Jozef Maldonado knows what it means to fight for your family. The son of a Mexican immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother, Jozef grew up in a working-class household where making ends meet was a daily reality — not a talking point.

His father immigrated from Mexico City at sixteen and spent decades selling cars to provide for his family. His mother worked her way up from a dental office receptionist to office manager through sheer determination. Together, they raised four kids on the values of hard work, faith, and perseverance.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, the Maldonado family was devastated. His father's income plummeted, and the family went from the grocery store to the dollar store for basics — rice, beans, and donated clothes. Jozef ate free breakfast and lunch at school while his parents fought to keep a roof over their heads. They faced bankruptcy to save the family home. He still remembers his mother's words late one night: "We can't lose the house. We have to make it work." That struggle shaped everything that followed.

Jozef graduated from high school and enrolled in community college that same summer, working two jobs — as a cook and in a chemistry lab — to earn his way to a four-year university. His mother told him plainly: "You're our only hope to get out of poverty."

He delivered. Jozef transferred to UC Davis, where he earned his degree in Chemistry with an emphasis in Forensic Science. At Davis, he found his voice as an advocate, organizing around the opioid crisis that had ravaged his own family, economic inequality, and the fight for a more just society.

After graduating, Jozef chose to build his life in Fullerton. But the city he moved to was hurting — storefronts shuttered by COVID, neighborhoods struggling to recover. Rather than stand on the sidelines, he enrolled in public administration courses at Fullerton College and sought out ways to serve.

In 2024, Jozef was appointed to the Fullerton Parks and Recreation Commission, rising to Chair in 2025. He helped deliver the long-awaited Emery Park Playground to families who had waited twenty years for a safe green space. He championed the opening of Union Pacific Trail and Union Pacific Park — victories born from decades of organizing by South Fullerton mothers who refused to accept their neighborhood deserved less. And when conflict arose over a proposed pickleball court conversion, Jozef brought both sides to the table, turning tension into trust through genuine listening.

Jozef is a scientist, a community leader, and a proud son of immigrants who understands what Fullerton's working families face — because he has lived it. He and his fiancé Ryan are building their future right here in Fullerton, where they will be married this November at Hunt Library.

Jozef Maldonado is running for City Council because he believes every neighbor in District 5 deserves to be heard — and every family deserves a representative who will fight for them.