Interview with Jerry Gonzalez, May 21, 2019

Collection: Two-Party Georgia Oral History Project

Dublin Core

Description

Jerry Gonzalez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M in 1995 and an MPA from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in 2005. He joined the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) as a legislative policy analyst in 2002 and became founding Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) in 2003. He is currently the CEO of GALEO. Gonzalez resides in Atlanta.

Gonzalez speaks about his childhood, education, and path to becoming a political activist in Georgia. He reflects on the origins of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) and its mission. Gonzalez discusses the current state of immigration policy and its impact of politics. He talks about GALEO’s work during past elections as well as the 2018 midterms, including voter registration. Gonzalez reflects on balancing his personal political views in a nonpartisan public role. The interview closes with Gonzalez looking ahead to the future of Georgia politics and GALEO’s evolving role.

Date

2019-05-21

Identifier

RBRL425TPGA-081

Coverage

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Files

Citation

Jerry Gonzalez and Katie Schank, “Interview with Jerry Gonzalez, May 21, 2019,” UGA Special Collections Libraries Oral Histories, accessed November 21, 2024, https://georgiaoralhistory.libs.uga.edu/RBRL425TPGA/RBRL425TPGA-081.