​​Meet Ammar Campa-Najjar

As a third-generation Chula Vistan, I am running for Mayor because I want to give back to the community that gave me opportunities to succeed. The community that raised me and opened up the doors to the White House, US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, US Department of Labor and my career in public service.

I was born in East County, and like many working-class families, we moved around in search of an affordable place to call home. After my father moved to Gaza when I was 5, my abuelito Campa took us in and let us stay with him. After he died, my grandmother sold the home. We moved to Eastlake, where I attended and graduated from Eastlake High and attended Southwestern College.

Growing up with a single parent, I had to work at a very young age as the groundskeeper and a janitor at my church, Eastlake Church to help my mom make ends meet.  It was my faith in my mom and my community that really inspired me to go to SDSU, finish my degree and commit my life to service. It’s because of my Chula Vista community that I became a community organizer, first as a fellow then as the regional field director for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in San Diego. The campaign started at the Starbucks in San Miguel Ranch, Chula Vista. And at the Eastlake Bonita Democratic Club.

‍From my first job at a church ministry to community organizing for a presidential campaign, serving in the White House, advocating for small businesses at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., supporting underserved veterans,fighting for the American worker at the U.S. Department of Labor, I have devoted my life to service.

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I owe who I am to the people and places that invested in me, from West Chula Chula Vista to the West Bank, from Eastlake to East County. The love and support I’ve received from these communities and commitment I have in my heart to them knows no bounds and is too real to be partitioned by artificial borders.  

Chula Vista has always been there for my family, that’s why I’ll always be there for Chula Vista. As Mayor, I hope to give back and make sure the next Ammar has it easier, and that every person who calls this city home can live, work, play and retire with dignity and security.

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