Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Duran.
Toni, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I learned early on that family is more than just blood, and home is more than just a place to live. I was born in East Los Angeles, in a hospital that wouldn’t let my mother in until she could prove that she either had insurance or could afford to pay her medical bills. My first memories are of the one-bedroom apartment that was all my mother could afford on her medical assistant salary. It was small but full of love, and it was home. We were lucky to have family nearby, so my grandmother could take care of me while my mom was at work. Sometimes Gramps would take me out back and help me play pool on his old table, or I’d run down the street to the neighbor’s house and visit with them while I ate spaghetti. Everyone looked after everyone else because whether we were related or not, we were all family.
My mother eventually remarried, we moved all over the country, and the majority of my growing up years were in St. Louis. I always knew that California was home, though. I finally found my place here in San Diego in 2007, and District 3 became a home for me.
This is a community full of people and places that matter deeply to me. It’s where hundreds of volunteers came together to fight Prop 8 and ended up becoming a family. It’s watching fireworks while sitting on a blanket in Bird Park, movie nights in Trolley Barn Park, pie-eating contests in Pioneer Park, and summer concerts all over the district. It’s picking up a freshly made tortilla in Old Town, catching a game at Petco Park, listening to local bands up and down Adams Avenue, and popping into one of your favorite restaurants, where everyone knows you and knows your food order.
As a queer Latina, I have struggled with employment and housing instability in a city where affordable housing is a critical issue. If it weren’t for the kindness of friends, I too could have been one of the far too many living in cars or sleeping on the street. This is an amazing district full of art, culture, opportunity and wonderful people. Community members shouldn’t be forced out or kept out because prices are making homes increasingly unattainable.
For the last six years, it has been my privilege to represent District 3 as a staff member in the State Assembly and Senate. I have worked on housing issues, as well as issues concerning women, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community, human trafficking, and arts and culture. I love this work because it allows me to help the people in my community in ways that matter to them.
I am a public servant at heart and since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to help people, give my time and energy to be part of something bigger than myself. Whether it was a beach clean-up, a food bank, serving food to seniors, cleaning up a children’s hospital, or knocking on doors and making calls for the causes and people I believe in – I have been there volunteering. This has all led me to where I am today, working full time while I also run as a candidate for City Council in the city that I call home.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As a woman and especially as a woman of color, I have to worker harder to prove myself. I have to be strong enough to make sure that I don’t let the noise get to me of people telling me to step aside so the man can do the job… or telling me it’s not my turn. There are no turns when it comes to serving your community.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
For more than a decade, I have had the privilege of serving my community and the City of San Diego as a volunteer, advocate, and community representative for the State Assembly and Senate. My passion is this life of service and finding solutions to the problems that working people face every single day.
I am honored to have received several awards for my efforts, particularly in the LGBTQ community. That includes being a Nicky Award Winner for multiple years (Woman of the Year 2015 & 2018, and Outstanding Female Personality 2016), and receiving the Inaugural “Gloria Johnson Feminist Leadership Award” in 2017 from the San Diego Democrats for Equality. My name is also engraved on a plaque on a wall in the San Diego LGBT Community Center because of the work I did on the No On eight campaign.
I am an ordinary, working woman who is striving to do extraordinary things in our community, and I’m passionate about helping others doing the same. I am a member of many local organizations like The North Park Community Association, Run Women Run, the San Diego Chapter of NOW (current member and former board member), the San Diego Leadership Alliance (SDLA), MANA de San Diego, the NAACP, and the ACLU. I was also a founding member of The Center’s Young Professionals Council and the San Diego Chapter of Gay for Good. I want to take my experiences and skills and put them to work for the people of District 3.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ToniForSanDiego.com
- Email: info@toniforsandiego.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toniduran2020/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToniDuran2020/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToniD_SD
Image Credit:
Toni Duran for City Council 2020
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