Van Nuys, CA — Democratic candidate for the 46th Assembly District, Angela Rupert, compared incumbent Adrin Nazarian’s recent action on farmworkers’ rights to Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Nazarian failed to vote on AB 2757, a bill that would have granted farmworkers the same right to overtime benefits afforded every other worker in California. In a move that baffled both Democratic voters and Sacramento insiders, Nazarian intentionally abstained from the vote, which, in effect, counted as a “no” vote, denying the bill the majority it needed on June 2nd, 2016.
Rupert, an ESL teacher, immigration attorney and small-business owner, took aim at her opponent for failing to protect those who are most vulnerable: California’s 400,000 plus farmworkers who are mainly Latino.
“Nazarian’s actions speak loud and clear: when it comes to Latinos, he is more in lockstep with the politics of Trump than with residents of our district. He failed all hardworking men and women of California when he failed to support farmworkers in their struggle for equal protection and overtime under the law,” said Rupert. “This type of politics does not represent the Democratic values of the people in San Fernando Valley.”
Currently, farmworkers toil under a standard starkly below that of other workers – time and a half after ten hours in a day instead of eight, and 60 hours of week instead of 40. The median annual income for farm workers is only $14,000.
“Mr. Nazarian is out of touch with the voters and his district,” said Rupert. “His abstention comes at the expense of farmworkers. He is either beholden to special interests, or is completely out of touch with his constituents. The voters of the 46th have a clear choice in November.”
The 46th Assembly District is 44 percent Latino.
The San Fernando Valley is known as the “Valley of Upsets” among pundits. In 2013, a little-known education reformer named Monica Ratliff defeated a well-funded opponent in a huge upset. That same year, in a Los Angeles City Council campaign, Nury Martinez defeated Cindy Montanez, despite getting handily defeated in the primary. And of course, in the neighboring 39th Assembly District, Patty Lopez upset incumbent Raul Bocanegra in 2014.
Angela Rupert is an educator, small-business owner and immigration attorney.
The 46th district includes Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Panorama City, Valley Glen, Lake Balboa, Valley Village, Toluca Lake, and Universal City and portions of North Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, and North Hills.
###
Paid for by Angela Rupert for Assembly 2016 Committee # 1386926