California State Assembly candidate Al Muratsuchi speaks to Mira Costa’s Young Democrats Club

By Bari Cohn

Staff Writer

California State Assembly candidate Al Muratsuchi  spoke to members of the Young Democrats Club during P.M. Office Hours on April 20 about his experience running for a position and his political views and opinions on certain issues such as the oil leak in Torrance and the implementation of Common Core in schools.

Muratsuchi is running for the 66th Assembly District on June 7 which include many cities in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and he mainly focuses on jobs, education, public safety, the environment and veterans. He is a former Torrance School Board member and South Bay Assemblymember, and during his talk he spoke to students mainly about his experience with running for office.

“We reached out to Muratsuchi and asked him if he would be willing to speak at our club,” Young Democrats Club Co-President senior Priya Chatwani said. “We thought that him coming to talk to us would be a perfect opportunity for us as a club to become more involved in his campaign.”

During the talk, students were able to ask Muratsuchi questions regarding the community and politics. Chatwani said that by asking questions, she was able to ask Muratsuchi about his views on topics regarding the community and political questions as well.  

“While we all talk about big politics in a crazy election year like this, Al was a good reminder that anybody can take part in politics,” Young Democrats Club Treasurer junior Andrew Costley said. “He brought up that the majority of elections with high voter turnout result in Democratic Party wins; therefore, getting people out to vote is alone enough to sway an election.”

Muratsuchi was the first speaker the club has had this year, although they are trying to have someone else come talk to the club members before the year ends, possibly Manhattan Beach City Councilmember Amy Howorth. Muratsuchi offered students the chance to gain experience by volunteering to help promote his campaign, including running phone banks and going door to door to support Muratsuchi for his candidacy.

“I think having speakers is important because we can talk as much as we want, but getting a speaker that can actually tell you what you can do to make a difference it is a great opportunity,” Chatwani said. “Hearing his experiences gave us perspective and it gave us a sense of what a possible career path would look like if we decided we wanted to pursue politics.”