Joe Lisuzzo

Joe Lisuzzo was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge in 1999 and a master’s degree from UCLA in 2001. His career experience includes working as a business owner and operator.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Joe Lisuzzo is:

A Husband, Father and Los Angeles Businessman

Graduate of UCLA, (MFA) and California State University, (BA)

30 Year Owner of "AL Gelato" Restaurant & Ice Cream Co. On Robertson in West LA

Joe was born into a large family of 9 brothers and sisters and knows what it's like for a family to work hard to survive. Three of Joe's siblings were born with special needs. His little brother Benjamin contracted Leukemia, a blood cancer, at age 4, while his older sister Gina was born with neurological brain damage and his older brother Tony without the ability to hear or talk. Hence, from childhood on, Joe learned the meaning of the word struggle but also the meaning of the words: love, help and compassion.

Joe's mother Clare had 9 children to feed and loved cooking for them! Being one of the first children in his family to attend college, Joe eventually helped his parents open their restaurant in Los Angeles called "Al Gelato" where he and his brothers and sisters worked together, 7 days per week. Over the course of 32 years in business, Joe learned about serving the public. He also learned about manufacturing, packaging food products, hiring hundreds of people, training staff members, doing payroll and watching a business grow through dedicated "teamwork." Most importantly, Joe learned from his family and years in business to "never give up," no matter how difficult the challenge.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Small Business - We must Immediately Revitalize & Safely re-open our Small Businesses. They are the lifeblood of our city and state, making CA the 5th largest economy in the world. Business flight must end now. Delays are perilous to L.A's physical, financial & psychological well-being.Homelessness - This Humanitarian Crisis must be handled compassionately, logistically and Immediately. Homelessness has risen to a staggering 70,000 in LA County. Even sadder, over 1,000 in this community tragically die on our streets yearly despite voters allocating $1.2 Billion.Family -The family is the nucleus of society. We must remain inclusive to support the well-being of all families in our diverse community, especially those who have children with special needs. Many families require additional help coping with physical and/or emotional challenges.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Joe is all about Service to the Community. After decades of successfully serving the community in private business, Joe now wants to bring his skillset to serve the community in public office. Serving the public should be exactly that: Serving Others. As a public servant, Joe plans to transcend politics and solely focus on working with all his colleagues in the state Senate to fix L.A.'s and California issues that affect, your Business, Taxes, your Family, your Environment including Streets and the Homeless crises. Joe promises to be "Your Employee" and work for You; not the other way around.

Joe believes we must never give up on our city or "Golden State" despite its many challenges. Rather than run from our challenges, Joe wants to stay in L.A. and help correct its issues. His wife, their sons, and their wives all live and work here and Joe looks forward to raising his grandchildren here too. Americans can fix anything if we work as a team. L.A. is filled with great people but we need to vote in order to make real change happen. Joe hopes that you will trust in his past decades of business experience to allow him to continue to "Serve You" and to help fix Los Angeles and make California a better place for All to live and work.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My greatest qualities are that I am a hard worker, I am honest and I am a problem solver who cares about others. I am running to serve the people not to serve politics. I am all about service, having been part of the food service industry in Los Angeles for 30 years . After decades of successfully serving the community in private business, I plan to bring my skillset to serve the community in public office. Serving the public should be exactly that: Serving Others. As a public servant, my goal is to transcend politics and solely focus on working with all my colleagues in the California senate to fix L.A.'s and California issues. I plan to be "Your Employee" and work for You; not the other way around.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

In my opinion, the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office is to serve the people! The best way to do so is to listen to the people. Hear their immediate needs and help to resolve their problems. Serving the public should be exactly that: Serving Others. As a public servant, I want to transcend politics and solely focus on working with ALL colleagues in the state senate to fix L.A.'s and California issues that affect jobs, taxes, family and our environment.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I recall from childhood was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was in grade school and approximately 6 years at the time when I heard about this horrific event. The 1960's went on to become a very tumultuous decade for all American children and adults for we also witnessed: the vicious assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, in addition to almost 60,000 troops who died in Viet Nam.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, I do not believe that it's necessarily beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics. Having been a business owner and operator for 3 decades, I have literally seen people enter positions with no experience, flourish and improve an organization. A talented individual often can bring new and innovative skills and fresh ideas into an organization. In fact, it is often best for an organization, private or public, to bring in an outsider with a free and new perspective to observe and change problems within its system. This is my goal, to serve the people and improve our government.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

I believe the state of California's greatest problems over the next decade will be to remain fiscally viable and responsible. Our government must run itself like a business and be able to balance budgets. California also has to enable small and large businesses to flourish, to be their friend in order for businesses to remain and provide the citizens of California employment and opportunity get ahead. People and businesses are leaving California in droves. This must stop, or California's economy will collapse and our cities will erode.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would be honored to sit on any committee and bring my best to helping to improve them. But my greatest concerns for my district located in the heart of Los Angeles Business, Professions and Economic Development, Human Services, Military and Veterans Services, Budget and Fiscal Review and Education.