Candidate Spotlight: Julia Hurtado

All year long, we’re introducing you to our most creative and dedicated 2020 candidates in our new Candidate Spotlight!

Meet Julia Hurtado, running for Cobb County School Board of Education Post 5 in Georgia! Dr. Hurtado is running for School Board to ensure that every student has access to quality education. After learning about the barriers to equity and transparency, Dr. Hurtado decided to step up and run for something.

Hi Julia! Tell us, what inspired you to run for office?
Where I live, things are changing, but the same people have held office for years (sometimes decades) despite our changing demographic. I’ve seen so much of my community embrace these changes and rally behind our differences. When our congressional district flipped in 2018, I knew we had no excuse to keep electing the same people who are representing our community less and less every day. The only thing missing was for someone to step up and challenge them.

Right now there is quite a bit of uncertainty around COVID-19 and the poor response from our federal officials. What responsibility do state and local officials have to their constituents?
Problem solving demands evidence-based responses. Especially in Georgia, our decisions have been made irresponsibly late, which will likely cost lives. Our school board’s decisions affect lives, too, and I’ve seen several motions to research a problem fail because our leaders would rather not know more about a problem. We’re doing our community a disservice by not trying to understand as much about a problem as possible before acting.

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected your campaign and your community? What have you been doing in your community as a candidate?
My campaign has been completely remote since mid-March in order to protect our voters and volunteers. Our community has been rallying around our schools to support distance learning and provide support for disenfranchised kids who need access to technology and food during this time. As a healthcare provider, I’ve unfortunately been unable to assist with these community projects in order to protect my patients, who all belong to a vulnerable population. It’s been humbling to see the outpouring of support for myself and my fellow healthcare workers, and it’s lifted my spirit knowing how supportive our community has been of our schools.

What issue is most pressing in your community and how do you plan on remedying it?
The most pressing issue in our community is inequity. Our students have unequal opportunities to succeed, whether it’s due to what language they speak at home, their race, or how they learn. Our special education services need a complete overhaul, we need better access to counseling, and we need a diversity and inclusion task force to create equitable policy that yields more equal outcomes.

What’s surprised you the most about being a candidate?
As someone who has always paid close attention to local and global issues, I was shocked to find how many of our voters didn’t know what school district they were in or who represented them. Representation shouldn’t be something only the very involved have access to; everyone should have access to leadership to ensure conversation and collaborative problem solving.

As you’ve been meeting with voters in your community, what is something new that you learned?
Our district is very diverse, both culturally and economically. But regardless of our differences, one concern I keep hearing from all voters is how much transparency matters to them. I’ve heard countless stories about unsatisfying quick fixes without much explanation into why these decisions were made. I know how important it is for parents, teachers, students, and board members to work together and communicate, but I’m learning just how important that is to everyone else, too.

If you could change one thing in politics today what would it be?
I wish the concept of “politics” wasn’t so stigmatized. I think a lot of folks are taught “not to discuss politics,” but trying to solve problems that affect our daily lives shouldn’t be taboo. There’s nothing political about ensuring that our students have opportunities to succeed and that our teachers have the resources to achieve academic success. When I’m elected to our Board of Education, I plan to prove that these conversations can be more productive than difficult.

What song keeps you energized while canvassing?
In our current climate of pandemic, I’m unfortunately not canvassing as I’d planned. I like listening to lo-fi, dubstep kind of instrumentals while I’m phone banking so I can attend to the voter while they’re on the other line. When I’m blowing off steam between leading a campaign and working in healthcare, I’m usually running to my runDisney playlist on Spotify (which I’ll make public for you because, if I may brag for a moment, it’s amazing).

What is one takeaway you’d like to leave your constituents with?
As a neurologic physical therapist, it’s my job to solve problems and advocate for my patients. We don’t have an advocate in this office right now. I will make sure that every student, educator, and school employee has what they need to succeed, and I’ll make sure you’re part of that conversation.

Candidate Info
Website: www.juliaforcobb.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/juliaforcobb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/juliaforcobb
Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliaforcobb