Standing up for consumers

My entire career has been centered on people power — and the belief that when people come together around their common interests, there isn’t anything they can’t accomplish. As an organizer, I stood with organized labor to demand fair wages and healthcare for Wal-Mart employees. And in my leadership role in the White House Office of Public Engagement during the Obama Administration, I brought stakeholders and advocates to the table to pass the Affordable Care Act — standing up for millions of consumers and holding the health insurance industry accountable. 

I arrived in Sacramento ready to fight for those who have the deck stacked against them — so I dove in headfirst, and, in my first month on the job introduced legislation taking on Amazon, the world’s largest corporation. My bill, AB 1790, provided historic protections for the thousands of Californians who sell things on Amazon’s marketplaces, some of whom rely on these sales as a large source of income. Since its inception, Amazon had far too much power in negotiating with the everyday people who were looking to sell their products online — exploiting loopholes and hiding behind confusing terms and conditions to rig agreements in their favor. My bill demanded clarity and fairness, finally holding the e-commerce giant accountable. 

I also stood up for consumers in 2020 when I passed AB 2524, targeting the debt settlement industry — which, for far too long, has used unfair and deceptive practices to hurt everyday people who are often in dire financial circumstances. California is now able to enforce the law on out-of-state lenders that do business in California, who often promise debt relief by ensnaring consumers. This is a primary, but critical, step to hold these bad-faith financial actors accountable.