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California's 53rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 top-two primary)
- Primary date: March 3
- Primary type: Top-two
- Registration deadline(s): Feb. 18
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Early voting starts: Varies locally
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): March 3 (postmarked); March 6 (received)
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sara Jacobs (D) and Georgette Gomez (D) advanced from the March 3 top-two primary after third-place finisher Chris Stoddard (R) conceded the election.[1]
Five candidates led the primary field in fundraising, polling, endorsements, and media coverage: Janessa Goldbeck (D), Gomez, Jacobs, Famela Ramos (R), and Stoddard.[2][3]
Only the top two vote-getters in the primary advanced to the Nov. 3, 2020, general election. Going into 2020, one Democrat and one Republican had advanced from the district's primary in every election since the state began using top-two primaries in 2012.
On the Democratic side, Goldbeck's endorsers included the San Diego Union-Tribune and VoteVets.org. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the California Democratic Party, and Justice Democrats endorsed Gomez. Jacobs' supporters included Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Eric Swalwell, and the Eastlake-Bonita Democratic Club. Gomez and Jacobs released television ads that focused on their platforms, experience, and opposition to President Donald Trump's agenda. Goldbeck focused on environmental issues and "getting corrupt money out of our elections."[4][5][6][7]
On the Republican side, Ramos and Stoddard both campaigned on immigration. Ramos said, "A nation without borders is not a nation. ... I understand and support the essential need for legal immigration." Stoddard said, "I believe in LEGAL immigration and I don’t think we should pay for healthcare for people that come here illegally." The candidates differed on abortion. Ramos said, "I am strongly Pro-Life and am committed to providing alternatives to a woman facing an abortion." Stoddard said, "I think a woman’s body is her own and she has a right to choose in certain situations," elaborating that, "abortion should not be a form of birth control."[8][9]
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Jacobs led fundraising, banking $677,409.[10] Gomez raised $264,723, Goldbeck raised $108,375, and Ramos raised $17,659. Stoddard's fundraising was not available, as of Feb. 25.[11]
Also running in the primary were John Brooks (D), Jose Caballero (D), Joseph Fountain (D), Ashur Gabriel (R Write-in), Fernando Garcia (Independent), Eric Kutner (D), Annette Meza (D), Michael Oristian (R), Suzette Santori (D), Joaquin Vazquez (D), Tom Wong (D).
In the 2018 general election, Davis (D) defeated Morgan Murtaugh (R) 69% to 31%. In 2016, Davis defeated James Veltmeyer (R) 67% to 33%. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average.[12] At the time of the primary, all three major race rating outlets viewed the general as Safe/Solid Democratic. Click here to learn more about what was at stake in the general election.
Candidates and election results
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 53
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sara Jacobs (D) | 29.1 | 58,312 |
| ✔ |  | Georgette Gómez (D) | 20.0 | 39,962 |
 | Chris Stoddard (R)  | 13.0 | 25,962 | |
 | Janessa Goldbeck (D) | 8.5 | 17,041 | |
 | Famela Ramos (R) | 7.5 | 15,005 | |
 | Michael Oristian (R) | 7.4 | 14,807 | |
 | Tom Wong (D) (Unofficially withdrew) | 3.6 | 7,265 | |
 | Annette Meza (D) | 2.2 | 4,446 | |
 | Joseph Fountain (D) | 2.0 | 4,041 | |
 | Jose Caballero (D) | 1.6 | 3,226 | |
 | Joaquín Vázquez (D) | 1.5 | 3,078 | |
 | John Brooks (D) | 1.4 | 2,820 | |
 | Fernando Garcia (Independent) | 0.9 | 1,832 | |
 | Suzette Santori (D) | 0.8 | 1,625 | |
 | Eric Kutner (D) | 0.4 | 734 | |
| Total votes: 200,156 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Devorah Ann Fox (D)
- Zack Fields (D)
- Peter Sharma (D)
- Ashur Gabriel (R)
- Daniel Phillip Ferrara (D)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[13] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
John Brooks
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am a retired federal criminal investigator and also worked as a wildlife biologist, wildlife inspector, computer forensic specialist, and augmented U.S. air marshal. I've lived in 10 different states, 2 countries and have traveled the world extensively. I also teach self defense for women and founded a non-profit for tiger conservation. My commitment to public service is unwavering, my knowledge of the biological sciences is extensive. I am running for office to address the global warming crisis. We must first correct our climate situation in order to move forward on the other issues facing our communities. I am the right person, in the right place, at the right time to represent the community on a national level."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Joseph Fountain
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am running for Congress because I want to be a voice for people who go hungry and not fed. For people who are cold and not kept warm. I am running for those who have no voice, who work day in and day out and are told to wait their turn. While people who control the power structure deny there is anything wrong with the system. They make endless promises and at the end of the day, they always win. They always get the lion's share of any gotten gains."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Fernando Garcia
Party: Independent
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "My name is Fernando Garcia and I am a current resident of Golden Hills where I live with my fiancé Cynthia who is a San Diego County Social Worker. I am a father of two amazing sons, Alexander and Joshua. I am a California native who grew up in Walnut, Ca. Upon graduating high school, I attended San Diego State University where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration. College was an amazing experience for me. During my sophomore year, I experienced one of the most pivotal moments of my life, I was blessed with my son (who is now a Junior at U.C. Berkeley). Becoming a father at 19 shaped my life tremendously. I was given a crash course on hard work, sacrifice and commitment. Upon graduating from S.D.S.U. I entered a 15yr career in financial services. During my tenure, I was able to help individuals, families, and organizations with their retirement, investment, and insurance needs. I also achieved the highly desirable designations of Certified Financial Planner and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist. As much as I enjoyed my career, I decided to leave financial services and become a Green Entrepreneur. In 2017 I started Schools Solar. A Solar Company dedicated to helping school employees go Solar on their homes. As a small business owner, I see the impact that individuals and businesses have on society. I have firsthand experience on how the new Green Economy can help create jobs, save people money, and protect our environment. I am running as an In"
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Janessa Goldbeck
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Goldbeck was commissioned as an officer in the Marines, ultimately becoming a captain. She also worked as a lobbyist and founded a legislative strategy firm. She graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and African studies in 2007.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Georgette Gomez
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: San Diego City Council (Assumed office: 2016)
Biography: Gomez worked as a community organizer and victims' advocate. She was also a chairwoman of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. Gomez received a bachelor's degree in environmental and natural resource geography from San Diego State University.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Sara Jacobs
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Jacobs founded San Diego for Every Child: The Coalition to End Child Poverty in 2018, serving as the organization's chairwoman. She also worked in policy positions at the U.S. State Department, UNICEF, and the United Nations. Jacobs was a policy advisor to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. She received a bachelor's degree and a master's in international affairs from Columbia University.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Eric Kutner
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Eric is a policy and strategy consultant in national security (including cybersecurity), science and technology, education, and business (small business, in particular) believing that at least 99.99% of anything is people-dependent. He often advises senior leaders across both private and public sectors, including generals and admirals; he has advised San Diego State University's homeland security-focused research center for many years; and he serves on the Advisory Board for a Department of Homeland Security research center at Rutgers University. Eric is a Princeton University Tiger with a degree in Physics and is Vice President of the Class of 1995. He is a former member of the Southern California Tennis Association Strategic Planning Committee and was Coach of the year in Billie Jean King's World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League. Eric is also a former emergency medical technician (EMT)."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Michael Oristian
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I'm a software developer and serial entrepreneur who wants common sense ideas representing California in Congress. After studying environmental engineering at Stanford, I've had careers in technology and music - all fields where it takes a contrarian to be a Conservative. I'm active in the San Diego Republican Party and a champion of ideas over identity. "
