Nine San Diego veterans on Friday met with Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Josh Fryday to talk about what issues matter most to them.
The topics are the same most voters say are important — the cost of living, education and health care.
Fryday currently serves in Gov. Gavin Newsom's cabinet as chief service officer. He said as lieutenant governor he'd be in position to impact those important issues.
"Lieutenant governor is the only person who sits on all three boards of higher education — the UC Regents, the CSU system and the community college system," Fryday said. "The lieutenant governor is also the only person who sits on the Coastal Commission, the Ocean Protection Council and the State Lands Commission."
Fryday was a Navy judge advocate general, or JAG — a military attorney. He said he wants to encourage more people in the state to serve their communities.
Marine veteran Jonathan Liu volunteers with #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that assists Afghans looking to resettle in the United States. He said he sees his service to Afghans as an extension of his service as an infantry officer in Afghanistan.
"I think that it's just a continuation of upholding the Constitution," Liu, who was part of the roundtable, said. "Especially for those more vulnerable than us."
He said he'd like to see more veterans get involved in the community.
"I do believe as veterans, we have a certain degree of credibility and social capital that crosses any type of partisan divide," Liu said. "As millennials, we tend not to wear that as identity maybe compared to other generations. But what I've learned is by leveraging that background, you bring a level of credibility to the table that others may not have."
High Tech High School teacher Elyce Jenkins served in the Marine Corps Reserve. She said this was her first time at an event like this with a candidate.
"I think this is a really cool opportunity for me to sit down with a potentially an elected official and have him hear me, hear my voice, and I feel like I'm kind of leading from the front in that way," Jenkins said. "But also, I want students to recognize that they have the power to do that as well."
Jenkins said mostly she just wants government's budgets to reflect what people say their values are.
"I don't know of a single teacher in California where, on their income alone, they could afford to live on their own," she said. "I think it's especially problematic that we have (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ICE agents coming, roaming the streets and taking people off the streets that are getting paid more than the teachers that are instilling students with an idea of freedom and democracy and what our constitutional rights look like."
Fryday is competing in a crowded Democratic field that includes State Treasurer Fiona Ma and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. The leading Republican was also recently a Democrat.
Republican Gloria Romera spent more than a decade in the state legislature before switching parties in 2024.
