Meet Mishaun Watkins

Mishaun Watkins learned her first lessons in public service from her grandmother, a devoted community leader who founded Grandmothers Against Violence in their neighborhood. Watching her care for neighbors in need planted a commitment to service that has guided Mishaun ever since.

Today, she is running for City Council to bring the same spirit of service and results to Lynwood that she's delivered across the region.

Born and raised in Lynwood, Mishaun graduated high school early and attended El Camino College before transferring to Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she earned a degree in Political Science. During an AmeriCorps law fellowship, she helped families navigate the legal system and access critical resources. That experience showed her the profound impact local government can have on improving people’s lives, not just individual lives, but whole communities.

Over the past decade, Mishaun has built a career serving communities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. She began in working in public housing, connecting families to stable homes and supportive services, and has since worked across multiple areas of local government, including community development, housing, public safety, finance, parks and recreation and homelessness services. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to improving government services while ensuring residents have access to the resources they need.

Mishaun currently serves as a Community Development Analyst for the City of Santa Ana, where she oversees millions of dollars in state and federal grant funding, manages programs that connect residents experiencing homelessness with housing and supportive services, and works with nonprofit organizations, regional partners, and other government agencies to improve quality of life for vulnerable populations.

Her approach delivers.

Under her leadership, street outreach, shelter services, rapid rehousing, and reunification programs helped drive the local homeless count down by roughly 200 people between 2024 and 2026. The through-line was stability over punishment. This is proof that thoughtful, well-funded programs work.

She was appointed to the Lynwood Planning Commission in 2024 by Councilmember Lorraine Avila Moore and reappointed in 2025. There, she has pushed the city to modernize outdated income limits for rent and utility assistance, bringing real relief to residents squeezed by rising costs.

Mishaun is running for City Council to restore trust in City Hall and ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. Mishaun believes residents deserve a city government that listens, acts with integrity, and puts working families first. As a lifelong Lynwood resident, she understands both the strengths of this community and the challenges it faces — and she hears her neighbors' frustration with overpaid contractors and city officials that too often put personal gain above community need.

Drawing on years of experience in community and economic development, housing, and homeless services, Mishaun is ready to bring proven solutions home: strengthening public safety, expanding economic opportunity, supporting local businesses, addressing homelessness, and increasing access to affordable housing — all while securing outside funding and spending taxpayer dollars responsibly.

Mishaun is the mother of three, and much of her free time is spent cheering them on at track meets, cheer competitions, and football games.