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Famela Ramos
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Ramos founded the Right to Try Foundation in 2019. She worked as director of business development for Therapeutics Solutions International during her 2020 congressional campaign and was also involved as a board member at a pregnancy resource center.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Suzette Santori
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I'm a proud mother, a veteran who served 20 years in the US Navy, part of the working class, and this is my first time running for office. I'm an immigrant and becoming a U.S. citizen, has been one of the proudest days of my life, and I'd be honored to continue serving my country. As a child, my father used to take our family to NAF El Centro, to watch the "Blue Angels Air Show", and that's how my fascination with aviation started. I obtained an AS degree in Air Traffic Control Operations, in Southwestern College. Years later, got my private pilot certificate in Colorado Springs, CO, and joined the military soon after. While on Active Duty, with three children and as a single parent, I earned my BS and MBA degrees, and I have to admit, it was a great challenge. In the USN, I worked as Air Traffic Controller, Meteorologist and Oceanographer, and once selected for Chief, I was in charged of the Intelligence Department."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Chris Stoddard
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "After earning my Bachelor's of Science degree in Civil Engineering at Arizona State University I commissioned in the United States Marine Corps and was active duty for 11 years, deploying to Afghanistan, Romania, and Kuwait/Iraq. In 2017 I got off active duty and joined the USMCR to continue serving my country as a Reserve Officer. I went back to college to obtain my real estate license to educate veterans about their home buying benefits and help families in Southern California realize their dream of owning a home. I also started working for SkyWest Airlines as a First Officer. I continue working these three jobs while also spending time growing my non-profit, The Co-Pilot Foundation, which I established to provide mentor-ship and support to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. "
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 53 in 2020.
Endorsements
This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
Click on the links below to explore each candidate's full list of endorsements on their campaign websites:
| Top-two primary endorsements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement |  Goldbeck
|
Gomez
|
Jacobs
|
 Ramos
|
Stoddard
| ||
| Newspapers and editorials | |||||||
| San Diego Union-Tribune[14] | ✔ | ||||||
| OB Rag[15] | ✔ | ||||||
| Elected officials | |||||||
| U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Juan Vargas[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Mark Takano[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Ro Khanna[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Jamie Raskin[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Seth Moulton[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congresswoman Katie Porter[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Eric Swalwell[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Harley Rouda[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Andrew Kim[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congresswoman Lois Frankel[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Alan Lowenthal[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman David Cicilline[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Tony Cardenas[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Salud Carbajal[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Pete Aguilar[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Lou Correa[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressman Mark Pocan[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congresswoman Nanette Barragán[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| California State Treasurer Fiona Ma[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| California Controller Betty Yee[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| State Senator and President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| State Sen. Brian Jones[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| State Sen. Joel Anderson[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| State Sen. Scott Wiener[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| State Sen. Ben Hueso[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Assemblyman Todd Gloria[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Assemblywoman Shirley Weber[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| La Mesa City Councilwoman Akilah Weber[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Chula Vista Councilman Steve Padilla[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Chula Vista Councilman John McCann[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| Encinitas Councilwoman Kellie Hinze[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| Imperial Beach City Councilman Mark West[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Imperial Beach City Councilwoman Paloma Aguirre[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| National City Councilwoman Mona Rios[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Escondido City Councilwoman Olga Diaz[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Vista City Councilwoman Corinna Contreras[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Marcos City Councilwoman Maria Nuñez[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Carlsbad City Councilwoman Cori Schumacher[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Garden Grove City Councilwoman Kim B. Nguyen[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Carlsbad Unified School Board President Kathy Rallings[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego County Board of Education Vice President Rick Shea[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Southwestern College Trustee Nora Vargas[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| School Board Trustee Esther Valdes[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| School Board Trustee Jill Barto[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego Community College Trustee Maria Nieto Senour[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Port of San Diego Commissioner Rafael Castellanos[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Individuals | |||||||
| Former Congressman Darrell Issa[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former Congressman Duncan Hunter Sr.[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former Congressman and Undersecretary of the Army Patrick Murphy[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former California State Treasurer John Chiang[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former State Sen. Kevin de León[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former State Sen. Christine Kehoe[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former State Sen. Dede Alpert[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie L. Brown, Jr.[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former San Diego City Councilman Jim Madaffer[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Former Lemon Grove City Councilman George Gastil[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Organizations | |||||||
| California Democratic Party[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Justice Democrats[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| VoteVets.org[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| East County Conservatives[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| Courage to Change[17]| | ✔ | ||||||
| Progressive Change Campaign Committee[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| California Federation of Teachers[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| LGBTQ Victory Fund[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| California Labor Federation[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| California Young Democrats[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| UNITE HERE[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| National Union of Healthcare Workers[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Laborers International Union[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| BOLD PAC[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Equality PAC[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| SEIU California[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| AAPI Democratic Club of San Diego[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Equality California[6][5] | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Run Women Run[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| American Postal Workers Union Local 197[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Tri-State Maxed Out Women[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club of San Diego[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| Eastlake-Bonita Democratic Club[6] | ✔ | ||||||
| LPAC[4] | ✔ | ||||||
| PODER PAC[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC[5] | ✔ | ||||||
| East County Conservatives[16] | ✔ | ||||||
| Serve America PAC[18] | ✔ | ||||||
Timeline
- February 26, 2020: Jacobs released a campaign ad opposing Stoddard.
- February 21, 2020: Courage to Change endorsed Gomez.[17]
- February 18, 2020: Gomez released an ad titled, "Georgette Gómez for Congress."
- February 13, 2020: The San Diego Union-Tribune released an editorial endorsing Goldbeck.[14]
- February 12, 2020: Jacobs released an ad titled, "For Them."
- February 5, 2020: Jacobs released three campaign ads.
Campaign themes
The following campaign themes and policy positions were listed on the candidates' campaign websites in February 2020, if available.
