Lateefah Aaliyah Simon
She served on the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors
Early life and education
Simon was born and raised in the
Western Addition neighborhood of
San Francisco. She attended Washington High School, where she joined the debate team. Beginning at age 15, she did outreach work for the Young Women's Freedom Center.
Simon earned a Bachelor of Arts in public policy at Mills College, where she was the 2017 commencement speaker,
Political career
During the tenure of
Kamala Harris as San Francisco District Attorney, Simon led the creation of the city's Back on Track program for young adults charged with low-level felony drug sales.
Simon also previously worked as the executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2016, Simon was appointed to the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees by Governor Jerry Brown.
Simon was elected to represent the seventh district on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) board of directors in 2016.
In 2022, BART officials announced that Simon had been removed from the board after it was determined that her residence lay outside District 7, making her ineligible to represent the district. Simon stated that she had moved due to threats against her family stemming from her advocacy on police reform, and that she had been assured by BART staff prior to moving that the new residence was within district boundaries. She described the outcome as “deeply disappointing.”
Later that month, BART reversed its decision and reinstated Simon to the board.
Elections
U.S. House of Representatives
2024 election
In February 2023, Simon announced that she was running for California's 12th congressional district.
The previous representative for the district,
Barbara Lee, did not seek re-election to the seat and instead ran as a candidate in the 2024 United States Senate election in California. On November 2, 2023, California Governor
Gavin Newsom endorsed Simon's candidacy.
Simon defeated CSU East Bay professor Jennifer Tran, a fellow Democrat, in the November general election.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
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Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
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Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
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Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement
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Committee on Small Business
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Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development
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Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations
Caucus memberships
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Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
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Congressional Black Caucus
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Congressional Progressive Caucus (Vice Chair)
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Congressional Equality Caucus (Vice Chair)
Political positions
Simon has positioned herself within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, supporting policies modeled on European social democracies.
Economic policy
She has advocated for a federal jobs guarantee, a national minimum wage of at least $15 per hour, universal health care, expanded union protections, and strengthened safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food assistance.
She has opposed budgetary cuts to education,
health care, and
social services while criticizing defense appropriations, pledging to vote against legislation that funds warfare.
Environment
Simon has aligned with environmental justice groups in California, voicing support for policies aimed at transitioning away from fossil fuels and resisting corporate lobbying from the
Oil industry
Foreign policy
In Congress, Simon has been critical of U.S. military intervention and funding of foreign conflicts. She has called for reductions in defense spending and a reorientation of federal resources toward domestic welfare, health care, and education.
China
Simon has opposed tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports, describing them as harmful to working families by driving up consumer prices. She has framed tariff policy as a form of “economic sabotage” that burdens households while failing to address structural inequalities.
Israel–Palestine
Simon has been outspoken in her criticism of
Gaza war and U.S. financial and military support for them. She described Israeli actions against Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid as “devastating, deplorable, and unacceptable,” and stated that the United States has been complicit in civilian deaths.
She has characterized the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis marked by famine and civilian suffering, urging an end to U.S.-backed violence and restrictions on aid delivery.
LGBTQ
Simon is a
straight ally to the
LGBTQ community, and serves as vice chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
She has worked with Democratic colleagues to defeat anti-trans legislation.
She co-sponsored a resolution for a "Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative" with representative
Mark Takano and senator
Brian Schatz.
In May 2025, she co-signed a letter urging health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to preserve LGBTQ-specific services for youth calling the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Personal life
Simon is the mother of two children.
Simon's husband, Kevin Weston, was a recognized journalist and activist who died from
leukemia in 2014.
She is
Muslim and legally blind.
Electoral history
Awards
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2003 MacArthur Fellows Program
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2007 Jefferson Award
External links
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