Sebastian Gomez-Inez

    

Sebastian Gomez-Inez
Gomez-Inez's official portrait as Lieutenant Governor (2020)
Lieutenant Governor of Laguna
In office February 5th, 2020 – January 27, 2023
Governor	Tyson Morales
Preceded by	George Mueller
Succeeded by	Robert Williams
Leader of the Laguna Social Democrats
In office December 11, 2019 – January 27, 2023
Preceded by	Joe Randall
Succeeded by	Robert Williams
Member of the Laguna General Assembly for the 19th district
In office November 4th, 2016 – February 5th, 2020
Preceded by	Betty Winfred
Succeeded by	Angelina Garcia
Personal details
Born	(1988-01-30) January 30, 1988 Porciúncula, Gold Coast, Kingdom of Sierra
Nationality	Sierran
Political party	Green (2023–present)
Other political affiliations	Social Democrat (2007–2023)
Spouse(s)	Amanda Natal
Children	1
Residence	San Diego
Education	University of Sierra, Porciúncula

Sebastian Marcos Gomez-Inez (born January 30, 1988) is a Sierran political activist and political who served as Lieutenant Governor of Laguna between 2020 and 2023 and Leader of the Laguna Social Democrats between 2019 and 2023. Gomez-Inez previously served as a member of the Laguna General Assembly, representing inner San Diego. Gomez-Inez is the youngest Lieutenant Governor ever elected in Laguna. Gomez-Inez identifies as a social democrat and progressive.

Born and raised in Porciúncula, Gold Coast, Gomez-Inez would attend and eventually graduate from the University of Sierra, Porciúncula with a bachelor's degree in public affairs. Immediately after graduating, Gomez-Inez would move to San Diego, where he would start his political career. In the 2016 Laguner legislative elections, Gomez-Inez run for a seat in the Laguna General Assembly as a Social Democrat, unseating the incumbent Social Democrat and becoming one of the youngest members of the General Assembly in Laguner history. During his tenure as a assemblyman, Gomez-Inez quickly became one of the most prominent members of the chamber, gaining provincial and national headlines for his leadership skills and staunch opposition to compromise.

In late December 2019, Gomez-Inez was selected by the Laguna Social Democrats to serve as lieutenant governor under Tyson Morales following the 2020 Laguna general election, as per the two parties's electoral and legislative coalition. Despite being Morales's deputy and his de facto right hand man, Gomez-Inez has been very critical of the Governor and the Laguna Democratic-Republicans for their handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Laguna and the George Floyd protests. He has even suggested terminating the DRPS-SD coalition, however he would rescind these comments in early 2021 citing "major progress and significant improvement" in their working relationship and Morales agreeing to major policy concessions.

In November 2022, Gomez once again proposed having the Social Democrats abandon their coalition with the Democratic-Republicans following the falling out between both parties on the national level during the government crisis that occurred that year. The proposal was met with strong opposition and he faced an uphill battle gaining the support needed for the motion to pass, ultimately being dismissed as lieutenant governor by Morales on January 27, 2023 following a leadership election that was won by Robert Williams. Following his ousting from leadership, Gomez joined the Green Party in order to run for the Senate in in 2024 against incumbent senator Lisa Hudgens due to the Green Party contesting the election while the Social Democrats endorse Hudgens re-election bid. He announced his candidacy on May 16, 2023.

Early life

Sebastian Marcos Gomez-Inez was born on January 30, 1988 to Mario Gomez and Alicia Inez in Porciúncula, Gold Coast. Gomez-Inez is a first generation Sierran, with his father originating from Spain while his mother is from Mexico. Gomez-Inez is the youngest of six siblings, having two brothers and three sisters. Gomez-Inez would grow up in a lower middle class family, with his father working as a construction worker and his mother working as a stay-at-home mom. Gomez-Inez, along with the rest of his siblings, would attend public school, beginning their educational career at age 6. After graduating from elementary and middle school, Gomez-Inez would attend Alfred Schliefen High School, where he would begin to express his political views.

