Lucas,
My parents represent the American Dream in action. From humble beginnings as immigrants to this country, they worked hard, saved, built a middle class life, sent their kids to college, and even had the chance to meet the President of the United States.
They’ve also become the subject of increased media curiosity because – as you may have heard – I’m considering a run to represent the great state of California. And while I haven’t made a decision yet, my entire family will play an important role when I finally decide.
With that in mind, I want to share with you some excerpts from a story published in the Sacramento Bee about my parents and our life in Sacramento. Read the whole story here and feel free to share!
Thank you for all of your support!
Xavier
Family, future mingle as Becerra eyes Senate run
Manuel Becerra, 86, worked at the Sacramento railyard and in construction, and has the gnarled hands to prove it. He built the family home on 20th Avenue on the east side of Freeport Boulevard, where he and Maria Becerra, 81, raised their four children. …
“My father said that when you build something, you need to start with a strong foundation,” the congressman said on a speaker phone as he contemplates giving up a safe congressional seat for a chancy run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated in 2016 by Barbara Boxer. …
His father would come home dusty and sweaty from a day’s work. The parents would tell the kids that they needed to go to school, unless they wanted to toil in the heat like the old man. Not knowing much about Stanford, he filled out an application, and got in on the strength of grades and test scores. …
He saw The Farm for the first time when he and his mother drove up in the Riviera for the start of classes in 1976. It was, he realized, a long way from where he grew up. He went on to Stanford Law School, paying for it all with financial aid, work and loans. He met his wife, Carolina Reyes, at Stanford. She went on to Harvard Medical School. …
In the 40 years since leaving home, Xavier Becerra has learned to move easily in the halls of power. It’s a long way from the family home his father built at 20th Avenue and 21st Street, but not so far that he forgets to call home now and then.