California State Committee
Dr. Mark Ruzon
Chair
Mark was born and raised in Illinois and came to California for college. He got involved in politics in 2003, when he became a leader with Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA), part of the PICO National Network (now Faith in Action). Mark organized a group at his parish that helped successfully lobby for the creation of the Opportunity Center of Palo Alto, a homeless service center with 88 units of affordable housing. He later became co-chair of PIA’s Board of Directors.
Since finding the ASP in 2017, Mark has served as a web admin, led the first state party meeting to endorse ballot propositions, and helped organize the 2020 state convention before becoming Vice Chair of the State Committee from 2020-22. He was a write-in candidate for U.S. Senator in 2022. He is a Senior Software Engineer at Google, working on satellite and aerial imagery for Google Maps and Google Earth. He lives nearby in Mountain View with his wife Lesley. They have four children.
Dominick DiCarlo
Vice Chair
Dominick DiCarlo grew up in Davis, CA where he also attended school at UC Davis. Dominick taught music and theology for seven years in Tampa, Florida before returning to the West Coast. Dominick is currently the headmaster at the Chesterton Academy in Dixon and the Director of Music at St. Mary’s, Vacaville. Dominick served as a secretary to the National Convention in 2020. Dominick was elected as a delegate to the 2022 National Convention from California and served as the Convention’s President. He is particularly interested in growing local involvement in the party throughout Northern California.
Desmond Silveira
Secretary/Executive Director
Desmond Silviera was the 2018 California gubernatorial candidate for the ASP, the campaign manager for the Maturen/Muñoz 2016 campaign, the campaign manager for the Carroll/Patel 2020 campaign, and a former State Committee Chair. Today he actively helps recruit leadership and members to the party. He is a practicing Catholic, professional software engineer, a husband, and a father of nine children. Born in Zambia and of Indian (Goan) descent, he has lived in southern California since he was one year old. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in computer science from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, Desmond has worked at various companies and organizations including GE, JPL, YellowPages.com, Los Angeles Times, and Disney.
He is socially conservative and fiscally moderate and had spent his adult life as a Republican until the 2016 election season, when he discovered the American Solidarity Party. Desmond has been involved at different times with various ministries at his parish including CCD, Familia, and Cub Scouts. In his free time, Desmond enjoys playing video games with his kids.
Dr. Jim Hanink
Jim Hanink was the ASP candidate for governor in both the 2021 recall election and the 2022 general election, becoming the first ASP candidate to win over 10,000 votes in a single state. Having aged-out of wage-slavery at a So Cal university, he is an independent scholar. He writes and edits and organizes (chiefly his garage) in Inglewood. With his wife Elizabeth, he has long been engaged in "pro-life for the whole life" activities. Sundays find the two savvy seniors “at home,” usually with 15 or so family members. PTL! Mondays are recuperative.
Brian Carroll
Brian Carroll ran as the American Solidarity Party Candidate for President of the United States in 2020, after a 40-year teaching career. He and wife Vicki celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2023 and have five children and 14 grandchildren. He grew up in Los Angeles and attended public elementary and secondary schools. He earned his BA at UCLA (History), teaching credential at CSULA (Elementary Ed., K-9), and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at CSUFresno. He holds a Bilingual Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development Credential (Spanish). Carroll taught 24 years in Tulare County public schools (jr high history, English, and electives); two years of 5th grade at a private Christian school; nine years on a Bible translation station in Colombia, South America, (various subjects grades 5-12); and one summer in China, teaching English. He retired as a member in good standing of the Farmersville Teachers Association (NEA/CTA). His extensive travel includes 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has published essays and photography in a variety of small publications both in the US and Colombia. Carroll served ten years on the Elder Board of the Visalia Evangelical Free Church, and currently is a member of the Open House Fellowship of Visalia (Conservative Congregational Christian Conference). His political efforts include helping to lead a successful ad hoc effort to establish a local public transit system (1979-81); helping to lead successful opposition to a proposed abortion clinic (1989-91); service on the State Board of the American Solidarity Party’s California chapter; and an unsuccessful race for Congress (2018). In 2020, the Carroll/Patel ticket drew 42,305 votes.
Rene Trabanino
Rene joined the party during the 2020 general election. He was looking for an alternative to the two major parties which fit his values and found the ASP. He has been involved in communications and fundraising as well as outreach with the party, most recently with Mark Ruzon's 2024 U.S. Senate campaign. He is a practicing Catholic physician based in Los Angeles and has a wife and three wonderful boys. He hopes to help get more people to know about the party across our state.
Jeff Culbreath
Jeff Culbreath is a fourth-generation Californian living in Citrus Heights. He holds a B.A. in Economics from CSU Sacramento, has owned a retail printing business, worked in real estate and business brokerage, and presently toils in the apparel industry as an account executive. Jeff is an active member of his Catholic parish and serves as an officer in his local council of the Knights of Columbus. He has been involved in the ASP since 2016, when he was elected as a California delegate for the presidential election. Jeff is a strong supporter of the current ASP platform and believes that California is fertile ground for the party’s continued growth.
Domenico Camplisson
Domenico Camplisson is currently a resident of San Diego County. He was born in Belfast, Ireland and lived for 23 years in a violent, sectarian, militarized and unjust colonial society, which engendered in him a lifelong interest in social justice and a rational civic society. In Ireland he worked for UK (North of Ireland polity) and Republic of Ireland governments. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1985 and worked for San Diego County government for 35 years, retiring in 2020 as a social services manager, specializing in mental health and homeless services. He is married to Kim, a retired high school teacher and former journalist. In 38 years of marriage, they happily raised two biological children and multiple unofficial foster children. Currently Domenico volunteers with the San Diego Safari Park and the Sheriff’s Department. Because he retired from the County and not from working, he has four part-time jobs: At Pearson testing, proctoring exams, at the California Center for the Arts (CCAE) Escondido, and teaching online for a private university, based in Old Town San Diego. The student body there is almost completely foreign. He recently got hired to patrol the beaches for the Oceanside Police Dept, a true California dream job. He is a provisional Knight of Malta. He is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast (BA Hons) and the University of Dallas (Masters in Theological Studies) and has taught formation classes to catechists, parishioners, and diaconal candidates for the Diocese of San Diego. He has taught for other local private colleges. He is a former Mental Health First Aid instructor, training first responders how to deal with the special needs of people in mental health crises. He regularly volunteers with organizations dedicated to social justice, anti-trafficking, and homeless prevention. He does not need to work but likes to do work that has a purpose.