Your guide to California’s Congressional District 31 race: San Gabriel Valley

For the first time in a generation, voters in the San Gabriel Valley will be choosing a new candidate to represent them in Congress, after longtime Democratic Rep. Grace F. Napolitano announced her retirement last summer.

The race pits a wealthy former Congress member against two state senators and several local community fixtures.

The primary election is March 5. The two top candidates will advance to the general election in November.

The district encompasses the San Gabriel Valley and includes the cities of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, La Puente, La Verne, San Dimas, South El Monte and West Covina and portions of Glendora, Industry and Monrovia.

The race has drawn 11 candidates, who come from all over the district. About half have served in public office before.

• Greg Hafif, Democrat, attorney and workers rights activist.

Hafif is a trial attorney with 30 years of experience working in the San Gabriel Valley community. Hafif told The Times that his father was the attorney who represented hundreds of West Covina residents in a settlement against a toxic landfill. Hafif, who has never held public office, was born and raised in the district and serves as the president of the Hafif Foundation, which he formed to focus on healthcare and education, his campaign biography says.

• Gil Cisneros, Democrat, former one-term congressman, philanthropist.

Cisneros was elected in 2018 to a single term in Congress for the 39th District — which mostly encompasses Orange County along with a portion of San Bernardino and parts of Los Angeles County. Cisneros lost reelection to Young Kim, a Republican. Among the legislation he supported in Congress was a failed assault weapons ban, which he said he wants to reintroduce. After his defeat, Cisneros was appointed in 2021 as Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness under the Biden administration. He left that position in September before publicly announcing his bid for Congress.

Cisneros, who told The Times he was raised in a family of veterans, served in the Navy after high school. He became a millionaire after a lottery win in 2010. With the $255-million earnings, he went from working as a shipping and distribution manager for Frito-Lay to entering the political and philanthropic world.

• Mary Ann Lutz, Democrat, previous Monrovia council member and mayor and current member of the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees.

Lutz is a member of the Citrus Community College Board of Trustees and former Monrovia City Council member and mayor. Lutz told The Times that her commitment to the environment dates back to 2000, when she was part of a 10-year community initiative to buy back land in the San Gabriel foothills and turn it into a wildlife preserve. She also served as a policy liaison to Napolitano on water and environmental issues.

• Bob Archuleta, Democrat, state senator representing Pico Rivera.

Archuleta was elected to the state Senate in 2018, where he currently represents portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties, including a small slice of the San Gabriel Valley. Before his time in the state Legislature, Archuleta was Pico Rivera mayor, served as the commissioner of veterinary and military affairs for the city of Los Angeles and worked for the Montebello Police Department. While in the Army he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. His legislative priorities include veterans affairs, and he serves as the chair of the newly convened Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen Energy.

• Susan Rubio, Democrat, state senator representing Baldwin Park.

Rubio was elected to the California Senate representing Baldwin Park in 2018. Her legislative priorities include education, children and families, and protecting victims of domestic violence. She recently wrote a bill that received bipartisan support to criminalize child trafficking.

Other candidates include:

• Kurt Jose, a Democrat and businessman.
• Pedro Antonio Casas, a Republican and clinical psychologist.
• Elvira Moreno, a Republican and previous city councilwoman.
• Daniel Martinez, a Republican attorney and former high school teacher from Monrovia, who previously ran as a GOP congressional candidate.
• Erskine Levi and Marie Manvel, who indicate no party preference.

A recent survey from the Public Policy Institute of California showed 2 in 3 Californians expect bad times financially during the next 12 months. We asked the candidates to discuss, in written form, what legislative actions they would support to help improve affordability for middle- and low-income Californians.

Archuleta said that he supports “partially repealing the tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” — the Trump-era tax bill that generally favored the wealthy and corporations. “It is essential to carefully assess and target the specific tax provisions in the act. I would vote to repeal provisions that disproportionately benefit the wealthy while upholding those that support the middle class.”

Lutz said that “even though the economy is doing better, the costs of housing, groceries, and other staples have increased more than wages or the economy. Increasing the standard tax deductions for everyone making less than $100,000 would offset these expenses for the working family.”

Rubio said her priority is to “help working families,” which would mean “to focus on reducing the cost of living and tackle housing and homelessness. As senator, I created the largest housing trust in the state. As a member of Congress, I want to build on that work and help spur housing and homeownership in my communities.”

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Hafif said he would pursue “legislation to stop and penalize corporate price-[gouging], especially by Big Oil, insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Legislation that supports a fair livable wage for [an] honest day’s work for all workers. Legislation that protects our [seniors’] Social Security and Medicare and drug pricing.”

Cisneros said that “too many families in the 31st District can’t keep up with the increased costs of housing, groceries, gas, and the overall cost of living. In Congress, I will fight for equal pay for working women, raise the federal minimum wage, lower prescription drug prices, and protect Social Security.”

Martinez said he would work to “redirect the [$100 billion] we’ve squandered in Ukraine towards improving ... education and healthcare services offered in our local communities. Our neighborhoods have seen an explosion in the homeless population and there is a significant need to rapidly expand live-in mental health facilities.”

Manvel said she would “repeal the gas tax. Balance the budget and help those in need with a stimulus program.”

The Times asked candidates what is the single most important policy change the federal government could make to address and alleviate homelessness in California.

Archuleta said that mental health should be a priority, asserting that “60% to 70% of our homeless problem stems from mental health issues, either from drug use or loss of job. We need to create more effective programs that tackle this problem in the streets. There needs to be stricter monitoring of funds that are granted to states and local cities.”

Lutz supports increasing taxes on the wealthy to go toward housing and other “wraparound” support programs, as well as providing incentives and tax breaks to build more multi-unit low- and middle-income housing.

Rubio supports investments in affordable housing and homeownership and a long-term federal housing and community development program, which is “especially vital after the pandemic’s intensification of the housing crisis.”

Hafif said that the federal government needs to increase funding to states for affordable housing and rent subsidies for our lowest-income residents. It also needs to reduce restrictions and regulations making it easier for private developers to build affordable housing.

Cisneros said that for those who suffer from addiction or mental health issues, the treatment process cannot begin “until we can put a roof over their head. Once they have shelter we can provide access to mental health and addiction treatment services.”

Martinez said a large percentage of the homeless in the country have mental health issues. A 100-person facility in each of the 435 congressional districts, he said, would accommodate only 43,500 people. “We need that every two years for 20 years,” he said.

Manvel said the government should provide homes and medical services to those in need.

Archuleta, Hafif, Cisneros, Martinez, Manvel and Rubio said the U.S. should not pressure Israel for a cease-fire. Lutz said they should.

Archuleta, Lutz, Rubio, Hafif and Archuleta all said the U.S. should support more military aid to Israel in its war with Hamas. Martinez and Manvel were undecided.