California’s San Mateo County is home to large working-class and immigrant communities. It’s also home to mega-billionaires and massive biotech corporations. For too long, argues State Assembly candidate James Coleman, the county and state political systems have exclusively met the needs of affluent residents, supported by the big-money contributions these residents can provide. Meanwhile, the working class struggles to make ends meet: there are six times as many jobs in the county as there are homes, too many workers make minimum wage, and residents are still feeling the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elected to South San Francisco City Council in 2020, James is running for State Assembly on a platform that includes the construction of social housing, a Green New Deal for California, and addressing the state’s economic inequality through a wealth tax. Jacobin’s Piper Winkler sat down with James to discuss how the liberal status quo is failing Californians, what his democratic socialist agenda has to offer voters in the face of housing and climate crises, and why a leftist sea change is on its way to California politics.