What This Former Congressional Candidate Learned From Running for Office

Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla’s path to running for Congress as a Democratic candidate was not a linear one. Born in Chicago to a Peruvian mother and Pakistani father, she was raised in the predominantly white, suburban neighborhood of Park Ridge. Growing up, Motiwalla embraced the conservative social and political values of her family’s evangelical Christian faith, even as she questioned her sexual orientation. But when she matriculated to the staunchly conservative Wheaton College, Motiwalla began to challenge her beliefs, and eventually spent over a decade as a Los Angeles-based field organizer and fundraiser with the organization Peace Action.

Her experiences led her to launch a congressional campaign for California’s 34th District last fall. She ran against incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez to represent a wide swath of Central, East, and Northeast Los Angeles. In March 2020, Motiwalla placed third in the primary race, but despite the loss she has continued to be an active player in California politics. She now serves as Peace Action’s deputy director of development and is also on the leadership team of Activist San Diego, a community action organization facilitating networking and intersectional collaboration among progressive activists in San Diego.

Motiwalla talked to the FBomb about her path to deciding to run for Congress, the process of rethinking her beliefs in college, and what she wants people to know about running for office.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you describe how you formed your political identity?

Part of the shift in my political thinking started at Wheaton. I became one of maybe 20 Democrats [on campus], and … sophomore and junior poli-sci folks were defacing Clinton stuff I put up [during the 1996 Clinton-Dole race]. Then I became one of the ‘rebel’ kids and broke Wheaton’s pledge not to drink at the local bar right outside town. I realized maybe I wasn’t an evangelical Christian.

About 10 years ago, some [alumni] organized after learning that a speaker the college had brought in lectured on how gay people wanted to have test tube babies to abuse them. [In response,] we wrote an open letter, and distributed copies on campus after chapel. This group eventually became OneWheaton. That group was one of my first independent forays into organizing. I personally helped come up with the name and then other Christian colleges [adopted] that concept. Now there’s OneGeorgeFox, OneCalvin … that felt pretty good.

OneWheaton still exists and [is] thriving. There are people involved who are very Christian and have a [progressive] mindset. I have come to appreciate social justice Christians and social justice faiths; I’m seeing there’s so much opportunity to do collaborative organizing, coalition building. Wheaton made me the liberal that I am today.

How did you get involved in activism professionally?

When I moved to New York [after college], there was a period of complete political apathy … I didn’t pay attention to politics at all. February 15, 2003, was [my] lowest point of apathy. My date from the night before — my first ever Valentine’s Day date — was getting ready for a protest [against the Iraq war] and I tried to get her to stay, have brunch, and she told me, ‘No, I’m going to go protest.’ And I was saying, ‘Oh, what’s that gonna do? It’s not gonna change anything.’ When she left, I wrote in my journal, realizing my own apathy and getting sad.

During that period ... I started slowly coming back to my own power. I ended up creating something called CTW, Change The World. Just this random social project, pulling friends from different parts of my life, just having people meet and talk.

[Later, I] moved to LA, almost on a whim ... My ex-wife saw a job on Craigslist for street canvassing for Peace Action, and I thought, ‘Hmm that could be interesting.’ I started talking to folks outside grocery stores and did really well, made staff in two months; then they asked me to lead street canvassing. I did that for seven years. Even as [a] director, most days I was out canvassing with my team. I had maybe one day a week with office hours. I realized the value for me is not the compensation, but the work.

Why did you decide to run for political office?

Back when I was street canvassing, I was told a lot, ‘You should be running for office.’ And that used to frustrate me, because I thought of myself as an organizer, not a politician. I had voted for [Rep. Jimmy Gomez] in the 2017 special election, and I was excited about him. Then last year, I was in D.C. on a lobbying visit to his office. In researching for my trip, I saw he wasn’t involved in a lot of progressive bills and that he had co-sponsored an anti-Boycott Divest Sanctions bill [HR 246].

I was talking with a friend about how someone needs to challenge Jimmy, and she said I should run. She gave a 10-minute talk about how I’m the kind of person who needs to be in office, a ‘This Is Why You’re Awesome’ speech that was planted in my brain.

A lot of people asked me, “Why not run for something smaller, something local like state assembly?” The reason I was running was not to become an elected official, a career politician. It was to run a pressure campaign. I felt he couldn’t get away with not being challenged.

What was it like to run?

Once you’re a candidate, people just treat you different, this weird sense of respect and credibility. It’s kind of cool. My favorite part was going out in the community, meeting people, having conversations with neighbors. A big part was volunteer recruitment, to knock on doors; I approached supporters and volunteers for other Democratic races, particularly Bernie events. I [also had] a digital approach — a big email survey to introduce myself to the community and neighbors. That was good for feedback; I heard a lot about how homelessness was the big issue facing Los Angeles.

I spent most days, all day, doing admin things and raising money to be able to afford the staff and software that I was told was the way to run a campaign. If you hire staff too early, you’re basically paying them to sit around and watch you raise money. If I could do it again, I’d just focus on fundraising by me and maybe a call-time assistant. When you are running a full-fledged campaign, it is like running a small business. You’re figuring out marketing, payroll, communications — all these different parts. It’s incredibly stressful for the candidate.

What are skills people should have or be aware of before they start running for office?

While I do think anyone can run, go in with your eyes open. There is a lot to learn — endorsements, trying to influence the party, there’s so much. Reach out to people who’ve done this before who will give you the real answers of what needs to be done. There are groups that do candidate training, including online.

Do you see yourself running for office again?

I’m not completely ruling it out, but not anytime soon. I’m so glad I did it. Everyone who wants to run should do it; you develop all these relationships and it changes you — if you do it right.

Right before the campaign, I amicably split with my partner of 12 1/2 years. My whole community dissipated. That was really hard; the process was lonely. I had family from afar who were very supportive and supporters who really showed up, but I lacked the core [inner circle] that’s really needed. When running, you really need a team of ride-or-dies, who are there every day and want it as bad as you do.

Even though I didn’t win, Jimmy [Gomez] realizes he’s now going up against other progressives and it forced him to follow through on a progressive agenda. When he voted against the National Defense Authorization Act, which would have helped fund Space Force, Peace Action’s executive director texted me: ‘Congratulations. I think you did that.’ I see the whole thing as a positive, as a win.

What’s next for you?

I see my role now as supporting other candidates; candidate recruitment is something I am focusing on. One of the personal projects I’m contemplating is called The Former Candidates Club, providing a weekly support group to vent and offer advice to those who are newly running. I’m now connected to other former candidates [including] people who’ve won. They are all asking, ‘How do we make it easier for other people?’

So often, we wind up with candidates who are less than optimal, or no candidates for certain offices. People said I was crazy to run against Jimmy Gomez. ‘Jimmy’s popular, already pretty progressive.’ But I knew that there were people who didn’t like Jimmy, and I proved it, because 48% of voters did not choose Jimmy in the primary. Personally, I think even if we like a politician, we should still challenge them. The primary process fosters debate and discussion; they are supposed to be a process of evolution, of conversation, not to get complacent.