Buffy’s next endorsement: Rashi Kesarwani

Rashi Kesarwani, a Berkeley resident, is joining #TeamBuffy and has a bit more to tell you about why Buffy should be our next Assemblymember representing District 15. Rashi serves on the Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission and the Berkeley Community Health Commission as well as on the board of the East Bay Women’s Political Alliance. She received a Master of Public Policy from U.C. Berkeley in 2012.

Check out Rashi’s thoughts below and if you’re ready, endorse Buffy here.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m the beneficiary of a tolerant, big-hearted California. My parents came to this state as immigrants in 1978. I grew up in a suburb just outside Los Angeles County, where my parents were able to buy a home and my brother and I were fortunate to attend solid public schools in a safe neighborhood.

After college, I returned to Southern California to work in education and journalism and then went on to earn a Master’s degree in Public Policy from U.C. Berkeley. After graduate school, I got to see California policy-making up close working for the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office in Sacramento. I recently returned to Berkeley and now work in San Francisco where I manage budget development and fiscal planning for the Department of Aging and Adult Services, which provides programs and services to low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

2. What issues are on your mind right now?

My biggest concerns are housing and climate change. I know a lot of young people who worry about their future in the Bay Area because of the high cost of housing. In our community, it feels like the American dream of working hard to earn a measure of security is giving way to a crapshoot, in which your ability to stay in the East Bay is subject to a lot of luck and chance.

I believe the shortage of homes in our community worsens other problems–like air pollution and climate change—when people are forced into driving long distances to get to their jobs in the East Bay. I want to see California continue to lead the world in the fight to save the planet, and to me, that means we need to create more homes that are affordable and close to job centers.

3. What do you think we need in our leaders, here in California?

Having worked for the Legislature in Sacramento, I know that it takes a bold policy vision as well as a broad coalition for a new Assemblymember to be successful.

I support Buffy Wicks for Assembly District 15 because I’m so impressed by the experience and knowledge that she brings to the table—from her early days of organizing in San Francisco against the Iraq War and on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers to being a key architect of President Obama’s grassroots organizing model and fighting for the passage of the Affordable Care Act in the White House.

Buffy will not only bring fresh policy ideas to tough public problems, she knows how to build a winning coalition to keep moving our state forward. As a policy wonk and as a Californian, I really value both of these skills.

Will you join me in endorsing our campaign for Buffy for Assembly? It’s our voices and grassroots power that are going to win this election. So please click here to endorse her and share some reasons why.