On Friday, April 25, freshman U.S. Congresswoman Lateefah Simon packed City Hall Council Chambers to overflowing for a dynamic Town Hall meeting in which she shared her accomplishments and vision for her first term, rallied attendees to defend democracy through vigilance and activism, and held a question-and-answer session.
Vice Mayor Pryor’s introduction
Vice Mayor Michele Pryor warmly welcomed Congresswoman Simon and guest speaker Assemblymember Mia Bonta, thanking them and the community for engaging on a Friday night and praising Simon’s leadership. She highlighted that Alameda residents deeply care about issues such as healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice, education, and immigration, as demonstrated earlier in the month when over 1,000 residents gathered at City Hall to protest the Trump Administration.
Pryor emphasized that Alameda’s priorities—including community safety, climate resilience, transportation investment, economic growth, housing, and ending homelessness—align closely with the Congresswoman’s values. She expressed gratitude for Simon’s partnership and commitment to equitable, inclusive governance: “Your commitment means so much to me personally and the entire Alameda community.”
The environment in Washington, D.C.
Simon thanked the community for their trust and participation during “these wild times.” She noted that most calls her office receives are from Alameda, to which the audience responded with cheers. Noting that she was elected November 5, 2024, she quipped, “It seems like 3,000 years ago…There is a lot to talk about. Saving democracy, right? Fighting tyranny, right?”
She reflected on her first days in Washington, D.C., where she believed she could work well with new members of Congress on the other side of the aisle. “That changed quickly,” she said. “It’s been shocking, the vitriol in the capital…The venom is rancid, and it is everywhere. It’s on the elevators. It’s in the hall.”
She recounted a story of Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene giving those granted clemency from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack tours of her office building after their pardon, adding that Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, advises younger members of Congress, “Every day, you have to arm yourselves spiritually.”
Despite this, she emphasized that she feels hope. “We’ve been here before,” she said, referencing periods of history when democracy didn’t work equally for everyone, such as when women didn’t have the right to vote and Black people had to enter from the back of the room. She noted that those conditions changed through lengthy public protests, lobbying, and organizing, and she quoted advice from her friend and mentor, Assemblymember Mia Bonta: “You must be in communication with people who don’t believe that you’re human.”
Legislative work
Simon detailed her legislative work, proudly noting that she became Deputy Whip for Policy and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus within two weeks of arriving in Congress. She passed her first bill on small business support with bipartisan approval and co-led five housing bills. As the first member of Congress to be congenitally blind in both eyes, she is advancing legislation focused on disability rights, aiming to incentivize businesses to hire people with disabilities.
She shared that her experiences related to her husband dying of cancer and becoming a single mother partly inspired her to run for Congress. “You can’t fight cancer on a budget.” She argued that threats to Medicaid, Medicare, and the broader social safety net harm not just people experiencing poverty but also the middle class. “In this county, where over 43% get Medicaid or Medicare, if that is slashed by any percentage, your hospital, your physician …will deeply be affected.”
Urging collective action across political lines, she said, “This is all of our fight. When you’re carrying your sign at Lake Merritt, it matters. We need a durable movement that is consistent, that moves us now, not just in ’26… We have to believe in the durability of the Constitution…It’ll be a fight. But legislatively and from a litigation standpoint, the movement you all are creating, it’s too big for them to stand.”
She wants to impeach the president but said, “We cannot impeach because we need 218 votes. We only have 213 members of the Democratic Party in the House. Our work, then, is to get those other five.” At this, the audience erupted in applause.
Simon reaffirmed her commitment to representing Alameda’s conscience and collaborating on the issues “keeping us up at night,” naming immigration, education, and protecting the social safety net.
Mia Bonta’s remarks
Assemblymember Mia Bonta praised Simon for her leadership, emphasizing her sacrifice as a single mother relocating to Washington, D.C., to “save our democracy.”
Bonta focused on immigration, highlighting dangers faced by undocumented people and anyone perceived as an immigrant. She blamed rising threats on the GOP, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk, stating: “We need to be afraid of being disappeared.”
She said she was proud of the state legislature moving quickly to ready itself for anticipated lawsuits related to federal overreach. She proudly noted that her husband, State Attorney General Rob Bonta, is working on his “16th case against the federal government.” Congresswoman Simon interjected that her office worked closely with Attorney General Bonta on his lawsuit challenging the president’s tariffs.
Assemblymember Bonta noted that California is allocating $25 million for immigrant legal services, focusing on protecting vulnerable communities from detention, deportation, and family separation. She added that the California Legislative Latino Caucus is advancing bills to protect sensitive spaces like hospitals, schools, and churches from ICE raids. Bonta said she was also moving forward with legislation to ensure that unaccompanied minors, many as young as six months, receive legal representation in civil proceedings.
On the state budget, Bonta warned that California faces a $10-20 billion shortfall and would need to be careful of not “cutting into our bone.” She emphasized the vital role of district offices in helping constituents navigate bureaucratic hurdles involving EDD, DMV, housing, and civil rights concerns. She celebrated the achievements of her constituent services team, saying they have answered thousands of calls, resolved numerous cases, and recovered benefits for residents.
She underscored the importance of community reporting regarding federal intrusions in sensitive spaces. She encouraged continued collaboration against federal cuts to climate initiatives, safety nets, and education programs like Head Start.
Questions and answers
The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session. During the Q&A, Congresswoman Simon addressed multiple topics, emphasizing the deterioration of U.S. democracy, attacks on the social safety net, and community resilience.
She described watching Republican House members being “literally called by Donald Trump into (his) office” to vote against their constituents’ interests.” She warned that the atmosphere in Washington has grown “sinister.” Simon called for more accountability for federal officials violating constitutional rights, including “holding them in contempt and incarcerating” those who disappear individuals without due process.
On Social Security and Medicare, Simon expressed grave concern: “You deserve your money. It should not be touched.” She highlighted how federal workforce cuts have made it harder for seniors and disabled individuals to access their benefits and called these actions “an American problem,” not a partisan one.
Addressing a question from eighth-grade students from Lincoln Middle School about how to pass a law, Simon encouraged their civic engagement, saying they would draft some legislation together: “I would love to hear what the bill is about.” Their teacher responded that the students were concerned about the pink tax. Simon praised young people’s idealism, saying their untainted belief in justice could guide crucial legislative work.
On tariffs, she condemned the Trump administration’s chaotic economic policies: “The President is crippling the global economy by playing folks for fools.”
Simon warned that American democracy is in “intensive care” but not yet terminal: “We can get it back because it is all that we know and all that we have.” She emphasized that ordinary people’s vigilance and activism are essential to defending democracy, especially for vulnerable groups.
Finally, she acknowledged that Democrats must strengthen their communications infrastructure to counteract the “chaos” strategy deployed by political opponents and to keep the public better informed and mobilized.
Audience reaction
The audience was largely ebullient, and cheers or applause frequently interrupted the Congresswoman’s remarks. Not everyone was supportive, though. As a crowd gathered around her after the presentation, two residents engaged in a brief shouting argument over transgender rights, for which Simon had expressed general support by remarking that she is “holding the line for queer kids and transgender folks.”
Still, most expressed positive sentiments. One resident said, “I needed that. I’ve been so distraught by everything that’s happening and rage-posting on Facebook. She gives me hope.”
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
