“I feel I make a difference,” says Jason Dominguez. “I love being on the City Council. I’m able to help people solve deep, distressing problems.”
He’s also the founder and director of the New Civic Forum, which provides youth leadership programs and free advanced health care directives. “I wanted to create a nonprofit that didn’t have any conflicts with my city post,” says Jason. “We did a community needs analysis and found that advance health care directives and youth leadership were needed in the city.”
Though Jason and I frequently cross paths, I’ve never had the chance to get to know him. We finally get quality time over breakfast at Joe’s Cafe at 7:30 a.m. He tells me a story about his Mexican grandfather, who worked at a printing press. The publisher printed articles criticizing the government. “The president's thugs tried to kill the publisher and tied up my grandfather, who managed to escape to Texas,” he explains. “That may be part of the reason I’m so outspoken. That's the root of my anti-tyrannical character.”