West Covina Councilman Ollie Cantos Can’t Do What?
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West Covina City Councilman Ollie Cantos
I was originally assigned to interview Olegerio (Ollie) Cantos VII about his work as a councilman in the largely Filipino enclave of West Covina, California. I thought the story had collapsed when he revealed that Elon Musk’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency had placed his name on a list of staff reductions at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) that will take effect on June 9, 2025. His West Covina position earns a modest stipend though it accounts for work weeks lasting between 80 and 100 hours. The DOE is his primary employer where he works as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.
It was a relief to see that Ollie wasn’t morose or dejected. “I won’t cower or feel bad about my life,” vows the 54-year-old civil servant. “If I can hurry and find a job fast enough, I’ll be all right.”
The West Covina City Council website offers a sound biography of its District 4 representative. He was born in Los Angeles and raised with his little sister in West Covina by his parents, Linda and Orlando Cantos, who immigrated from Batangas before he was born in 1969.
In Los Angeles, he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University and his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. President George W. Bush appointed him to his first U.S. Capitol position in Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also served in the presidential administrations of Barack Obama and the first term of Donald Trump.
Former White House Domestic Policy Council Associate Director Ollie Cantos stands with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office
Incidentally, Ollie has been blind since birth.
Having a profound disability didn’t hold him back but gave him purpose. “I’ve been a civil rights activist since I was 20 (years old) and have worked in civil rights for 35 years.”
Ollie views his blindness not as an unfair burden but as a physical trait comparable to having natural blond hair. “My disability is incidental,” he says. “I can’t see, but it’s not more or less tragic than anything else. I wish I were four inches taller. When you’re not tall enough, you have trouble reaching things. It’s a nuisance that I can’t make myself taller or to be able to see.”
‘Scared Straight’ the Filipina Mother’s Cut
Credit goes to Linda Cantos’ tough love that her 5’5” blind son could succeed in a seeing world. “It was my mom who made me tougher.” Ollie acknowledges her influence since childhood. “I was lazy,” he admits. “She made me clean the house, look after my baby sister, and forced me to fix my bed right. She said the world isn’t going to give you a break, so I won’t either. If it takes more time, I expect you to take the time to do it longer.”
Academic failure would not be tolerated. “When I wanted to quit law school, it was my mom who made me not give up. It was my mom who pushed me to pass the Bar.”
His arduous journey developed a sensitivity to the obstacles that others strive to overcome. “I know what it’s like to have adverse circumstances. When people tell me life is hard, I get it. I’ve been there.” He is happy to help. “If you think you can’t hold on, I’ll hold onto you. When you eventually thrive, I ask that you support others who are having a tough time.”
He bemoans that the White House is terminating people without considering what they do. Of his civil rights work in the DOE, he explains:
“I’m part of a group of attorneys who are in law enforcement to ensure that all students are treated fairly and are given the same opportunities in and out of the classroom. We’ve been doing this work for every president’s administration, Republican or Democrat. Every administration wants to improve the lives of Americans. They eliminated our positions without knowing that we could have advanced their agenda.”
His disability hasn’t denied him a fulfilling career in government or from becoming a father. While he was living in Arlington, Virginia and working in Washington, DC, he adopted triplet sons Steven, Leo, and Nick when they were age 10. They were born blind to a single Colombian American mother who remained active in their lives. As a mentor and breadwinner, he helped his sons flourish and become independent adults like him. Steven has a degree in English. Leo is a government contractor. And Nick is an entrepreneur involved in real estate.
How About Congressman Cantos?
Ollie was based in Washington, DC most of his career and was allowed to work in California during and after the pandemic. As a West Covina resident in 2022, he successfully ran for his City Council seat. “What I like about politics is voters don’t care if you’re disabled. They care about whether there’s lighting in the park. Are we doing enough for water conversation? And there shouldn’t be 270 people living in ‘Pit Town’.”
He explains that local citizens call the homeless encampment Pit Town, which is an acronym for “point in time.” Since Ollie’s council victory, the encampment’s population has dropped to 40 individuals. The thrills that accompany amazing results have given him a low-grade elected official fever. He has congressional ambitions. It helps to have bipartisan dexterity. He’s sort of like a Republican LBJ who’s more excited about a Great Society than making America great again.
In July 2014, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Ollie Cantos was honored and privileged to lead in bringing together participants from the Freedom Rides, an innovative effort of the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) to send small groups of black and white activists from Washington, DC through the deepest parts of the American South to challenge long-standing racial segregation in interstate travel. The effort, originally led by CORE Chairman James Farmer, was considered by some (including from within the civil rights community itself) to be a radical idea that would ultimately backfire. Instead, it led the Interstate Commerce Commission to order that all "Whites Only" signs be taken down, leading to unprecedented desegregation in ways never thought possible. These gains paved the way for other civil rights victories in other areas as disenfranchised citizens drew inspiration and strength from these brave men and women. From left to right, pictured here are Rev. Reginald Green, Ollie Cantos, Charles Person, Dion Diamond, and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland.
Finding Work in this Godawful Jungle
Shrill voices in the media and bloviating statesmen have relegated the job market to a subset of circus politics. Woke is a simpleton’s synonym for justice. An employer who selects a member of a racial minority or person with a disability are suspected of making a DEI hire regardless of a candidate’s impeccable qualifications.
Ollie knows what he’s up against in his upcoming job search, but he’s undeterred. “Just because a person belongs to what is considered a protected class does not necessarily mean that their being hired is the result of some sort of DEI consideration.
“If anyone accuses employers of hiring us because of DEI merely because we are Filipino/Filipina or have a disability, those are just feeble insecurities at play. With individuals such as those who embody such attitudes, there is nothing that we can do about them. But,” he writes, “what we can do something about is how we react to our circumstances and how we can prove beyond any reasonable doubt why we are the best candidates for the jobs for which we apply. In other words, we deserve to have equality of opportunity, but no one is entitled to equality of result based on mere false notions of representation.”
Ollie advocates for fairness in hiring, yet he believes Fil-Ams are hurting their job prospects by dwelling on employer intentions. “We must move away from the mindset of being persecuted or otherwise oppressed. That is a victim mentality that does not serve us well in the least. All it does is put us in a position of low confidence when, to the contrary, we must be proud of who we are and all that we have done. Only with that degree of confidence can we be successful under any and all circumstances.”
As he transitions from career civil servant to jobseeker, he must compete against energetic youth armed with artificial intelligence always ready to answer esoteric questions. Ollie, a devout Mormon, has faith that recruiters will realize that infinite content is no substitute for life experience.
In March 2022, Ollie was privileged to meet the singing legend and Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder.
“I am a licensed attorney with vast public policy experience who has earned two presidential appointments, has worked in senior roles in the federal government sector for more than 20 years, has decades of extensive accomplishments within my field which have garnered more than 70 awards, has worked on a nonpartisan basis across different administrations, has addressed audiences exceeding 60,000, and has served a constituency that consists of more than 60 million persons. So, if I get hired somewhere, how in the world could anyone think that it is because of DEI unless there is someone even more qualified than me who ended up not getting the job?
Credit goes to Linda Cantos’ tough love that her 5’5” blind son could succeed in a seeing world. “It was my mom who made me tougher.”
It takes more than bullet points on a resume and stars in the galaxy to be a bona-fide Filipino. Certainly, Ollie passed the Bar to become a practicing lawyer. This YouTube video shows Ollie passing the ultimate test of Karaoke Cab to prove his Filipino pedigree.
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