Pamela Campos said she remembers being in middle school the first time she marched with her family for immigrant rights — an experience that set her on a path toward advocating for families in her community where housing and child care are top issues.
A policy and program officer, Campos, 30, is running for the open San Jose City Council seat in District 2 against retired Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy Joe Lopez, with Councilmember Sergio Jimenez terming out at the end of the year. Campos and Lopez were the top vote getters in the March primaries. The district stretches from the border of Morgan Hill and up to a portion of South San Jose, ending at Sylvandale Avenue.
After graduating high school Campos began her career as a preschool teacher, entering the world of working-class educators. She soon found herself struggling with low pay and lack of growth. Though she thought earning a bachelor’s degree in child and adolescent development from San Jose State University would increase her chances for a higher paying position, she discovered school teachers were generally paid the same modest salaries even with college degrees.
“I felt that I was climbing the career ladder in early childhood care and education. But once I had my bachelor’s degree at a time I was earning maybe $16 an hour — I had asked for a raise, (and) was told the most I could make was $17 an hour at that school,” Campos told San José Spotlight.
Campos said the more she inquired about potential school employment, the more she realized teachers were being underpaid and in need of greater advocacy.
She has been involved in advocacy work and community organizing since her university days. Campos said she also took a greater interest in immigrant rights while attending SJSU, including the meaning behind the ever-present butterfly symbol championed by many activists.
“The butterfly is a symbol of migration being a beautiful part of human nature. And the same way that people marvel at the beauty of Monarch butterflies migrating across North America, we need to also recognize that people migrating is part of human nature,” Campos told San José Spotlight. “Right now, we’ve seen things that should not be happening, and so I want to make sure that people who feel like they live in the shadows know that they have a strong champion in me, that I see them, that I want to help be a voice for them.”
Campos continued her career in education before joining the community nonprofit Low Income Investment Fund to work on policy and programming.
She told San José Spotlight outside the Vista Park Community Center in South San Jose she chose to run for District 2 seat because she wants to create more opportunities not just for educators, but also for increased child care and housing. Campos said having access to early childhood education and child care is proven to keep workers satisfied and successful at their jobs.
To fund her vision, she said San Jose can reallocate developer impact fees to fund new child care facilities and a new child care coordinator position at the city to oversee new and existing child care facilities.
“We need child care to sustain current workforce and employment levels, but we also need it so that we’re preparing future generations for the workforce,” Campos said. “So we’re doing our community a huge benefit by recognizing that every level of government has a role to play in making sure that our children and our families have the resources and services and support that they need to thrive.”
Campos has been endorsed by Councilmembers Domingo Candelas, David Cohen, Dev Davis, Sergio Jimenez, Peter Ortiz and Omar Torres, as well as Santa Clara County Supervisors Cindy Chavez, Susan Ellenberg and Otto Lee.
“Pamela is the best candidate for District 2,” Jimenez told San José Spotlight. “She’s smart, committed, authentic, hardworking and passionate about public service. After 20-plus years, it’s time District 2 elect a woman.”
Helping families and children is just part of Campos’ platform. She said one of the most important aspects of representing District 2 is giving neighborhoods with and without formal associations the opportunity to have a dialogue with City Hall on key issues such as housing and development.
“We really should be thinking about how to find opportunities to build housing and build the community around it through things like farmers markets, art festivals, murals, community gardening and more,” she said.
Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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