laws after seeing how extreme legislators have become, representing radical agendas and special interest groups, not their own constituents.”
Ransom:
“I grew up working alongside my grandmother, who was a missionary and I learned firsthand that leadership is about service, prompting me to earn a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Policy. Service to the community is my life’s mission and 19 years ago I founded a non-profit that works with school districts and mental health providers to bring tools like mentoring, gang prevention programs, and counseling into schools. We’ve raised millions of dollars and helped thousands of youth, combating the mental health crisis. When faced with a growing homelessness crisis, I stepped up to run for Tracy City Council. As a councilmember, I secured the funds to build the first permanent homeless shelter in Tracy and successfully enacted the first affordable housing project in 20 years. During the pandemic when Tracy did not have the money to fund COVID testing, I worked with my non-profit contacts and brought the first FREE COVID testing site to Tracy. I’ve fought for equity and empowerment in vulnerable communities and advocated to keep families together, earning me the current support of Civil Rights Activist, Dolores Huerta. I love my community, it’s where my husband and I raised our kids. Now that the California Dream is becoming inaccessible for our youth and unsustainable for our seniors, I am stepping up to run for State Assembly. I bring decades of policy and advocacy experience, and I will stand up for working families, not special interests.”
Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.
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