Joseph C. Rocha and his dog, Daytwa (Photo: Supplied)
The recently released campaign video of a congressional candidate in California looks back at his beginnings and career. This includes being forced out of the house for being gay and then being kicked out of the Navy for the same reason.
Joseph C. Rocha, 35, of Escondido, is running as the Democratic challenger for California’s 50th Congressional District in 2022. He released his first campaign video on Monday.
I’m running to Congress against @DarrellIssa.
I was fired from the Navy for being gay and fought to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I know what it means to be a patriot.
Issa voted against the 1/6 commission. It is not patriotism.
Join us: https://t.co/ZY7kwebX1J pic.twitter.com/DBVQ2VX0Oc
– Joseph C Rocha (@Joseph_C_Rocha) August 2, 2021
In the ad, Rocha remembers her childhood. Her mother struggled with addiction. When she was arrested he went to live, aged about seven, with his father in Riverside.
“Ten years later, I went out. And had to move.
On his eighteenth birthday, in 2004, Rocha joined the US Navy and served as a dog handler. However, three years later, in 2007, he was kicked out of the Navy because of his sexuality. He recently tweeted a photo of the letter he was due to sign indicating he was gay.
As we prepare to celebrate @SanDiegoPride and @escondido_pride reflecting on how I had to choose between my honor and my dream of attending @NavalAcademy. If I am elected, I will be a champion of opportunity and against discrimination in all its forms. pic.twitter.com/0qtf9Gn0u7
– Joseph C Rocha (@Joseph_C_Rocha) July 13, 2021
When he left the navy, Rocha publicly spoke out against “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. He also swore that if openly gay people were allowed to serve, he would re-enlist. In the meantime, he went to university and then to law school.
He eventually joined the Army, becoming a Marine Corps. Captain and prosecutor in 2014.
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Rocha is now running in Congress against sitting Congressman Darrell Issa (R).
“I’m running for Congress because so many of the challenges that people in this district and across the country face are personal to me,” Rocha said in a statement to Queerty. “I understand what people are going through. We are still recovering and too many people are still struggling.
“We need to bring good paying jobs back to this neighborhood – jobs that pay the bills and allow people time to eat dinner with their families and put their children to bed at night. We also need to invest properly in infrastructure – not just roads and bridges, but also to combat the water crisis and the weak electricity grid here in California.
“As climate change brings hotter, drier summers, these are increasingly becoming life and death issues for many of our neighbors, especially the elderly. “
Issa was elected in 2020. This particular seat of Congress, which covers the suburbs north and east of San Diego, is in one of the most conservative areas of California, and Republicans have occupied it since 2002. Issa won it in 2020 with 54% of the vote.
Rocha, whose grandparents moved from Mexico to California in the 1960s, says Issa’s opinions and actions are part of what inspired him to run.
“I think the catalyst was the January 6 insurgency,” he recently told The Escondido Times-Advocate.
As of January, Rocha was still in uniform as a captain of the Marine Corps. “I saw Issa vote against the certification of the election.”
He also noted that Issa, a former representative to a congressman, voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, something so personal to Rocha and his career.
“Issa is one of Washington’s most controversial politicians. He broke his promise to stand up for Southern California by voting against the relief bill that includes a much needed expansion of the child tax credit, which will help cut child poverty in half and benefit more. of 150,000 children here in this district. And he broke his oath to the Constitution when he voted against the certification of free and fair election results.
Issa also voted against the 1/6 commission: “It’s not patriotism,” Rocha said.
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