John Brooks
| “ |
Climate Change What is the difference between a change in “The Climate” and change in “The Weather”? Weather is what you see and feel on a daily basis. Climate is the change that the EARTH experiences over a long period of time. Global warming is causing the Earth’s climate to change in a direction that will be unhealthy for human survival. And because of our technological advancements of the past century, and we, as an educated society, understand most, if not all of the major greenhouse gasses causing the planet to warm. If the earth’s climate rises over 35 F (1.5 C), life for humans on Earth will not be sustainable. This is why I have made addressing the global warming crisis my top priority as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, district 53. We all came together in the 1980’s to reduce the damage CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) caused to our ozone layer. We now need to unite to reduce an even great threat to our quality of life. I studied wildlife biology at the University of Montana, being the first American of African descent to graduate from this university with a degree in wildlife biology. I have been speaking out on environmental issues since that time. Because of my background in wildlife biology and my 30 year career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I know first hand the importance of making the global warming crisis our number one priority as a community, as a nation, and as a world member. By making the switch from a fossil fueled economy into a sustainable economy, growth and prosperity would soon follow in the form of new job development and emerging technologies to face the new economy. Sustainable and affordable housing development and true community involvement are all possible if we work together to protect our health, and the health of our children. The time to act is now. Tomorrow will be too late. We are stronger, together. Representation I come from a family that has always served the community. My father was an Oakland police officer and my mother a nurse and realtor. I had a 26 year career in the federal government as a wildlife biologist and law enforcement officer. My commitment to public service is unwavering. As your representative, I pledge to do my best to bring forth the issues that will help improve the community and your quality of life. I want what you and every American wants. The opportunity to reach our full potential as individuals and a society, and to live healthy, prosperous lives. In reaching our full potential as Americans, and citizens of this planet, we must first face the fact that our law makers have forgotten what representation truly means. It is not about dictating to the community. It is about representing the community by sitting in the House and speaking for the community that sent you their. I would be going to represent your needs in Washington DC, not my own. You would remain engaged in the process of strengthening our community. You would tell me what needs to be done, and I would do it. That is what I believe the House was originally set up to do. One person goes to Washington to represent those back home working to provide a quality life for their families. One person brings forth the thoughts of the many. That one person should not have power over those in the district, but should be empowered by those in the district. I am running a “No Money Campaign” to be beholding to no one, except the the people of the community. That is true representation. The way we currently structure our campaigns for public office has all been centered around how much money you can acquire for your campaign. If you can not raise money, you can not serve the public. This approach seems to be contrary to the intent of “We the People.” I believe true change in the federal government cannot occur until the way that Congressional campaigns are financed change. Economic influence transfers in to political power. The unseen consequences of influenced lawmaking tears at the very fabric of what this country stands for. Until true campaign finance reform and control over how lobbyists interact with lawmakers come about, prosperity for the average Americans will never come to pass. I will represent us, because we are stronger together. Tech Smart phones, self-driving cars, and even drone-delivered pizza all sound very nice until you understand the impact the AI (artificial intelligence) robotics revolution has produced, and will continue to have on our society. Between the year 2000 and 2010, 85% of manufacturing jobs lost were due to automation, not international trade. Twenty-five employees were once needed to produce 1 million dollars of output. Today, that output is realized through just 5 workers. Just imagine what will happen in the next decade if we are not prepared for the shift in mentality of how we work. Millions of people could find themselves unemployed. Robotics is the next human revolution, but unlike previous significant changes to our way of life, this revolution is moving too fast to enable the adaptations we need to put in place for the sake of the workforce. Smart technology is already a part of our lives, but in the next 5 to 10 years, AI will be a part of your everyday life, and 800 million jobs could be automated by the year 2030 We can make this revolution apart of our shift towards a sustainable economy and make the advancements in AI and robotics assist humanity in making the transition away for fossil fuels. This and more can be done for the community but all of us must remain engaged in the process. Therefore, we need a Representative that recognizes the value in keeping the community involve making positive changes to our way of life, with the assistance of technology. A Representative that understands technology, and engages with those people who live technology. I worked as a computer forensics specialist with the federal government and continue to surround myself with people immersed in the technological field. As your Representative, I will assist the community in understanding the changes to come, the employment that will be needed, and how best to integrate the benefits of this new revolution into your daily lives. It is estimated that 47% of current jobs in the United States are at a high risk of automation. If we work together, we can work towards a sustainable economy that will bring forth new innovations that support our growth and future. We are Stronger Together Transportation In the early modernization of this country, public transportation was an integral part of allowing people to travel to and from work, and over great distances. It quite possibly, was the best in the world. But, we gave it up for the automobile as we expanded west. Because of how we’ve designed our neighborhood separate from our business areas, most American’s can not shop, dine, or travel to work without the use of a car. Consider this: about 80% of your life is spent working. Why would you choose to waste your time in traffic while traveling to and from your place of work? Also consider that many Americans living in low income communities do not have access to a vehicle, or if they do, may not have the income to properly insure the vehicle. Or perhaps a person has a suspended driver’s license and now can not travel to work, without breaking the law. Please understand, about 45% of Americans lack access to public transportation making access to a working vehicle crucial to their economic survival. This is no way to run a democracy. A Harvard study showed that access to transportation is the single most important factor in an individual’s ability to escape poverty. In cities such as Dallas. Portland, and Washington, DC, public transportation has become instrumental in the success of those cities. “Public transportation increases economic mobility, decreases the carbon footprint and increases economic development.” America needs to, once again, put in place a viable public transportation system that works for the public. The installation of systems such as modern street cars, subways, and light rail, will not only provide needed employment, it will also stimulate our local economies. There is no reason to expand the highway system. It will only serve to create more pollution and larger, longer traffic jams. Let’s put America back to work, and help free up your time by advancing our public transport system. A vote for John Brooks as a member of Congress on March 3rd, will be a step in the right direction. Remember, community is everything. Let’s create with a purpose in mind and build a future your grand children will appreciate. We are Stronger Together Education Teachers are very important in the development of a child, and education is the one thing that has the ability to place all Americans on an even playing field. Education is the key to a healthy society because it is the great equalizer. No one is born with the desire to be an under achiever. That is learned behavior based on external influences and a society that profits on an uneducated populous. When we continue to invest in short term tangible goals and consciously decide not to invest in our country’s future, our greatest renewable resource, we have sent a clear message to our communities that you do not matter. You can continue to work two jobs to make ends meet. You can continue to provide nutrition-less food to your children. You can continue to decide if you can send your children to the doctor for a check up or pay the electric bill this month. Not investing in a child’s education kicks the can down the road for the next generation to deal with, which is why we find ourselves in the situation we are in today. Everyone deserves to live healthy, prosperous lives. This starts with a quality education for all. Money out of politics Everyone talks about it. We all know that it is not good for our democracy, and yet it still persists. Money influencing political elections does not serve the community or the betterment of society. People who hold the power of disposable capital generally “donate” funds to candidates they believe can be swayed to vote a certain way on issues important to the donor. We have seen this occur time and time again in our democracy but tend to only point to corruption politicians may exhibit, when the corruption occurs in a country other than the United States of America. If we truly care about our country and our fellow Americans, and want to see our tax dollars go for the betterment of society, as a whole, we need to move away from Citizens United and move toward publically funded elections. It would be a start in creating what our founder’s called “A more perfect Union.”[19] |
