Tustin’s rising political star: Harvard man Brandon Martinez has big ideas about voter reform

Brandon Martinez is 19 going on 35, which makes him — maturity-wise, anyway — old enough to run for president. And don’t be surprised if he does someday.
Over summer break from college, when many of his peers were lounging around in shorts and flipflops, the Harvard man donned a business suit to stump for his cause at Tustin City Council and school board meetings.
Tustin native and Harvard man Brandon Martinez, 19-year-old founder of Voters Choose, encouraged customers to register to vote at a Baskin Robbins event Jan. 13. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Martinez)Brandon Martinez in front of Tustin City Hall in Tustin on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Martinez is Tustin native and Harvard student who for the past year has been going before city councils to argue for a new voting system he calls Voter’s Choose. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)Brandon Martinez in front of Tustin City Hall in Tustin on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Martinez is Tustin native and Harvard student who for the past year has been going before city councils to argue for a new voting system he calls Voter’s Choose. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)Show Caption of Expand
A month after the 2016 presidential election, Martinez founded nonprofit Voters Choose — advocating for election reform that would allow voters to rate multiple candidates on a ballot rather than just check names.
“I saw the divisiveness of the election, a period of time when Americans viewed the other side as the enemy,” he said. “I wondered how we could get candidates to speak to everyone — not just to their extreme bases.”
Martinez wants to start in his own backyard, implementing Voters Choose in Tustin’s elections and then going statewide. Eventually, he hopes to tackle the electoral college, saying it discourages presidential candidates from answering to all Americans.
“Brandon is passionate about his interests and goals, both inside the classroom and in his outside activities,” said Daniel Smith, who teaches government at Harvard — where Voters Choose has about 10 active members.
Back in his hometown for the winter holidays, Martinez continued to stoke his cause with a voter registration drive mid-January at the Tustin Baskin-Robbins — where he also handed out information about Voters Choose.
He proposes that on a slate of six city council candidates to fill three seats, for instance, voters should be able to rank up to five selections. This way, ostensibly, the person who garners the most “twos” might move up from fourth place to third.
“Candidates would have to appeal to more than a fraction of voters,” Martinez said. “You would see more moderation and more coalition building.”
Not surprisingly, Martinez is a born upstanding citizen, earning top honors throughout his Catholic school education. At Servite High, he was elected the school’s equivalent of student body president his senior year.
From middle school up, he performed in dozens of campus plays — an experience that gave him his voice.
“It transformed me,” Martinez said. “I still feel nervous sometimes, but now I’m much more comfortable with public speaking — especially when I’m passionate about the topic.”
As a boy, Martinez needed the boost of confidence that acting provided. When he was 9, his father abandoned his family — leaving his mother, Lorena Martinez, to care for three children on her own.
“I was lost and unsure of myself, but I had to be strong for my two younger siblings,” Martinez said. “Theater gave me grounding and a sense of community.”
An immigrant from El Salvador, his mother constantly emphasized the importance of education. “It was her gateway to a better life,” he said.
After finishing up at Harvard, the government major plans to attend law school. “I am interested in economic justice,” he said. “My Catholic faith drives me toward public service.”
And then what? U.S. House? U.S. Senate?
“Maybe,” he said. “But I would want to start in a community I know really well, such as Tustin or Boston.”
Harvard professor Smith said Martinez, wherever he may land, would serve his constituents well.
“Tustin and the rest of California’s 45th congressional district would be fortunate to have him as a representative,” Smith said. “He is one of the most hard-working, sincere and thoughtful students I have had the pleasure to teach at Harvard. I’m sure he’ll go on to do great things.”
Source: Oc Register