Gomez-Inez would be the co-founder of the his school's Social Democrat club and would also be the club's outreach advisor. Also during his high school career, Gomez-Inez would be apart of the school's soccer team, assuming the role of a goalie. Gomez-Inez would graduate from Alfred Schliefen High School in 2006. He would be the first person in his family to attend university, attending the University of Sierra, Porciúncula studying public affairs. He would graduate in 2011. After graduating from university, Gomez-Inez would move to San Diego to pursue a career in politics.

Political career

Assemblyman

Election

Gomez-Inez would official enter politics in early 2016, becoming the Social Democrats of Laguna's candidate for the 15th Laguner Assembly district. Gomez-Inez campaigned on a progressive and social democratic platform, calling for the creation of a statewide welfare system and progressive educational reform. Gomez-Inez would go onto defeat incumbent Royalist Betty Winfred, making provincial headlines.

Tenure

As a member of the Laguna General Assembly, Gomez-Inez would sponsor and write progressive legislation, with some of his bills becoming law. One of his most well known bills was Cannabis Legality Act, which would have de-criminalized marijuana and other recreational drugs to such an extent to where it was practically legalized. However, this bill would be defeated by a large majority of assemblymembers. Gomez-Inez has been noted to be the most active assemblyman in Laguner history, with him proposing over one hundred and thirty billls during his short tenure.

Lieutenant Governor

Election

In early January of 2020, in a private leadership meeting, the Laguna Social Democrats would nominate Gomez-Inez as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Laguna. AS per their coalition agreement, Gomez-Inez would run with [[[Laguna Democratic-Republican Party]] Leader and Mayor of Encinitas, Tyson Morales, who would be the gubernatorial candidate. The two would easily secure victory in the largely left-leaning province, winning around 2/3rds of the vote. Gomez-Inez would be inaugurated on February 5th, 2020, shortly before Morales.

Tenure

As Lieutenant Governor, Gomez-Inez has little to no power in the executive branch, but acts as the Governor's representative and speaker of the Laguna Senate. Since his inauguration as Lieutenant Governor, Gomez-Inez has openly criticized his superior on a numerous amount of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the preservation of Republican memorials. Gomez-Inez has also refused to represent the governor in many Senate meetings and has even attempted to skip over or block legislation proposed by the Senate Democratic-Republicans. Despite this, Gomez-Inez has a much better approval rating over Morales, with over 56% of Laguners supporting him.

Political positions

Abortion

Gomez-Inez is staunchly pro-choice, calling the pro-life movement misogynists and anti-women. Gomez-Inez supports allowing abortion at any point of pregnancy. During his tenure as an assemblyman, Gomez-Inez proposed legislation condemning open support of anti-abortion movements in churches and religious educational institutions and calling for their defunding. This bill would fail to make it out of committee.

Republicanism

Gomez-Inez is a supporter of a Sierran Republic, calling for the "absolute disbandment of the Monarchy". At the start of the Red Rock Castle crisis, Gomez-Inez made provincial headlines for calling for the detention and arrest of all royal family members, calling them "pedophiles" and and calling the crisis "the start of a violent overthrow of the monarchy. Since his election as Lieutenant Governor, Gomez-Inez has dimmed down his view on the monarchy, calling instead for a peaceful transition between monarchy to republic, backing down from his revolutionary beliefs.

Progressive Coalition

Gomez-Inez is an outspoken critic of the current Progressive Coalition (a coalition between the national Democratic-Republican, Social Democratic, and Green parties). Gomez-Inez believes that the Social Democrats should leave the coalition, citing the electoral success of the party in the 2020 Sierran federal election as a valid reason. He is also a vocal critic of the Democratic-Republican Party, calling it a "party of compromises and no real action." He also refers to the Democratic-Republicans are "baggage", calling them a risk to Social Democratic success.

Personal life

Marriage and family

While attending university, Gomez-Inez would met and begin dating Amanda Natal, with two moving to San Diego together. The two would get engaged in 2016, after Gomez-Inez proposed to her after giving his acceptance speech. The two would marry the following year in March of 2017. The couple has one child, a daughter, who was born in 2019.