Hilda L. Solis: “I too wish to associate my words with our colleagues from California and honor the great legend, Congressman Ed Roybal.…”

“I too wish to associate my words with our colleagues from California and honor the great legend, Congressman Ed Roybal. I had the privilege of knowing of his work. I worked with his daughter also when she was a member of the assembly. Ed Roybal in the tradition of Hispanic politics really led the way for so many of us by creating an activism and participation that cannot be compared anywhere. He started NALEO, National Association of Latino Elected Officials, and also was very much an advocate on health care. One of his major comprehensive health care centers is in East Los Angeles, and it stands there as a tribute to the work that he did tirelessly for the people in poverty, for the elderly, for seniors and helped establish the school of gerontology at USC and UCLA. He has been a wonderful individual role model for many of us, fighting discrimination. He fought against Dodger Stadium in East L.A. in Chavez Ravine when developers wanted to displace low-income Mexican Americans back in that era. He is someone who will be strongly remembered by many of us. I know that his daughter serves very proudly representing his district, and I know that legacy will continue on. He is someone who fought for immigrants when it was not popular, was someone who fought for civil rights, for education and for equal treatment and also for AIDS education and awareness.…”