Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez reflects on his first term: “I’m called to serve”
IV Press
Jessamyn Dodd
September 23, 2025
In the cozy setting of Brickhouse Coffee in Imperial, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez sits with a calm demeanor. Wrapping up his first term in the California State Assembly, Gonzalez, a Marine Corps veteran and former pastor, reflected on his biggest victories, lessons learned, and the challenges still ahead for the Imperial Valley.
“Iran this so that I can fight for my son with special needs. And when we heard that the Governor was going to cut $700 million from in-home supportive services, I knew I was here at the right time, at the right place to fulfill what I had been talking about.”
That fight, he explained, turned into a defining moment of his freshman term…
Gonzalez emphasized the value of relationships.
“I spent a year building relationships across the aisle, and the result of building those relationships was 140 pieces of legislation that were co-authored. I am part of the Problem Solvers Caucus,” Gonzalez said, “People want there to be a wall, but if you are willing to take time and listen, you can actually build bridges.”
That bridge-building, he said, paid dividends for Imperial Valley. “It was nearly 12million dollars awarded from the state back here,” Gonzalez continued, “I’m thankful for my partners in Caltrans. I’m thankful for my city partners, from Brawley to Calexico to Holtville to everyone in between. They asked for things to take place, and the state came back and answered.”
More than state funding, Gonzalez said, constituents value his presence and attention to local issues.
“The greatest feedback was accessibility. They’ve never seen a legislator just be present,” he said.
“This is kind of who I am. I’m just Jeff trying to meet people, trying to listen, and they’ve never had that from the corners of each part of the district,” he said…
As Gonzalez enters his second year, his priorities are as follows: listen first, fight for funding, and stay grounded in his community…
He wraps up his first year with these words, “We need to turn down the temperature and find ways where we can agree to disagree civilly. That’s what this is about.
”Have discourse, but in a respectful way. We can disagree and agree on many different things, but we can come together for our community. And that’s what I’m looking for in this next year: to be a leader in coming together,” he said.
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