Lolita Harper When she raised her right...

Lolita Harper

When she raised her right hand and swore to uphold her civic duty

as a new United States citizen a year ago, Paty Madueno took her vow

seriously.

“They give you this little booklet on what it means to be an

American and what the role of the government is,” Madueno said, still

carrying a thick accent from her home country, Mexico. “I read that

book, and I am following it.”

The 46-year-old Costa Mesa resident has worked diligently to push

for local and state legislation she thinks would improve the lives of

her neighbors, friends and loved ones -- the working class, as she

describes them.

When Madueno is not working her day job as an apartment manager,

she is lobbying on behalf of the Orange County Congregation Community

Organization, which is designed to create neighborhood service

programs through the faith-based community. Madueno represents her

St. Joachim Catholic Church Parish.

“This is my passion, working with the community,” Madueno said.

“This is my heart.”

Her fiery enthusiasm fueled an impromptu visit to Assemblyman John

Campbell’s Sacramento office earlier this summer to talk about

possible additions to the state health care program, Healthy

Families. Madueno said Campbell had not personally returned her phone

calls, so she decided to pay him a visit while in town for another

meeting.

Campbell, who represents Newport-Mesa, was in the middle of budget

conference committee meetings, which entail hours of grueling debates

over the proposed state budget, said Matt Black, Campbell’s chief of

staff. He met with Madueno in the assemblyman’s absence.

“Those folks are definitely determined,” Black said of Madueno and

Father Joseph Robillard from St. Joachim’s, who was with her.

Madueno and Alma Penalosa, also a representative of the

faith-based organization, argue that proposed additions to the

Healthy Families program, which would also cover the parents of

eligible children, should be funded. Those parents need to be healthy

so they can work and work hard enough to get their families to the

point that they don’t need government assistance, Madueno said.

“These are people who are legal, who pay taxes and who are

providing a base of manual labor for many of the state’s major

industries,” Madueno said.

Because of the nature of their work -- mostly blue collar, retail

or in restaurants -- those workers are not offered health care and

cannot afford to pay for it on their own, Madueno said.

She uses her 22-year-old daughter as an example.

Sylvia Madueno takes classes at two community colleges and works

part time at a coffeehouse, where she does not receive health

benefits. She can’t afford health care on her own, so her parents pay

for it.

But many people don’t have that luxury, Madueno said.

Campbell said he is more than willing to meet with Madueno to

discuss the topic but, as the third-highest-ranking Republican in

state leadership, he is swamped with budget concerns right now.

“The good news is that you have someone representing you that has

influence,” Campbell said. “The bad news is that means I am up [in

Sacramento] a lot and don’t have time to meet face to face as often.”

Madueno should not feel like she has been ignored, he said;

sometimes that’s just the way it goes.

The Costa Mesa resident admits she is new to the political scene

but can’t help but feel her issue is simply not important to

Campbell.

“He just doesn’t understand the working class,” she said. “This is

not another hand-out, it is a way to ensure that the backbone of the

work force stays healthy.”

Campbell said it is not a matter of understanding social

conditions, which he feels he is in touch with -- it is a matter of

the bottom line.

Philosophical differences aside, there is just no money in the

state budget to start adding things to programs, Campbell said.

Proponents of Healthy Families are asking for an additional $65

million for the program. The extra allocation would bring the total

state costs to $265 million to $365 million for the year.

“We are talking about cutting things,” Campbell said. “Expanding

something for someone means we have to cut something for someone

else. Why should we create new government dependencies when we are

having to cut back on the ones we already have?”

Despite not yet having won Campbell’s support, it is clear Madueno

is not discouraged by her newfound role in politics.

“I don’t care about glory, I don’t care about rewards, I care

about people,” she said.