The Palacio Podcast
Cesar Armendariz Wants to Lift the Voices of the Community
Long Beach Unified School Board Third District Candidate Cesar Armendariz came to the United States from Ecuador when he was ten years old. As he tells his story, Armendariz speaks about how he was challenged by language and culture.
“Coming to the United States was a complete culture shock for me.”
Bullied in middle school, it was difficult to Cesar Armendariz to fit in.
“I was thrown into the locker room, the stereotypical bullying you see on television.People would spit on me. They would trip me and all because I was different.”
As bad it was, Armendariz says he was molded by the experience and decided to choose honor above defeat.
“I honor my parents by graduating. I honor my community by graduating. I have no choice, I have to do this because my parents brought me here and many people don’t have this opportunity. I can’t let these other people keep me down.”
Cesar Armendariz
That strong spirit was evident during the PalacioMagazine.com interview with Cesar Armendariz outside the Portfolio Coffeehouse on Fourth Street. Armendariz is one of three candidates for the Third District seat on the Long Beach Unified School Board. The election is April 10, 2018. To find out more about the school board elections, visit HERE.
Cesar Armendariz Wants to Lift the Voices of the Community
The Third District School Board candidate and school teacher has strong views about ensuring that every voter’s voice counts.
“I’m just knocking on doors and talking to people and they just want to be heard…They want to know there’s somebody out there that’s saying ‘I hear you and I’m going to try my best to work on this’.”
Armendariz says he wants “the people of Long Beach bring their issues to the table” in order that something better is created. According to the candidate, that’s a large part of what he wants to do as a school board member.
Running for School Board
The decision to become a candidate, according to of Cesar Armendariz, grew out of years of working with local groups and an organization called “Our Revolution Long Beach.”
“Basically, we try to organize ourselves around issues that we feel are important such as housing, healthcare, and then find ways of getting the word out and making sure that…the people in office understand that this is something that people need.”
Alerted to the news that the Third District School Board seat was to become vacant, Cesar Armendariz hoped that someone would step in to run for the seat.
“Then people start saying, ‘Why not you, Cesar’ and I thought to myself, that’s a very good question.”
Armendariz has learned that running for office is “so difficult” because it opens one’s self and family to the world.
“But, at the end of the day I thought, I’m a teacher. I have a passion for education, I have a passion for kids. Why not me?”
For More Information
Listen to the podcast HERE to hear more about the platform priorities of Cesar Armendariz including improving resources for students and teachers along with engaging parents and community in education.
You can visit the candidate’s website HERE, Facebook HERE, and Twitter @cesarforlbschools.
“All our children deserve champions in their lives who will support them when hard work is not enough to reach the finish line. As a board member, I will work tirelessly and collaboratively to develop a fully supportive community that addresses the specific needs of every child.
As a high school teacher, I’ve spent nearly a decade meeting the needs of thousands of kids inside and outside the classroom – kids with ADHD who can’t stay seated longer than 10 minutes, kids with Autism who struggle to fit in with their peers, kids who are bullied and feel alone in their distress, kids who are doing well academically but are unsure of how they will pay for college.
Our children’s stories are engraved in my heart and mind and I will bring their voices to the Long Beach School Board.” CESAR ARMENDARIZ
