News and Videos

Official Campaign Video

Godfrey Santos Plata - California State Assembly, District 53

Godfrey Santos Plata is a RENTER | IMMIGRANT | EDUCATOR | DEMOCRAT running for the California State Assembly in District 53 (Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon). He would be the first person in the history of the California State Assembly to be LGBTQ and immigrant; the first Filipino ever to represent the greater Los Angeles area; and if elected, perhaps the only renter in the entire California State Assembly, at a time when rent, homelessness, and affordable housing are the top issues in the state.

Voting has begun!

ELECTION DAY: November 3, 2020

Several Fil-Am candidates seek public office across the country

October 28, 2020
 – 
Klarize Medenilla

In the vein of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Plata’s grassroots campaign envisions massive bureaucratic changes to the government that prioritizes at-risk, underserved communities.

Continue reading »

Who My Opponent Works For

October 10, 2020

Miguel Santiago, the incumbent, funds his campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars from private health insurance companies, police unions, and big corporations. #FollowTheMoney

Sunrise Movement LA - Godfrey Santos Plata

October 9, 2020

Missed Godfrey’s speech at Sunrise Movement Los Angeles's Rise LA event on October 9, 2020? Here it is in its full 3 minutes — a great introduction to why you should #GoWithGodfrey for California State Assembly's 53rd District.

Constituent Testimonial (in ASL): Justin Maurer

Constituent Testimonial: Sara (Downtown)

The LAnd Magazine

Phoenix Tso

"If elected, Plata would be the only renter in the Assembly — and a champion for low-income tenants."

Continue reading »

Constituent Testimonial: Tom (MacArthur Park)

2020 elections: L.A. County’s Assembly races at a glance

October 2, 2020
 – 
Josh Rosen

Godfrey Santos Plata is endorsed by community organizations fighting for economic and housing justice... He has pledged to not take any money from the police.... [W]ith endorsements from local organizations... and a clear policy agenda, he’s got a shot at a large group of voters looking to break with Democratic party norms.

Continue reading »

Constituent Testimonial: Abril (Koreatown)

Short: Send a Renter

Sign the petition today! (Follow the link below.)

Continue reading »

Constituent Testimonial: Patti

Healthcare For All endorses Fil-Am candidate

August 21, 2020

"Single-Payer Universal Health Care is both the policy solution and the financial solution to a costly, dangerous, dysfunctional system. Candidates like [Godfrey] winning the election on November 3 is the political solution," says Maureen Cruise RN, director of Health Care for All - Los Angeles.

Why they protest: Filipinos express support for Black Lives Matter, call for structural police reform

June 3, 2020
 – 
Klarize Medenilla

Godfrey Plata, former public school teacher and organizer and current California State Assembly candidate, also attended the protest and described the first half of it as peaceful and going forth as planned. “As more and more people joined in, it became more difficult to, you know, stay 6 feet apart, but people were really respectful and everyone I saw was wearing a mask,” Plata told the Asian Journal.

Continue reading »

National Guard deployed to Los Angeles County for the first time since 1992 riots

June 1, 2020
 – 
Steve Angeles

California assembly candidate Fil-Am Godfrey Plata took part in one of the area’s more peaceful protests. “There’s no way to get to social justice in this country without justice for black folks. If we can’t create systems of care or safety for black folks then none of our actual communities are gonna get care or safety.”

Continue reading »

Meet the progressive Filipino American CA Assembly candidate advocating for fair renting practices

Feb. 12, 2020
 – 
Klarize Medenilla

As a first-time grassroots candidate, Plata embodies the optimism of the progressive new class of leaders seeking to demographically and ideologically shift the Democratic Party.

Continue reading »

So Inspiring: Marikina-born Educator aspires to be a California Legislator

Jan. 28, 2020
 – 
SO Jannelle

Filipino-American Godfrey Plata is LGBTQIA and Asian. But he's not letting this double-minority status stop him from running for CA Legislature Seat. If elected, he will be the FIRST person in the California Assembly's 140-year history to be an out gay immigrant. And this journey will take him from his rented apartment in Koreatown, to CA Assembly, representing District 53.

So Inspiring: From Apartment to Assembly

Jan. 20, 2020
 – 
SO Jannelle

Filipino-American Godfrey Plata is LGBTQIA and Asian. But he's not letting this double-minority status stop him from running for CA Legislature Seat. If elected, he will be the FIRST person in the California Assembly's 140-year history to be an out gay immigrant. And this journey will take him from his rented apartment in Koreatown, to CA Assembly, representing District 53.

Openly gay Fil-Am teacher gunning for California Legislature seat

Dec. 5, 2019
 – 
Inquirer.net U.S. Bureau

LOS ANGELES — Educator Godfrey Santos Plata, wants to become the first openly gay immigrant elected to the California Legislature. An underdog, Plata is running against incumbent Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), who has held his 53rd Assembly District seat since first being elected in 2014. Santiago, the son of immigrants and the first in his family to graduate from college, won the endorsement of the state Democratic Party at its convention last month.

Continue reading »

Assembly races begin

Dec. 5, 2019
 – 
Barry Lank, The Eastsider

Godfrey Santos Plata is making a bid to become the first out immigrant elected to the California Legislature, according to the Bay Area Reporter. Santos is running for the state's 53rd Assembly District seat, which includes Boyle Heights and East Hollywood, as well as Koreatown, Downtown, Little Tokyo, MacArthur Park, and Pico Union. He's challenging Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), who has already secured the endorsement of the state Democratic Party.

Continue reading »

Political Notebook: Gay Filipino aims to be first out immigrant CA legislator

Dec. 4, 2019
 – 
Matthew Bajko, Bay Area Reporter

Educator Godfrey Santos Plata's family emigrated from the Philippines in the late 1980s to seek a better life in the U.S. and settled in Los Angeles County. Now Plata, who is gay, is seeking to become the first out immigrant elected to the California Legislature.

Continue reading »

Fil-Am Seeks Assembly District 53 Seat

Nov. 15, 2019
 – 
Abner Galino, Balitang America

35-year-old Godfrey Plata is looking to break the mold of politics. The Democrat is running as assemblyman for California’s large 53rd district, which represents nearly half a million people throughout Downtown LA, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, and parts of East Los Angeles.

Crushing the Myth: Rules and Consequences (English)

The Rules of the Game (Español)

The Rules of the Game (한국어)

The Rules of the Game (English)