” |
| —John Brooks 2020 campaign website[20] | ||
Jose Caballero
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MEDICARE FOR ALL No one should have to choose between keeping a roof over their head and getting the medicine that they need to survive. The United States needs to step into the 21st century like other nations and offer a comprehensive single payer healthcare system. On healthcare we need to stop following and go back to leading. I support Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” program. If elected, I will sign on and fight for passage of this critical bill introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Debbie Dingell. Patients would not be responsible for any cost sharing of medical expenses ending premiums, copays, and deductibles. The government coverage would include hospitals, doctors, preventive care, prescription medications, dental care, and vision care. This plan also stops private insurers from selling plans that compete with Medicare for All. Green New Deal My pledge is to sign onto the Green New Deal day one in office. We will support the one trillion-dollar infrastructure revitalization package that will bring redevelopment to a scale not seen since the New Deal. I will never stop fighting to ensure the climate crisis is addressed and that bold action is taken. I have lead marches against Monsanto, been a canvass director for Environment California, and have been vegan for over three years. I will be running on a platform to work with farmers to transform our food system to be more sustainable and diverse. ENDING ALL SUBSIDIES FROM INDUSTRIES THAT DESTROY OUR ENVIRONMENT
CARBON TAX A $73 tax on every ton of CO2 produced by industry would create $300 billion in revenue a year. FOOD SAFETY We believe the FDA deserves funding to guarantee disease-free food safety. Food safety is also ensuring that the food we eat is beneficial to long term health using science-based research. We will fight to ensure that plant-based options are available in all schools and hospitals across the country. We will also advocate for a more streamlined inspection process that limits the amount of administrative tasks that have to be done by the farmers themselves. CONSTRUCTION ALONGSIDE PUBLIC TRANSIT HUBS We support mass public transit that spans the entirety of the United States in order to bring down CO2 emissions. This growth in public transit will lead to new construction. ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE CONSTRUCTION We must only build with the environment in mind, and I will fight to make certain we end all new construction of non-renewable energy plants. We should only construct in accordance to the framework set forth in the Green New Deal. HEROES’ PROMISE MEAL & SLEEP TIME PROTECTION Eating and sleeping are natural processes that maintain our physical and mental health. This should not be taken away except in the case of a life or death situation (i.e. in a war zone). RIGHT TO FILE EFFECTIVE GRIEVANCE All active duty members will be given the right to file a grievance outside the chain of command, ensuring them a fair and effective grievance process. RIGHT TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES War is difficult not only on the body but the mind. We have to provide our active duty members the right to mental health services without fear of reprisal or retaliation. END OF SERVICE PENSION Up to 6 years equal to time served at exiting base pay upon separation, with an additional 2 years for combat veterans. (Example: non-combat veteran that serves 4 years would receive 4 years of pension) Upon leaving, service veterans will be required to have at least one therapy session a month for the duration of the end of service pension. HOUSING FOR ALL VETERANS Our service members are heroes. They have defended our country from threats, we need to do our part and defend our heroes against the threat homelessness. HEALTHCARE FOR ALL VETERANS All veterans will have 100% healthcare via the VA or Medicare upon leaving service. This will include dental, vision and mental health services. CITIZENSHIP FOR ALL VETERANS Our service members put their lives on the line for the citizens of this great nation every single day, yet many of them are not given the full rights of citizenship of the nation they are defending. This is simply not right. We will provide all service members and veterans that have served with United States citizenship. EDUCATION FOR ALL VETERANS We invest so much into guaranteeing the soldiers we send to war are well trained and equipped to face the dangers they are protecting this country from. Our investment needs to continue into their education when they come home. Under the Heroes’ Promise, all veterans will have a right to tuition free public education for their entire life. Education for all Education is a right not a privilege. Everyone deserves equal access to education. Crippling student debt, predatory career college marketing, and overcrowding in the community college and trade school systems in our country have failed our population. We must guarantee a pathway for everyone to have the education needed to reach that dream in today’s economy. We will pursue policy focused on bringing access to education to everyone. ALL EDUCATION SHOULD BE TUITION FREE We will end tuition in public college, universities, and trade schools. By supporting the College For All Act introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representatives Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal. PROTECT AND INCREASE PUBLIC PRE-K THRU 12 GRADE QUALITY AND FUNDING
Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Student loan debt has crippled an entire generation of Americans. Home buying rates amongst millennials is 8% lower than boomers. This is not because millennials don’t want a home, but because they can’t afford one. Millennials are strapped with a debt that has stunted their ability to participate in the economy. We stand for the cancellation of all student loan debt which would be relief to over 42 million Americans. We must forgive the $1.5 trillion debt that is held by 45 million Americans and is crippling our most vulnerable generation and future generations. We can’t allow the continuation of the student debt that is a roadblock for millennials that is stifling our ability to buy homes, start businesses, and be a part of the middle class. I will support Rep. Omar’s Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019, that will forgive all of the country’s student debt. This bill would cost $2.2 trillion over a decade and be paid for by a tax of 0.5 percent on stock trades, a 0.1 percent fee on bonds, and a .0005 percent fee on derivatives. Criminal Justice Reform I will stand with victims of our flawed criminal justice system. I will co-sponsor any legislation that addresses the atrocities of our criminal justice system in regard to racial prejudice and profiling. POLICE TRAINING Communities of color are over policed. This is not a debatable opinion but a statement of fact. We need to address a culture of police training that emphasizes the over targeting of African Americans and Latinos. As a member of the Progressive Wave I will push for federal funding for better training with an increased emphasis on de-escalation tactics and the mandatory use of always-on police body cameras. We also will be seeking funding for community oversight committees on the local level. IN ADDITION I ALSO SUPPORT :
PRISON REFORM Our prison system also needs to be re-examined. The United States currently imprisons 22% of the worlds prison population. yet only makes up only 4.4% of the population. Couple this with a dramatically higher incarceration rate of African Americans and Latinos and a recidivism rate that is appalling it is time for a change. We need to put an end to for profits prisons. We need to put an emphasis back on rehabilitation. We need to reform our criminal justice system! IN ADDITION I ALSO SUPPORT :
