Gomez is a San Diego native and first generation Mexican-American who was born in Barrio Logan and lived south of Interstate 8 her entire life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up very humble but at the same time, my parents did everything they could to provide a better path for all three of their children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gomez\u2019 parents were undocumented and worked multiple jobs that paid minimum wage. \u201cJobs that took advantage of them because they were undocumented,\u201d she said \u201cThey kept their heads down and did their work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gomez said her family moved around the South Bay a lot while growing up. At one point, they didn\u2019t have a home of their own and lived in the living room of another family\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you can imagine growing up in somebody else\u2019s space. That leaves a strong imprint on a child,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me growing up, that was my experience: having housing insecurity, at times food insecurity. But I also felt that my parents worked to make it through and provide for their children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gomez credits her parents\u2019 sacrifices as a motivating factor for her to work hard in school. In middle school and high school, Gomez woke up every morning at 5 a.m. to take public transportation to San Carlos and then Tierrasanta because her mother knew that wealthier communities had better schools and \u201caccess to success.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was really an eye-opener for me because growing up I knew that we were struggling but I just thought that was the reality for everybody,\u201d she said. \u201cI noticed how different my community was from the community where my school was. There were grocery stores and parks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early activism<\/strong><\/p>\n In her senior year at Serra High School, Gomez said she became politically active.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the year that Pete Wilson introduced Prop 187 targeting immigrant [communities],\u201d she said, adding that her older brother brought her along to help with voter outreach to defeat the proposition. It passed but was later ruled unconstitutional by the courts.<\/p>\n Gomez continued her activism at SDSU where she studied urban planning with an \u201cenvironmental and cultural lens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up in Barrio Logan, I knew there was no question that my community was treated completely different than other communities. You could taste it in the pollution in the air,\u201d she said. \u201cMy intention of going to college was to try and understand how do you influence the development of communities and how do you do it in a way that is healthy and is reflective of the community members.\u201d<\/p>\n At SDSU Gomez got involved with an environmental justice club where she was introduced to the Environmental Health Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group that she went to work for after graduation. As a community organizer at EHC, Gomez lead a campaign to stop an old power plant from reopening; organized to shut down a peak power plant proposed for a location near an elementary school; influenced community developments in Barrio Logan and National City to create better jobs, affordable housing, and better mobility; and helped create the statewide California Environmental Justice Alliance to influence state policy. The latter resulted in her working on the national Sustainable Communities Program started by the Obama Administration which worked to transform underserved neighborhoods by making them greener \u2014 she worked on the pilot program in National City.<\/p>\n Also during this time, Gomez worked on helping get fellow Democrats elected, which is what eventually lead her to run for the San Diego City Council District 9 seat.<\/p>\n A local official<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Okay, I know how to do policy. I know how to bring people together. I\u2019ve been involved in other people\u2019s campaigns. I challenged myself to think of myself differently,\u201d Gomez said.<\/p>\n
![\"Gomez](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/2020-0110-Georgette-Gomez_001.jpg\")
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