I didn’t run for office because I had political ambitions. I ran because my son RJ doesn’t have a voice. He has cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia. He cannot walk. He cannot speak. He cannot eat without a feeding tube. Every moment of his life requires full-time care and attention. And every day, my wife Christine and I do everything we can to give him a life filled with love, dignity, and safety.
We didn’t ask to become caregivers, but we stepped into that role with our whole hearts because that’s what love demands. What we didn’t expect was how hard the system would make it.
One moment changed everything. Christine had spent months working with our insurance company, trying to get RJ a new bath chair — something simple, something necessary. After endless paperwork and calls, they finally got back to her. They said we’d been approved — not for a bath chair, but for a commode.
Christine paused, stunned, and asked the question that still rings in my ears: “Have you ever taken a bath on a toilet? Then why would you expect my son to do that?”
That was the moment. The final straw. We realized how broken the system truly was and how little it listened to or understood families like ours. And I knew I couldn’t wait for someone else to fix it. That’s why I ran for the State Assembly.
Today, I serve the people of California’s 36th Assembly District. But I’m still RJ’s dad. I’m still Christine’s husband. I’m still a caregiver. That’s why Governor Newsom’s proposed cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) hit so close to home.
Let me be clear: IHSS isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline. It’s the only reason I and so many families are able to keep our loved ones at home, where they belong. And it’s often the only thing keeping caregivers from physical and emotional collapse.
Governor Newsom’s proposal to cut hundreds of millions from IHSS, including reducing overtime care hours, isn’t just a budget issue. It’s a threat to our family and thousands more.
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That’s not who we are. That’s not the California I believe in.
I went to Sacramento to be a voice for RJ and for the disability community that’s too often overlooked and unheard. And today, I’m using that voice to say: Not to our families. Not to our loved ones.
Behind every number in that budget is a human life. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s protect IHSS. Let’s protect the people who depend on it most.
I promise to keep fighting for them with everything I have. Because our most vulnerable deserve more than a number on a budget sheet. They deserve dignity. They deserve care. They deserve a voice.
Jeff Gonzalez represents California’s 36th Assembly District.
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