Joseph Rocha, a Democrat, Marine officer and lawyer, is running for the open seat in the 76th Assembly District, representing northern San Diego neighborhoods, Escondido and San Marcos.
To help inform voters, the San Diego Union-Tribune asked all the candidates a series of the same questions about their priorities, positions and campaigns. Their emailed answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate?
Throughout my life, I have repeatedly answered the call to serve. After growing up in poverty and experiencing homelessness in high school, I joined the Navy at 18 years old and quickly advanced through the ranks. Later, as a Marine captain and judge advocate, I served as the interim and deputy director of legal assistance serving 20,000 Marines, retirees and their families, and I earned the Commandant’s Award for Excellence. I then went on to serve as a military prosecutor, handling serious and violent crimes.
I know the struggles that many families across California face, because I’ve lived so many of them myself. Now, I’m running for Assembly to tackle the toughest challenges confronting our communities — including our housing and homelessness crises, gun violence and public safety, access to reproductive freedom and healthcare, the rising cost of living and threats to equality and justice for all.
What are the top 3 issues facing this district and California generally?
The top issues facing AD 76 are public safety, housing and homelessness and the rising cost of living. In the Assembly, I will make our neighborhoods safer by addressing the root causes of crime and enforcing common-sense gun safety laws. I’ll also fight to invest in emergency services — including hiring more firefighters, police officers and paramedics. And I’ll work to promote and invest in CARE courts to help get unhoused people experiencing mental health crises or substance use off our streets and into the care programs they need.
I also understand the need for better middle-class jobs, higher wages and more affordable housing and food. I came from nothing, working to support myself from high school through law school. In the Assembly, I will fight to create good-paying union jobs, support small businesses to grow our local economy and invest in higher education and job-training programs.
What are the first 3 things you would do in your first term in the Legislature?
One of my first priorities will be to improve and expand care for our veterans, specifically to meet mental healthcare and housing needs. Veterans like myself know how hard it is to access healthcare and other vital resources through the VA.
In the Assembly, I will fight to stop taxing military retirements and guarantee free college for veterans who risked their lives in service of our country — allowing them to pass their GI Bill benefits to their spouse or children. This will empower our veterans’ families, encourage veterans to put down roots in our communities following their service and grow our economy by helping increase homeownership and new small businesses.
I will work to close healthcare coverage gaps for qualifying veterans to gain access to ocular and dental care and fight to prioritize veteran and military spouse hiring across public agencies.
What would you do to curb climate change and its effects on California, including the fact that those effects are often borne disproportionately by communities of color?
Drought, wildfire and air quality are the most prevalent environmental dangers to north inland San Diego County. We need to invest in our firefighters, forest management, water retention systems and clean energy to prevent the worst effects of climate change. This will create jobs and boost our local economy while protecting residents. I’ll prioritize investments in frontline communities so we can work on solving the climate crisis while lifting up those who have been impacted the most — while ensuring we don’t leave any workers behind as we transition our economy away from fossil fuels.
Environmental justice initiatives should be a budget priority because they directly benefit communities and work to address issues that will take decades to solve. Pushing off crucial funding will exacerbate current problems and become exponentially more costly over time. California is a world climate action leader and should maintain budget commitments to reflect that.
What would you do to combat California’s housing, affordability and homelessness crises?
Housing insecurity is one of the biggest issues facing San Diego County. We must treat this issue like the epidemic that it is. The best way to address the housing crisis and the epidemic of homelessness is to make sure our neighbors don’t end up in a situation where they have to decide between paying for rent or groceries.
When I’m elected, I will support legislation to increase the availability of affordable housing and cut the red tape that gets in the way of smart housing solutions. I am proud to have the support of labor unions across San Diego County and stand with the workers who want to get to work building more homes in California and afford to live in the communities they serve.
Do you personally support Proposition 1? Why or why not?
I support Prop. 1 because it will tackle the homelessness crisis head-on with smart funding that gets people off the streets, provides mental health treatment and supports our unhoused veterans. Veterans’ issues are near and dear to me. That’s why support for our veterans will be one of my top priorities in the Assembly.
Do you support or oppose stricter gun laws and background checks? Which, and if you support them, to what extent?
As a law-abiding gun owner and Marine officer who lost my grandfather to gun violence, I understand the complex debate between public safety and our constitutional rights. I support enforcement of tough gun safety laws to keep our communities safe. This includes advocating for red flag laws, age restrictions, background checks on all gun sales and mandatory safe storage.
It is crucial to strike a balance between respecting our Second Amendment rights and implementing measures that can prevent senseless acts of violence. My personal connection to the issue drives my dedication to finding common-sense solutions to address gun violence and protect our communities.
Do you support or oppose asking voters to roll back elements of Proposition 47, by which they recategorized some nonviolent crimes as misdemeanors 10 years ago? Why or why not? Do you personally support or oppose making changes to Prop. 47?
As a former Marine prosecutor, I handled serious and violent crimes. My vast experience in fighting bad actors, delivering justice and legal excellence will help me fight for and deliver for our district as a lawmaker in Sacramento.
It’s important that we keep the most violent criminals off our streets, work to rehabilitate non-violent offenders and end the cycle of recidivism. We need to address the root causes of crime like poverty and lack of vital resources and work to help minor offenders become productive citizens, while also keeping our communities safe.
Californians will vote this year on whether to repeal Proposition 8, a 2008 same-sex marriage ban that has been unenforceable since the Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage but that remains on the books. Will you personally vote for or against repealing Prop. 8?
I will absolutely vote to repeal Prop. 8 and protect marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples. Doing so will remove harmful and hateful language from our state Constitution and send a message to all Californians that their love is celebrated here.
It’s crucial to repeal this because extremists are currently attempting to undermine marriage equality. Justice Clarence Thomas has openly called for Obergefell v. Hodges — the ruling that legalized marriage equality nationwide — to be overturned, and we must take that seriously in our state and at the federal level.
