An Immigrant and Political Refugee

Cristina Osmena immigrated to the United States from the Philippines at the age of six when her family opposed, then fled, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. She grew up in California, exiled until the People Power revolution of 1986 that brought President Corazon Aquino to power.

Osmena built an independent life in the United States, put herself through UC Berkeley and settled into a 20 year career in the financial industry at investment banks and investment management firms. Osmena was in New York, working as an equity analyst, when the World Trade Center was attacked.

More recently Osmena has transitioned to an executive role in the solar industry. In 2017, she was Vice President of Corporate Development of SunPreme, a privately-held solar module manufacturer based in Sunnyvale before leaving to focus on her candidacy. Prior to SunPreme, Osmena was involved with foundation activities at SunEdision, at it’s peak one of the largest developers of renewable energy projects.

Osmena is married to Stephen O’Rourke, co-founder of a firm that develops large scale renewable energy power plants. O’Rourke is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a veteran of the first Gulf War, stationed as an officer on the U.S.S Simon Bolivar, a ballistic missile submarine. Osmena is the great grand-daughter of Philippine President Sergio Osmena (1944-1946) who walked ashore with General MacArthur during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Through her mother, she is a member of the “Grand Barretto Family” that extends through Spain, Mexico, and the Philippines.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from UC Berkeley and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. A writer by training and inclination, Osmena has published several short fiction pieces in addition to a wide range of published non-fiction. She currently writes a weekly column for the Philippine News and recently joined the Board of the Philippine American Press Club.

 

 

Fiscal Conservative

The federal debt has doubled in each of the last administrations and continues to climb in the current one (although not at the same pace) to over $20 T. This irresponsibility has been masked by worldwide demand for the dollar…which will not last forever. The 116th Congress should work towards mitigating the debt growth and identify a path to a balanced budget.

 

Priorities

• Address the cost of living crisis in the Bay Area.
• Make permanent the individual tax cuts recently passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
• Provide law-abiding Dreamers a path to legal residency in concert with funding that would secure our borders.
• Combat human trafficking and smuggling with laws that enable victims to reach authorities and tougher penalties for perpetrators.

 

Classical Liberal

Fiscal Responsibility and empathy are not mutually exclusive. A society needs to care for its disadvantaged and speak for the silenced. I am an advocate and a contributor to the diversity of our district. The environment must be protected. Finally, the fight for women’s equality is not over until a woman is sitting in the Oval Office.