Written By Blue Telusma
This week voters in District 13 may find themselves confused while heading to the polls to vote for California State Assembly and according to insiders, that’s exactly what Asm.Carlos Villapudua (D–Stockton) wants.
Originally, he was expected to run for re-election while his wife Edith launched a campaign for Senate District 5 against Rhodesia Ransom, a staffer of Rep. Josh Harder (D–Turlock) who is endorsed by the California Democratic Party.
But in a twist taken right out of Netflix’s hit series, “House of Cards”, at the very last minute the husband and wife duo switched races. A move that caused many to inquire, “Was this his plan all along?”
And amongst those who believe it was, is Ransom, who spoke exclusively to Hollywood Unlocked on Monday evening, outlining why she fears the assemblyman always had his sights on the senate seat and was essentially using his wife as a “place holder” until he could ultimately use his considerable business connections to bully her out of the race.
A crafty plan comes to light
Ransom, who formerly served on the Planning Commission for the City of Tracy, says she first felt something was amiss when she looked at Edith Villapudua’s qualifications and found herself wondering why someone with virtually no experience would be running for senate while her much more qualified husband (uncharacteristically) stood on the sidelines
“I was running for the California State Senate and his wife was the opponent. And it was a clear to everyone that I was the most qualified opponent in that matchup. But it just never made sense that his wife was running. I was always felt that there was a possibility that he was going to try to jump in,” she explains.
And her hunch was proven correct the day before filing closed, when he made a last-minute change to his re-election plans, and switched races with his wife. Unfortunately for Villapudua though, his plan to blindside Ransom were thwarted when she decided to switch races as well.
“Everyone was aware that his wife was gonna have problems against me. So he decided to jump into the race and put her in his unopposed seat. So we were already prepared for that. As a business woman, you try to figure out what’s gonna happen and anticipate things.”
When asked why she didn’t stay in the senate race and fight off her new opponent, Ransom admits that she had to made the tough decision to choose serving her community over feeding her ego.
“We knew that when he jumped into the Senate race all of the corporations that stood with him in the state legislature were going to have to come in to support him, to keep him there,” she noted, which touches on why the assemblymember has now acquired the nickname “Corporate Carlos.”
“In order to represent the community, I needed to be in the state legislature. And so despite my personal aspirations the sensible strategy for me would be to pivot and go for the seat that he vacated in the state assembly. That way at least it wouldn’t be his wife running unopposed, forcing the community to have two people in cahoots – a husband and wife – represent us.”
“The community deserves a fair opportunity to have a real choice. Putting all that power in ONE household is a clear conflict of interest.”
Villapudua may have unwittingly backed up Ransom’s claims, when he himself admitted to the press that he equated his campaign to playing a game of chess.
The only problem with his analogy thought, is that in this scenario, his Queen is seemingly being treated like more of a pawn than a key player.
“He’s already speaking for her,” says Ransom. “She’s not responding and he’s already answering for her. He’s essentially using her to take over the entire state legislature.”
To her point, on February 28th a PPSA Candidate Forum set to take place the next day was canceled in part because Mrs Villapudua couldn’t be bothered to attend the event.
Some spectators may find it amusing how unexpectedly scandalous this primary has proven to be. But Ransom, who has two decades of experience as a non-profit co-founder, planning commissioner and congressional district director – thinks the Villapuduas plot could be incredibly detrimental to the community.
“They are clearly aiming to build a dynasty in the (Central Valley) so that they could get both seats for their family and put corporations ahead of people,” she explains. “And that is dangerous because the issues that this community needs to solve are not a game. Playing ‘chess’ for personal gain when we – across the state of California – are losing families to the cost of living, because they can’t afford to live here anymore is selfish.”
“When you need to go to your legislator for something, or maybe you have some kind of disagreement with your legislator, do you now not get served because there’s a husband and wife that literally are gatekeeping for the community?” she continues. “Not only is that dangerous, it’s also NOT how true democracy works.”
She also points out the not so subtle ways that racial dog whistle terms have been weaponized against her by her opponent’s family to scare local businesses out of seeing her as a viable candidate.
“I’m not just a black woman, I am a business woman with decades of experience that my opponent doesn’t have. I have a history of working in business,” she asserts. “But folks in Sacramento have informed me that they are now being told I’m ‘radical’ and that they shouldn’t collaborate with me. That term – much like aggressive and angry – directed at a woman of color, has clear implications.”
“And the irony of that false narrative is that unlike Edith I’ve already been tested in the community. Simply watching your husband be a politician doesn’t make you qualified to be one yourself. And it’s insulting to all of us who actually put in the work and care deeply about helping this community.”
An alleged history of corruption
As if the allegations of a plot to monopolize the state legislature wasn’t enough, Villapudua has also recently come under fire due to claims that he helped cover up a sexual assault committed by a member of his family.
According to local publication 209 Times, one of his female relatives alleges that his little brother City Councilmember Brando Villapudua molested her when she was a child on multiple occasions from the time she was in kindergarten up until right before she started 2nd grade.
To add insult to injury the alleged victim claims Assemblymember Villapudua – who she is also related to – not only knew of his brother’s abuse he also actively assisted in covering up the crime. She goes on to explain that while he was the San Joaquin County Supervisor he used his position of power to interject himself in the investigation and ensure that his younger sibling would not be brought to justice.
“I believe the people of Stockton should know that the Villapudua family is a family who supports child pedophiles. Brando Villapudua sexually molested me when I was a child. Unfortunately, due to statute of limitations, I was unable to get justice,” the young woman shared in an email to the publication.
“I did however, report of the crime to the police in Lodi California, and there was an investigation. When the Lodi detectives contacted Brando, he had his brother, Carlos Villapudua, speak on his behalf and Brando denied the request to take a lie detector test. The detective took the statement at Carlos’ Mexican restaurant that he once had”
And in the event that anyone questioned her claims, she went on to explain that there was a paper trail corroborating her allegations.
“I have the police report and will gladly share it with you. I don’t understand how someone like Brando, who didn’t even get his high school diploma, convicted of multiple felonies including theft (which was his nephew’s grandmother on nephew mother side), DUI’s and who knows what else was swept under the rug like my case. I firmly believe that he shouldn’t hold the position that he currently does now nor should he be around any children…”
And this isn’t the first time Villapudua was accused of using covering up sexual misconduct.
In 2014, it was reported that two female employees filed a lawsuit against San Joaquin County, alleging that their colleague Edward “Chris” Mata made unwanted sexual advances and comments towards them “on nearly a daily basis.”
But when Mata was confronted by other employees for creating a hostile work environment, they claim he boasted that he was “untouchable,” because he had influential friends in county government, including his “close” friend Carlos Villapudua – who was a member of the county Board of Supervisors at the time.
The disturbing nature of all these claims, and the tactics that he’s proudly displayed during this current election cycle, only feed into the mounting speculation that Assemblymember Villapudua has penchant for supporting sexual deviants and using his corporate connections to put unqualified members of his family in positions of power.
“I have no ill feelings toward Edith Villapudua,” Ransom clarified during our sit down with her. “But she’s clearly being used as a Trojan horse to further her husband’s political aspirations. Having both of your legislative seats in one household doesn’t serve the community, it only serves that family.”
Blue Telusma is a columnist whose viral think pieces have been featured on CNN, HuffPost, Buzzfeed, USA Today, BET, and several other national news outlets. She served as a senior writer at theGrio for almost a decade and her work mainly focuses on dissecting pop culture, promoting emotional intelligence, and fostering activism through the arts.