Capitol Spotlight: Lourdes Ayon, San Diego Gas & Electric

For Lourdes Ayon, lobbyist by day and a comedian by night, “the policy brain and the comedy brain are totally different.” She’s found a way to conquer both.

In 1984, Ayon’s family packed up their bags and headed to San Diego from their Tijuana home.  At 11, she found herself in a “culture clash.” She didn’t speak the language, she didn’t sport the same labels as her classmates and was teased for being different.

“There was a little bit of shame that came with it,” Ayon said. “Why am I not blonde? Why don’t I have blue eyes, and why don’t I have the language to be able to speak it in a way where people aren’t going to make fun of me?”

Her mother’s father was an American who moved to Tijuana, where he met Ayon’s grandmother. Ayon and her father were able to obtain citizenship through her mother, and she remembers frequent visits to the immigration office during her childhood as they were naturalized.

By the time she’d picked up English a year later, she’d also assumed her first unofficial job, translator for her parents. “If you’re an immigrant, your first job will always be as a translator,” she joked. That experience, she now sees, was early training for a career built on sustaining relationships.

The eldest of four, Ayon said she grew up with a strong sense of responsibility to her family. College wasn’t something they talked about. It wasn’t until her senior year of high school and her classmates began discussing their plans that she realized higher education was an option.

“There weren’t any, I don’t recall, seeing role models for me to think, ‘Oh, I’m going to be like this,’” she said. “I was still so connected to the family, where I had this role as the eldest, that I had to care for my siblings or care for the house.”

Undaunted, she enrolled at 17 at San Diego State University, where she found it a confusing and difficult experience. She transferred to Southwestern College and finally discovered the mentors she had never had before.

It was during this time in 1994 that Proposition 187 hit the ballot. California voters approved the measure that banned undocumented residents from public services and required state and local agencies to report “suspected” immigrants. The proposal was later struck down, but for Ayon, it was a turning point.

“That was the first time that I was like, politics sounds like something we need to be a part of as Latinos,” she said. “I remember thinking, I need to be at the table when these conversations are being had, so that someone can talk sense into whoever’s having these discussions.”

Attending college near home proved difficult, as her parents wanted her to begin a family. Unwilling to put school behind her, Ayon headed to UC Davis to complete her undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish. She toyed with becoming a forensic psychologist, but politics were calling.

Shortly after graduation in 1997, she visited legislators’ offices at the Capitol with her resume in hand with the help of a lobbyist friend. She landed a receptionist job for then-Assemblymember Denise Ducheny. Her easy communication style and warmth allowed her to bond with nearly everyone who walked through the door.

Among those who noticed was Maria Garcia Anguiano, who worked with Ayon during those early Capitol years and has remained a close friend. Now the senior director of government affairs at Fresenius Medical Care, Garcia Anguiano said they clicked right away.

“Lourdes has always been a people person, and so she’s always connected with the people first,” Garcia Anguiano said. “People are so attracted to Lourdes because of her energy.”

Ayon moved from clerical work into policy by taking a short break to work on then-Councilmember Nelle Soto’s campaign for the State Assembly. It was her first real introduction into the fast-paced world of politics. “I went in as a young, naive person. I walked out of there a grown woman,” she said.

After several years at the Capitol, Ayon left to help her father with his construction business. With the Great Recession in full force and taking its toll on the business, she returned to working in government relations around the San Diego area, including Director of State and Local Government Relations at UC San Diego.

In 2010, she joined then-Councilmember Ben Hueso’s campaign for state Assembly. When he was elected, she was back in the building as a legislative aide in his office.

“I’m very much a romantic when I think about politics and policy, in particular, about improving people’s lives, even though it’s hard to do,” Ayon said. “I loved the pride that comes each day walking into that white building.”

Ayon would go on to hold various roles, including communications director, select committee consultant and eventually chief of staff to former Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez. She says it was one of her favorite positions at the Capitol.

“I’m very much a romantic when I think about politics and policy, in particular, about improving people’s lives, even though it’s hard to do,” Ayon said. “I loved the pride that comes each day walking into that white building.”

Her approach, she said, was rooted in empathy. “Even when we worked on policy issues, Lourdes always found a way to say, ‘This budget cut is impacting this specific constituent or person,’” Garcia Anguiano said. “She put a human face to things.”

After nearly two decades in public service, Ayon’s life shifted again. A divorce after 20 years of marriage left her intent on creating stability for her daughter. Around that time, San Diego Gas & Electric offered her a job, and she’s been there now for eight years.

She said it was her supervisor, Kent Kauss, the regional vice president of external relations at SDG&E, who persuaded her to join the team. Her strength, she believes, lies in relationships.

“My job really is creating and maintaining, sustaining relationships, and that comes so naturally to me,” she said. “Whether you win or lose, the relationship piece is what matters.”

It was during this same period of personal upheaval that Ayon turned back to comedy. She had dabbled a decade earlier but abandoned it when life became too demanding.

She began performing at open mics, writing jokes drawn directly from her own experiences: immigration, motherhood, menopause and the contradictions of being a Latina professional in politics. “My comedy is little vivid snapshots of my life,” she said. “It’s messed up, and it’s also really funny.”

Friends say that even in the early days, her humor and candor set her apart. Leilani Aguinaldo, senior director of government relations at School Services of California and a long-time friend, remembers how funny Ayon was at her first set in 2011.

“She’s always been such a good communicator,” Aguinaldo said. “Whether we’re talking as friends, about life [or] about policy, there’s sincerity about her and that’s part of the connection.”

Since returning to the stage, Ayon has performed at clubs across the West Coast, including Mic Drop Comedy in San Diego, where she recently sold out an early show and nearly filled a second.

Now she manages both worlds with care. When the legislative session winds down, she can write more. During busy weeks, she focuses on work and saves her creative energy for the stage. It’s a balance she’s cultivated between the serious work of advocacy and the lightness of laughter.

“I work just as hard in politics as I do in comedy, and it is a really delicate balance,” she said. “It’s an amazing balance, it’s very much who I am.”