No More War We must use the War Powers Act more effectively and end all the foreign wars. Promote peace in international relations – We must increase aid to change our reputation in the world from destroyers to builders. Limit defense spending in government. – I pledge to fight to be on the armed forces committee to address our over bloated defense spending. Ending the War on Drugs The War on Drugs failed, is racist, and need to be put to an end. African American and Latino families have been torn apart by a policy that relentlessly targeted communities of color. It is time for us to put an end to the War on drugs. We are also seeking to legalize marijuana and expungement of the records of those previously convicted on marijuana related felonies. We see models like those we are seeing in Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, and California as a method to rollout a nationwide legalization effort. Then we will advocate to end the war on drugs by decriminalizing drugs and release all nonviolent drug offenders. We will transfer the drug issue out of the hands of the criminal justice system and into the hands of medical professionals. This will also devastate the South American cartels by ending their ability to profit off of our crime networks. Furthermore, it would reduce the power of the cartels over their home countries, thus reducing the flow of refugees. Money Out of Politics We have seen an influx of corporate money into our political system and it must stop. Super PACs need to go! Private donations need to go! We will fight the bribery that our Supreme Court has permitted in our democracy. No member of the Progressive Wave will take Super PAC or corporations. I will fight to establish a 28th Constitutional Amendment that unequivocally takes money out of politics in order to restore election integrity. IN ADDITION I ALSO SUPPORT:
PROTECT VOTER RIGHTS With the decision of Shelby County v Holder we are seeing an increase in voter suppression. The decision left it in Congress’s hands to act an implement an up to date the formula used to enforce voter protection in the Civil Rights Act. Sadly, Congress has failed to act. We won’t fail to act and will push to strengthen the Civil Rights Act and protect the American voter. Immigration Reform DACA AND DAPA PROTECTION We are prepared to fight for true immigration reform. Not a wall! Not bigotry! Not racism! We want to fix our broken immigration process, protect DACA and DAPA recipients, and end our racist immigration policy. We are a nation of immigrants. It is our countries heritage of being a melting pot that makes us strong, that makes us unique, and has helped us prosper. Let’s legalize DACA and DAPA recipients with immediate United State Citizenship. ABOLISH ICE Part of immigration reform is taking steps toward abolishing ICE by changing its directive. We do not need a state sponsored terrorist organization within our own borders. It is time to end ICE’s mission and pass meaningful immigration reform that stands for our values. IN ADDITION I STAND FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE FOLLOWING POLICIES:
Addressing Wealth Inequality Our economy is shifting. If we do not act soon America will fall drastically behind the rest of the world. With Green tech at the forefront we need to make sure that we are actively pursuing these jobs. We must move to a living wage for all Americans. Our crumbling infrastructure will not only put millions of Americans to work, but also help keep us at the forefront of business. The establishment of a national public banking system will allow us to make sure all Americans have access to safe and secure financial services. This is how we step into the new economy that awaits us. INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE AND TIE IT TO INFLATION A lot of discussion has been had about increasing the minimum wage, but at the Progressive wave we don’t want to just increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour but also passing a resolution that ties the minimum wage to inflation. DEAL WITH OUR CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE Our Infrastructure is dying. The Society of Civil Engineers has graded our decaying infrastructure a D+. If we wouldn’t let someone graduate with a grade of D+ how is this acceptable for America? 47,000 of our bridges have been rated structurally deficient by the Federal Highway Administration. This is unacceptable! We have people who want to get to work and we have an infrastructure that has an average age of over 70 years old. But the infrastructure was only meant to last 50. We need to do something about our dying infrastructure. It is costing every American more money, our safety, and our livelihood. Let’s put people back to work and truly energize our economy. PUBLIC BANK I believe that the privatization of our banking system does not give everyone in our country the opportunity to be participant in our economy. That is why I will be working on drafting a bill to allow our US post office to serve as a public bank for the United States of America. The service that the USPS bank will have:
The USPS will be able to use the interest earned in banking to pay for the functions of the USPS as a whole. PAID FAMILY LEAVE The United States has stopped leading when it comes to supporting families. The United States is 1 of 3 countries in the world that doesn’t offer paid maternity leave. Our other two colleagues, Oman and Papua New Guinea. We are not leading here we are at the bottom. We are the only industrialized world leader that doesn’t offer paid vacation time. Again, we are not leading here we are at the bottom. Regardless of ideology we can agree that kids need both parents in their lives. Maternity leave, paternity leave, and paid vacation gives families more time together building better children and in turn a better nation. Stand with us in turning the United States into a leader again. Animal Rights Most Americans believe that animals should be treated fairly and do not deserve a life of suffering and abuse. That is why our campaign is dedicated to give basic dignity and respect to the animals that share our planet with us. We must ensure basic protections through policy. Our campaign would be proud to produce policy that protects animals, as well as strengthen existing policies. INCREASE TRANSPARENCY:
LEGISLATION TO PROTECT ANIMALS:
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| —Jose Caballero 2020 campaign website[21] | ||
Joseph Fountain
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Complete Federal Legalization of Recreational Marijuana The war on marijuana and the mass incarceration of people of color has gone on for too long. Any person who is "woke" knows we need to end the wasteful war on people and begin to heal.
Non-Violent Individuals who are incarcerated today, shall be released. There are thousands of people who are incarcerated today for victimless crimes. When Marijuana is completely legal, these individuals could still be incarcerated for offenses that are now legal. We need to release them, and give them opportunities to participate in the industry that caused them to be locked up. African -Americans and Hispanics should be a prime beneficiary of the changes in the law, and again, they shall reap the benefit by being granted at least 35% of all licences. Taxes reaped from the sale of legal marijuana will go to the USDA and the SBA, and these agencies shall help minority owned cooperative companies form and operate as for-profit cooperatives. The majority of the ownership in each of these companies shall be formerly incarcerated persons of color. Intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky, and Richard Wolfe shall be asked to formulate the articles of incorporation of these cooperatives. A 10% tax on this new industry should created 5 billion dollars in revenue in federal taxes. Of which 90% shall go toward reparations and the remaining 10% to the USDA, SBA and CDC. Immigration-No Person is Illegal Social Security, Federal and State Income Taxes and local sales taxes all benefit from the mistreatment of undocumented workers.
Simple Solutions Give amnesty to all workers who can show they have paid into social security and federal income taxes for greater than 2 years. Ensure they have full access to these monies. Penalize the companies that have abused these workers with a fine of no less than $5,000 per employee and ensure the employee is allowed to keep their job. In industries in which there are labor unions: provide for an instrument in which that company will become a unionized job site or risk being shut down. Another option is to form a cooperative business. The undocumented worker shall have a fast track to US citizenship. All undocumented workers will be encouraged to come forward and report their employers. There will be a limited amnesty period for workers and they will be protected from employer abuse and attack. Deportations will stop. If Melania Trump can become a US citizen after lying on her visa application, and her mother and father can benefit from chain migration then everyone needs to be treated the same. When undocumented workers pay billions of dollars in taxes and social security they will never never benefit and veterans who wore the uniform and served our nation can get deported. While Jeff Bezos can make 11 Billion dollars and pay $0 in federal income taxes. We need to support the immigrant like Jesus said, and deport Bezos. Who is the real parasite? End Federal With holding of Income Taxes We need to abolish income taxes on income below 70K a year and stop with holding of income taxes on incomes in which there will be no federal liability.
