Michael Ruiz

Michael Ruiz was born in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University in 2016 and a graduate degree from the Quantic School of Business & Technology in 2019. Ruiz earned a second graduate degree from the Tufts University School of Engineering in 2020. His career experience includes working as an engineer and project development manager. Ruiz’s organizational affiliations include the Democratic Socialists of America of Boston.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Michael Ruiz. I was born into a union working class family in California. My father worked as a security guard for LA county, and my mother worked for the State of CA her whole life (SEIU). I dropped out of H.S. in order to work/support myself and my family financially before I turned 18 and for several years after. After the 2008 financial crash, I took jobs in retail, manufacturing, academia, manufacturing. Many times I took on these simultaneously to put a roof over my head.

I should never have been able to run for office. College was not an option as a young adult. Eventually, through grit and persistence, I worked my way through college with jobs in overnight manufacturing, hospitality, dishwashing and research all the while attending class during the day.

My father was a hardworking Mexican immigrant, and en Español (Spanish), "La llamada" is "The Call". I've heard the call. I decided to run for Congress because I believe that working class issues should be at the forefront of policy and decisions. Our elected representative has used their position to enrich himself and his D.C. friends while shirking his duties as our representative. We deserve better. WE DESERVE A REAL REPRESENTATIVE.

I AM AN ENGINEER, A SCIENTIST, AN UNCLE, A FRIEND, A SURVIVOR.

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?

As a Bioengineer, I know from first hand experience how these life-saving biotechnology products are developed and commercialized from concept to finished product.Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly support universal healthcare. It is so popular among our communities that both chambers of our State House have passed an act to establish it. We need to fight for it at the federal level and advocate for healthcare for all.The Federal Government has a duty to respect the sovereignty of indigenous land and ensure the economic and educational prosperity of indigenous people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Massachusetts has consistently ranked worst among states for transportation infrastructure. Last year, I watched in horror as the Red Line derailed, busses and trains caught fire with people in them (including myself!) and entire communities were destabilized because our vital public transit system failed. The transportation infrastructure of the T is decades past the expiration date. Our roads are crumbling and unsafe for vehicle travel. We need to change this by investing in our transportation infrastructure for our communities.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

The person that I look up to first and foremost is my high school history teacher Mr. Maple from Woodrow Wilson Senior High in Los Angeles California. He is probably no longer with us, but he was wonderful. My teacher, Mr. Maple saw past the struggles that I was going through as a young adult, he saw past the authority issues I struggled with, and he saw past the substance abuse issues I struggled with at the time. He worked really hard to teach me and instill a sense of personal responsibility that I carry with me to this day.

The other person that I look up to is Professor Ron June at Montana State University. Ron inspired me to expand my mind beyond what I thought I was capable of. When I first met Dr. June, I was a scientist in training and I was seeking his guidance to understand the fundamental question of what it means to be human. I look up to Ron because he provided me a good framework to ask the question of what it means to be human but also the statistical and analytical tools to decide what is uniquely human in the framework in which I wish to have that conversation

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 can think of that is related to politics is when the state tried to craft an initiative to reroute an expressway through my neighborhood as a kid. As I mentioned, I grew up in California, in a low-income neighborhood.

I was about 11 years old at the time. Neighbors in in my district organized and fought back against the initiative. Our neighbors fought for years and tried to stop the advancement of a freeway through our neighborhoods because of the lower income communities, the communities that did not have access to the larger transit networks, and the communities of color that would've disproportionately suffered from putting a freeway through our community!

That freeway has not been constructed to this day and the city is signaling that they are intending to give up on the project after 20 years of opposition. I will never forget my first event of community organizing and the impact that people power has on shaping public opinion, public discourse, and public sentiment about our roads in our transportation infrastructure

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was in a big box retail store that no longer exists (Mervyn's). I folded clothes and unloaded trucks for a year and a half. I took every opportunity to earn overtime by asking to work overnight shifts which included unloading trucks, placing new merchandise, and adjusting pricing storewide.

Quickly after that I moved into manufacturing at 99 cents stores, where I worked 14 hour days driving forklifts and hauling pallets of merchandise from trucks into warehouses into designated product areas for product distribution and vice versa. I learned how to operate just about every machine that I could possibly learn to expedite the process of moving products onto pallets and back on to warehouse trucks for shipment. From there, I organized every member of my team that was predominantly Spanish-speaking to create a unified strategy of unloading, storing, and re-distribution of products in the warehouse.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The United States House of Representatives is our most representative body of the peoples sentiment about public policy and I do believe it should reflect that.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do not believe that it is extremely important for new members or representatives to have previous experience in government or politics as there are systems in place which will teach outsiders to adapt.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

I can only speak for the Massachusetts eighth congressional district as I am seeking to represent that district: Massachusetts has consistently ranked worst among states for transportation infrastructure. Last year, I watched in horror as the Red Line derailed, busses and trains caught fire with people in them (including myself!) and entire communities were destabilized because our vital public transit system failed. The transportation infrastructure of the T is decades past the expiration date. Our roads are crumbling and unsafe for vehicle travel. We need to change this by investing in our transportation infrastructure for our communities.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I believe that representatives should have a maximum of 4 terms in office and that they should resign after that time has expired to allow new representation.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

I believe that we need to abolish or provide exemptions for the Pay-GO rule in the United States House of Representatives. If we are able to achieve such exemptions, we will be able to provide for new programs, new grants, new projects in which we are able to deliver for our communities that we represent.

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