Gil Cisneros
Gil Cisneros | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 39th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Ed Royce |
Personal details | |
Born | Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. February 12, 1971 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (2008–present) |
Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2008) |
Spouse | Jacki |
Children | 2 |
Education | George Washington University (BA) Regis University (MBA) Brown University (MA) |
Website | House website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Rank | ![]() |
Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (born February 12, 1971)[1] is an American philanthropist, veteran, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 39th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the House in 2018.[2] In 2010 he and his wife won a $266 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot.[3]
Early life and education
Cisneros's mother worked in a cafeteria, while his father served in the Vietnam War and suffered from exposure to Agent Orange.[3] Cisneros served in the United States Navy as a supply officer for 11 years.[4] He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from George Washington University (GWU) and his Master of Business Administration from Regis University.[5] He worked as a shipping and manufacturing manager for Frito-Lay, until he was laid off in 2010.[6]
Philanthropic career
Weeks after he was laid off, Cisneros won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million.[6] He and his wife became philanthropists, establishing endowments for scholarships to be given to Latino students at GWU and the University of Southern California. They also founded Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of ensuring every Latino household in Pico Rivera has at least one college graduate, and the Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation with an initial investment of $20 million to provide mentorship in education.[5][7][8] After setting up the foundation, Cisneros earned a Master of Arts from Brown University in Urban Education Policy.[3][4]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018 general election
Cisneros was a Republican until 2008, but left the party because he felt it had become "too ideological" and switched to the Democratic Party.[9]
In 2017, he declared his candidacy against Ed Royce in the 2018 election for the United States House of Representatives to represent California's 39th congressional district.[7][10] He specifically cited Royce's vote to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as a reason he chose to run.[9] In January 2018, Royce announced he would retire rather than seek reelection to a 14th term.[11] Later, the election attracted national attention as the "weirdest race in the country" after the California Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee brokered a truce on negative campaigning between Cisneros and Andy Thorburn, who had each spent $6 million on their respective campaigns.[12]
Fears of a lockout by either party were not realized when Cisneros advanced to the November runoff election, finishing second in the June primary election to Republican former Assemblywoman Young Kim,[13] with 19.35% of the vote.[14] This election was rated a "Toss-up" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball.[15] The Associated Press called the election for Cisneros on November 17.[16]
Tenure
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Taiwan Caucus
- New Democrat Coalition
Electoral history
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Young Kim | 30,019 | 21.2 | |
Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 27,469 | 19.4 | |
Republican | Phil Liberatore | 20,257 | 14.3 | |
Democratic | Andy Thorburn | 12,990 | 9.2 | |
Republican | Shawn Nelson | 9,750 | 6.9 | |
Republican | Bob Huff | 8,699 | 6.2 | |
Democratic | Sam Jammal | 7,613 | 5.4 | |
Democratic | Mai-Khanh Tran | 7,430 | 5.3 | |
Democratic | Herbert H. Lee | 5,988 | 4.2 | |
Republican | Steven C. Vargas | 4,144 | 2.9 | |
Democratic | Suzi Park Leggett | 2,058 | 1.5 | |
Republican | John J. Cullum | 1,747 | 1.2 | |
No party preference | Karen Lee Schatzle | 903 | 0.6 | |
No party preference | Steve Cox | 856 | 0.6 | |
Republican | Andrew Sarega | 823 | 0.6 | |
American Independent | Sophia J. Alexander | 523 | 0.4 | |
American Independent | Ted Alemayhu | 176 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 141,445 | 100.0 | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 126,002 | 51.6 | |
Republican | Young Kim | 118,391 | 48.4 | |
Total votes | 229,860 | 100.0 |
Personal life
Cisneros and his wife, Jacki, have two children, who are twins.[4] They own a home in Pico Rivera,[17] and lived in Newport Beach until they moved to Yorba Linda in late 2017, the year he began running for election.[7] Before Cisneros won the lottery, Jacki worked for KNBC in Los Angeles.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "CISNEROS, Gil - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress.
- ^ "Democrat Cisneros wins OC's 39th district". November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Former Navy Vet, Lottery Winner Joins Race To Unseat GOP Congressman « CBS Los Angeles". Losangeles.cbslocal.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Republicans-turned-Democrats challenging O.C. GOP Congress members". Orange County Register. July 19, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b L.S. Hall (June 24, 2015). "Lucky and Focused: A Lottery Winner Uses His Millions to Boost Hispanic Students — Inside Philanthropy". Insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c "TV news employee in LA has $266M winning ticket". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c Christine Mai-Duc. "Navy veteran/lottery winner to challenge Orange County Rep. Ed Royce for Congress". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ David Callahan. "The Big Money Behind a New College Fund for Immigrant "DREAMers" — Inside Philanthropy". Insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "Lottery Winner to Challenge Royce in California". Rollcall.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ Wildermuth, John. "Lottery millionaire wins again: National Democrats help him in Orange County race". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Rep. Ed Royce of California to retire, the 8th GOP chairman to bow out ahead of midterms". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "'This is the weirdest race in the country'". POLITICO. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ Robertson, Derek (June 6, 2018). "'This is basically a home run for Democrats'". Politico. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Gil Cisneros". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "California's 39th Congressional District election, 2018 - Ballotpedia". Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "Dem Gil Cisneros scores win in open-seat race in California". TheHill. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "She won $266 million; chatted on 'Oprah'". Orange County Register. May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Brown University alumni
- California Democrats
- California Republicans
- Candidates in the 2018 United States elections
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- Lottery winners
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
- People from Yorba Linda, California
- Regis University alumni
- United States Navy officers