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| —Joseph Fountain 2020 campaign website[22] | ||
Janessa Goldbeck
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Tackling the Climate Crisis Climate change is the greatest national security and public health threat we face as a country, and tackling the climate crisis must be a top national priority. Janessa knows that in order to make meaningful change, we must implement a whole of government approach to ensure that all federal spending and research is tied to meeting our climate goals - to include building a 100% clean energy economy by 2050. We have a dwindling window to act to protect the future of our planet for the next generation, and Janessa will take bold, decisive action to take on polluters and substantially increase federal resources to clean energy research and development. Here in San Diego, we know all too well the dangers of wildfires and rising sea levels, which is why Janessa will take the lead on ensuring that the federal government prioritizes climate resilience planning missions in every town and city across our country. Janessa has a track record of working across the aisle on Capitol Hill to protect the environment. Earlier this year, she was instrumental in an effort to pass federal legislation that created 1.3 million acres of new protected wilderness, six new national park service units, and permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, America’s most successful conservation program. Despite the tumult in Washington, the bill passed the House and the Senate and was signed into law. Janessa knows we need even bolder action from Congress on conservation and climate change, and she is ready to hit the ground running on Day One to be a forceful and effective voice for change in Washington. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Campaign Finance Reform & Strengthening Democracy Janessa is running for Congress because she sees how the current political system in Washington is failing us - even while it works for billionaires and entrenched politicians who personally benefit from broken campaign finance laws. Clean elections are the vanguard of the democratic process, and getting corrupt money out of our elections is one of Janessa’s key priorities because it is the lynchpin for achieving other meaningful systemic reforms. Dark, expansive money interests are tipping the scale of democracy, undermining our elections, and preventing progress on critical issues like universal healthcare, tackling the climate crisis, ending the epidemic of gun violence, and ensuring our children have access to affordable, quality education. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Universal Healthcare & Cost of Prescription Drugs Getting access to health care is too expensive, complicated, and frustrating. Janessa knows this firsthand - as the primary caregiver to her mom, who has Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease, Janessa has lived the experience of far too many San Diegans and millions of Americans. On top of that, the price of prescription drugs and long-term care keeps rising. This is a national crisis that deserves immediate action from Congress. Janessa believes in universal health care, including reproductive health care, long-term care, and mental health coverage, so that everyone has the freedom to start a family or a business, care for aging family members, or follow their passions without fear of being financially ruined by getting sick. This requires an approach that isn’t rooted in ideological arguments but is focused on helping people. Period. Americans pay more for prescription drugs than any other industrialized nation in the world - and that’s unacceptable. It’s time to cut out-of-pocket drug spending for seniors on Medicare, cap out-of-pocket drug spending for anyone who opts-in to Medicare, and eliminate co-pays for all generic medicines for low-income Americans on a public plan. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
As a small business owner, Janessa also knows that Medicare for everyone who wants it makes good business sense. The data is clear - implementing a public option would expand coverage for everyone and save small businesses and the government $800 billion dollars within ten years. With an expanded Medicare system, small businesses can expand and innovate without being weighed down by an employer-based healthcare system. Providing a strong public option will help businesses be more competitive and create a safety net for entrepreneurs and start-ups to flourish. And, as our economy continues to change and the future of work is more fluid than ever, workers need the stability of a Medicare option that they can count on if they want it. Solving the Epidemic of Gun Violence Gun violence prevention is core to Janessa’s campaign and central to her motivation to run for office. Each year, more school-age children in the U.S. die from gun violence than on-duty police officers or U.S. military members. This is unacceptable. As a veteran and gun owner, Janessa believes that responsible gun owners must take the lead to promote common-sense efforts to reduce gun violence and promote gun safety. Our current laws are failing — they are not sufficiently protecting Americans and their communities. The reality is that while other countries grapple with the same mental health and extremist threats as America, ready access to guns makes our issues far more deadly. To legally drive a car, you have to pass a driving test and get a license that demonstrates you can safely and responsibly operate a vehicle. Having a gun should be no different. The majority of Americans agree that something must be done. But the NRA has viciously fought common-sense measures by buying off politicians in Washington and immobilizing Congress. The NRA is currently a tax-exempt organization, which means it's supposed to operate in the public interest. But the NRA works almost exclusively to make the gun industry rich — all at the expense of our safety and freedom from gun violence. Janessa is unafraid to take on the gun lobby and stand up for life-saving legislation. Her plan begins with her first-hand experience with firearms as a Marine - she understands that weapons of war belong on the battlefield, not in schools or homes. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Paid Family Leave & Long Term Care Right now, whether a family is welcoming a new baby or caring for an aging family member, their ability to do so with dignity remains available only to those who can afford it. Caring for an elderly parent or a new child should never cause someone to lose their job or go bankrupt. This is why Janessa supports a comprehensive agenda to restore dignity to our families at every stage in life. This means investing in paid family leave and long-term care. Today in America, 1 in 4 new moms do not have access to paid family leave and return to work within two weeks of having a baby. Offering both maternity and paternity leave helps close the gender equality pay gap between men and women in the workplace and encourages women in leadership positions. Paid family leave should be accessible by all workers, especially low wage employees and those working in the gig economy. Many state and employer family leave policies leave out part-time or contract workers, and Janessa will work for a 12-week federal leave system for families, regardless of their job status. Janessa will do this by expanding access to paid family leave to include new fathers and caregiving leave, no matter one’s stage in life. Family leave should be equal, accessible, and adequate for men and women of all incomes and backgrounds. Additionally, in the next ten years, one in four San Diegans will be over the age of 65 — more than 1.2 million people. Nationally, 20 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older by the year 2030. And more than half of all seniors — tens of millions of Americans — will require long-term care. No American should have to worry about what will happen to them in old age or how they will afford long-term care for a loved one. It’s time for us to recognize and prioritize the impending long-term care crisis. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Education As the daughter of a public school teacher and the recipient of substantial federal grants and loans, Janessa knows how critical education is to the future of the American dream. From pre-K to graduate school, Janessa will work to expand access, increase teacher pay, expand investment in public schools, and ensure that future generations are not burdened with heavy debt. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
National Security Janessa’s experience as a Captain in the Marine Corps and as a human rights advocate give her unique insight into how the United States can build strong, compassionate, and progressive national security policy. As a human rights organizer, Janessa helped pass key anti-genocide legislation in Washington D.C. that targeted the brutal Sudanese regime. While deployed overseas with the Marines, Janessa worked side-by-side with NATO partners to achieve strategic objectives. After a career working in security, defense, and diplomacy, Janessa is deeply committed to ensuring America’s security and addressing global threats. It’s time to restore American credibility, end endless war, and focus on addressing future threats like climate security, extremism, and the rising tide of authoritarianism. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Immigration & our Border As a Marine Combat Engineer, Janessa experienced first-hand the destructive force of militarizing the US border when her friends and colleagues were haphazardly sent to San Diego’s border as part of the Trump administration’s PR “Caravan” stunt. This shameful misuse of the US military and the administration’s policies of cutting off aid, denying amnesty. Separating families, and conducting raids on peaceful San Diego communities continue to be a stain on the promise of America. A holistic, comprehensive immigration plan is needed to address 21st Century challenges, not a wall or ICE raids in our neighborhoods. Tearing kids away from their parents, indefinite detentions, and arbitrary deportation policies all must stop. Human dignity isn’t a partisan issue. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Jobs & Economic Security Janessa supports policies that empower workers and restore the American Dream. As the child of a union household and successful small business owner, Janessa knows what it takes to make sure we have an economy that works for everyone. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Women's & LGBTQ+ Rights The Marine Corps is less than ten percent female. While serving, Janessa was often the only woman - let alone gay person - in a leadership position in the room. On a personal level, she knows how important it is to stand up and speak out on behalf of equality for all. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Criminal Justice Reform The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world with more than 2 million people in prison and jail. The evidence is clear - our system starkly disadvantages the poor and people of color. Meanwhile, our government spends billions of dollars to subsidize the private prison industry which bilks a profit from mass incarceration. We must do better - by reducing incarceration rates. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
