Meet: Laura Rodriguez-Carbone
The daughter of a migrant farm worker from Puerto Rico who came here as part of the U.S. Farm Labor Program, Laura Rodriguez-Carbone is ready to take on new challenges in Lakewood, Ohio. Laura is currently a member of the Federal COVID Response team and a community leader. In this role, she’s dedicated to ensuring that no matter who you are, you have all the information and resources about the vaccine and other COVID related topics— prioritizing hard to reach communities. She oversees 10 states in the midwest and has seen firsthand how COVID has negatively impacted small businesses. When Laura first ran for office, the city of Lakewood had closed many of their public health facilities, including a major hospital. She seeks to invest in the health department to ensure everyone has access to all the health resources they need, especially in the midst of a deadly global pandemic.
Despite growing communities of color, no person of color has served on Lakewood’s City Council since its founding in 1889. These communities lack representation and leadership roles, and Rodriguez-Carbone understands their unique perspectives and challenges. “Whether you’re one of many new Americans in Lakewood from Africa or South America, or you’re a generational family of color in Lakewood” she shares, “Representation matters. And I want to ensure all of Lakewood is represented.”
One of her most prominent campaign photos features Laura in front of a prominent Frida Kahlo mural on the side of a taco restaurant in Lakewood. Kahlo’s work is central to Latinx culture but has often been appropriated or exploited by western culture. In the mural Frida has been whitewashed and was originally missing her iconic unibrow. Laura’s community stood up and demanded better. Laura shares that she has personally experienced racism in her hometown and aims to change the narrative about what race really means in Lakewood.
Central to that belief is expanding access to affordable housing in the Lakewood community. She seeks to do more outreach in the community and include new folks in the process of community building that may have been previously left out of critical conversations. She understands that people of color in the community especially, may not fully be aware of all that is going on or feel as if their voices matter. For Laura, creating space that centers the true needs of her community means bringing awareness to the myriad perspectives and experiences of all people living in Lakewood.
Learn more about Laura’s encouraging story by joining us for a livestream conversation on Monday, September 6th at 6 pm on Facebook!
This candidate storytelling project is a collaborative campaign of Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund and LEAD Ohio working to uplift the voices of women of color around the state working to better their communities through electoral pathways .Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund and LEAD Ohio are nonpartisan 501c4 nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS. This storytelling project is an effort to uplift women candidates running across the state of Ohio regardless of political affiliation. We reserve the right to interview or not interview applicants based on their alignment with our policy platform and organizational values. Interviews and blog posts are not representative of an organizational endorsement. If you are interested in sharing your story, please submit this form.