Housing & Homelessness Every American deserves a safe, decent, and affordable place to live. Government at all levels hasn’t done enough to tackle our housing and homelessness crisis. The cost of living in San Diego is far too high for most families to afford homeownership or access the rental market. On top of that, there are more than 8,000 San Diegans who are unsheltered. It’s time for new ideas and a new approach to provide affordable housing and end chronic homelessness. IN CONGRESS, JANESSA WILL:
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| —Janessa Goldbeck 2020 campaign website[23] | ||
Georgette Gomez
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Universal Healthcare Georgette Gómez supports universal healthcare. In Congress, she will fight for a Medicare for All program so that everyone has access to the health care they need. When Georgette was growing up, there were times when her family couldn’t afford health insurance, and her parents had to choose whether to go to the doctor. Georgette believes that no one should ever be denied health care because they are unable to afford it. In Congress she will take on the prescription drug companies that continue to gouge working families, and fight for funding to provide access to care in underserved communities. Tackling the Climate Crisis Georgette Gómez knows we are facing a climate emergency. That’s why she supports a Green New Deal, to tackle the climate crisis and create millions of clean energy jobs. As a community organizer working on environmental justice issues, Georgette learned that change comes from engaging the community. We have a climate crisis and we must act now. Georgette is pushing for full implementation of San Diego’s landmark Climate Action Plan, which puts the city on the path to 100% clean energy. In Congress, Georgette will continue to be a champion for building a sustainable, equitable future. Gun Control to Save Lives Georgette Gómez understands that gun control saves lives. Too many innocent lives have been lost to gun violence. As City Council President, Georgette worked to pass a gun safety law requiring trigger locks on guns. Georgette is a strong supporter of gun control and will push for tougher universal background checks, a ban on military style assault weapons and ending the gun show loophole. Affordable Housing Georgette Gómez believes that it’s outrageous that half a million Americans are sleeping on the streets every night. As City Council President, Georgette has made affordable housing one of her key priorities. In Congress, Georgette will be a firm advocate for increased public housing assistance, federal grants for affordable housing projects and expanding funding for the Section 8 housing program. Economic Equity Georgette Gómez knows that the Trump economy is working for billionaires, while working families are struggling to make ends meet. The wealthiest corporations in history are paying nothing in taxes while most Americans are working longer and harder for less. In Congress Georgette will fight for a living wage, push to strengthen unions, and ensure that we are providing workers with important quality of life benefits such as paid vacation, sick leave, and family leave. Defending Immigrants and Refugees Georgette Gómez is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and knows first hand the struggles that new arrivals face in this country. Unite States was built by immigrants. Georgette knows that our current immigration system is broken and exploitative. In Congress, she will work to end illegal and immoral deportations, stop the border wall, and make sure that no child is separated from their family or held in a cage. Georgette will fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. She will work to reinstate the DACA program, and protect refugees and asylum seekers who have come here seeking a better life. Gómez will also work to eliminate the travel ban directed to our Muslim community members. Expanding Public Transit Georgette Gómez grew up taking the city bus from her home in Barrio Logan. As the chair of the Metropolitan Transit System board, Georgette was a champion for expanded and equitable public transit. As City Council President, she has fought for increased transit funding, built new bike lanes, and brought electronic buses to San Diego. In Congress, Georgette will make investments in public transit, and high speed rail a priority. Reforming the Criminal Justice System Georgette Gómez believes our broken criminal justice system is a civil rights issue. Our justice system disproportionately arrests, prosecutes, and sentences people of color in this country. We need more community policing, more trust between neighborhoods and police and real, meaningful, criminal justice reform. In Congress, Georgette will fight for treatment programs for non-violent drug offenders, federal legalization of marijuana, eliminate mandatory minimums, end cash bail and increase funding for the FBI’s Civil Rights Division. Protecting Social Security and Medicare Georgette Gómez understands that Social Security and Medicare are fundamental safety nets for our seniors. We must keep the commitment we’ve made to our seniors to help them retire with security and dignity. We need to protect and preserve Social Security, not privatize it. In Congress, Georgette will fight to increase benefits and expand Medicare.[19] |
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| —Georgette Gomez 2020 campaign website[24] | ||
Sara Jacobs
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Fighting for Universal Health Care and Full Access to Reproductive Health Health care is a fundamental human right and we need to do everything we can to get to universal coverage. It’s an embarrassment that here in the United States we still don’t guarantee health care to all our people. Having travelled to many other countries, I’ve seen first-hand how universal coverage is an achievable goal, especially for the wealthiest country in the world. Many examples across the world show that a strong public role in health care can provide affordable, universal coverage. As such, I am proud to support Medicare for All. And I know that health care is about more than insurance. The system is rigged in favor of the big prescription drug companies, who can set whatever prices they want. I would work to make health care – not just health insurance – more affordable, by fighting to bring down out-of-pocket costs for things like co-pays and prescriptions, cracking down on drug companies for their runaway price increases, and holding insurance providers to account. We also need to de-stigmatize mental health and bring mental and behavioral health care on par with physical health care. We need more funding and training for primary care physicians, teachers, and school counselors to identify and support children facing behavioral or mental health challenges, and work with colleges to provide comprehensive mental health services. We need to make sure insurers are complying with mental health parity laws and increase the number of mental health providers around the country – particularly those who accept insurance. We need to ensure that anyone who suffers from substance use disorders gets the treatment and ongoing support that they need, rather than letting them face neglect and stigmatization. I firmly believe in every person’s right to have access to reproductive health services, and I also believe that if we want to support that access, we need more women – and members of the trans and gender non-conforming communities – at the table. We’ve seen what it looks like to have a room full of men legislate on reproductive health, and we’ve seen that women from both sides of the aisle are the ones who, time and again, demand that women’s health considerations be included in more broad health care and budget discussions. We need to ensure that low-income individuals have access to the reproductive health care services that they need by repealing the Hyde Amendment. And we need to codify Roe v. Wade into law so that we never have to worry about creeping state laws that in practice restrict a person’s ability to access their reproductive rights. We also need to focus on the United States’ high – and increasing – maternal mortality rate, especially among Black women, by funding implicit bias training among medical professionals, and extending Medicaid coverage to a full year after pregnancy. Building an Economy that Works for Everyone We have an unfair economic system that gives access to opportunity to some, while leaving so many others behind. When 39,000 military service members, veterans, and their families rely on the food banks in San Diego County every month, and 40 percent of San Diego’s children under 12 years of age are living in families under 200 percent of the poverty line, we know that our economy isn’t working the way it needs to. Make no mistake, the inequalities in our current economic system didn’t happen by accident. They are the result of a concerted, long-term effort by powerful special interests – and the Members of Congress they bankroll – to write the rules in a way that benefit themselves. There are a few things we can do to start to fix this: First, we need to roll back the harmful provisions in the Republican tax bill that are raising costs for middle-class families in California. Instead, we need a tax system that values labor and work as much as, if not more, than shareholders and passive income. Second, we need to do more to empower workers and grow wages and benefits. Every major corporation and industry has a team in Washington that works the halls of Congress every single day, looking for ways to tilt the scales in their favor in order to increase profits. The only counterbalance to that force – the only strong, reliable, and dedicated voice on behalf of working people in America – is organized labor. Virtually every protection that workers in America have, from pensions to paid family leave, tie back to the labor movement. We need more union jobs and more support for organized labor in America. We can accomplish that by making sure that workers are able to organize; standing against attacks on Davis Bacon, designed to protect contractors and subcontractors; and ensuring that Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) are built into federally funded projects. I support a national $15 minimum wage, protections for tipped workers, and passing the domestic workers bill of rights, so all workers are covered under our country’s labor laws. We also have to make sure that our seniors can retire in dignity. Twenty percent of seniors in California rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. As more and more people retire without the benefit of a pension, that number is going to grow. Two-thirds of workers don’t contribute to a 401(k), either because their employer doesn’t offer one or because they are living paycheck-to-paycheck. So, we have to protect, expand, and strengthen Social Security, not let Republicans treat it like a rainy-day fund. And finally, we need to make our economy more equitable and fairer overall. We need to make sure financial institutions are, at their core, serving their central purpose: investing in new businesses. That’s why I am interested in ways the Federal Reserve could incentivize greater capital to be made available to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Building a Workplace that Works for 21st-Century Families We need to get our workplaces more in line with 21st-century families. That means fighting to end the gender pay gap, which predominately affects African American and Latina women, across all industries. If I am elected to Congress, I will fight for greater salary transparency, including fighting for the full enforcement of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which makes it illegal for employers to prohibit the sharing of salary information, and to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act at the federal level. We also need to do more to compel employers, including government agencies, to intentionally raise wages for roles that are traditionally filled by women. We know that women take on more low-paid or unpaid caregiving roles and are more likely to request time off to support their families, all of which contributes to the gap we see in wages over time. We can help close this gap through government measures like tax credits and better benefits for caregivers. We also know that while wages for the middle class have largely failed to rise, the cost of raising a child has increased dramatically; for many, child care costs each month are roughly equal to the cost of rent or a monthly mortgage. And for many women, lack of affordable child care is a main barrier of entry into the workforce. As a Member of Congress, I will fight to set – and meet – a national goal to keep child care costs within 10 percent of a family’s annual earned income. To start, we need to invest in better payment assistance programs for families, pre-K for every child, more after-school options, and finally pass paid family leave and create a culture in which people of all genders take that time with their families. Addressing the Epidemic of Gun Violence I have been so inspired by the high school students from Parkland and across the country who have stood up against the NRA and are fundamentally changing the politics around gun violence prevention in this country. The majority of adults in the United States think that gun laws should be stricter, and yet, the gun lobby has used their money and our broken campaign finance system to stack Congress with their supporters, and block any possibility of reform, against the will of the people. But because of the activism of these students, we finally have a chance to pass common-sense gun violence prevention legislation. I support comprehensive federal background check legislation and more funding to enforce the laws. Everyone who purchases a gun in this country should have to undergo a criminal background check, regardless of where or from whom they purchase their gun, which means we need to close loopholes like the gun show loophole. I also support a federal gun licensing system, and background checks required on ammunition sales nationwide, similar to what was recently implemented here in California. And we need to hold gun manufacturers and gun store owners liable when their products are sold and used illegally. I also believe that we need to ban assault weapons. Military grade weapons have no place on our streets. We need better deterrence against illegal gun trafficking and guns passing through straw purchasers into the hands of those with criminal backgrounds, histories of violence, or serious mental illness, and we need to pass legislation to make illegal gun sales and handovers a federal crime. And while I support the Department of Justice’s amended ATF regulations that mandate bump stocks be subjected to the same federal regulations as machine guns, I also support including such a provision in federal legislation to prevent any future Department of Justice from reversing course. I am heartened that, in December 2019 – for the first time in more than two decades – Congress appropriated $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health to study gun violence as a public health threat. As a Member of Congress, I will continue the push for additional funding. We also need to recognize the intrinsic link between gun violence and domestic violence. More than half of women murdered with guns are killed by family members or intimate partners. Analysis of mass shootings from 2009 to 2016 shows that 54 percent of mass shootings were instances of domestic violence. I support federal red flag laws, to allow the court to seize weapons from someone they deem a risk to themselves or others – and I support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). I also support federal grants for community-based violence prevention programs to support communities that are disproportionately affected by gun violence. It’s time for Congress to stop playing politics with people’s lives and get to work to keep our communities safe. Fighting for DREAMERs and Immigration Reform Congress needs to immediately pass a clean DREAM Act. I believe we need to do everything we can to protect young people who arrived in this country when they were children. I also support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents and believe we need a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that moves us forward humanely and responsibly. I believe that any comprehensive approach should prioritize keeping families together and making sure businesses have the workers that they need while preventing them from abusing the visa system to outsource jobs. We need to fully resource our immigration courts and fix visa backlogs so that people can move through our legal immigration system without undue delay, especially focusing on the wait times for children of veterans from the Philippines who fought in World War II. We should set a goal of welcoming 95,000 refugees a year to our country and protect people who came here under Temporary Protected Status. I am also committed to bringing home our deported veterans. If you served this country, you should be able to live in this country. I also believe we can institute responsible, effective border security – not by building a wall, but by instituting measures that will actually increase efficiency and speed up transit across the border (which will also have the side effect of being good for our environment through reduced emissions). When the San Ysidro Port of Entry was closed last November in response to the “migrant caravan,” it was catastrophic for our economy and for Tijuana’s economy. After just five hours, the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce estimated American businesses lost nearly $5.3 million. I believe it’s possible to have a safe and secure border that is also humanely enforced. That means that we should never separate children from their families nor put people unnecessarily in detention, and we must end the illegal metering of asylum applications and Remain in Mexico policy. And we need to resource and put in place programs for children who have experienced trauma because of the Trump Administration’s inhumane policies. We also need wholesale reform of our border and immigration enforcement agencies, re-focusing CBP on securing the border and focusing on drug and human trafficking, instead of interior enforcement. I believe we should also extend DOJ civil rights oversight to CBP. And we must end the for-profit immigrant detention industry once and for all. Creating More Affordable Housing and Addressing the Homelessness Crisis Everyone should have a home to sleep in. We know that having a home is the first step in accessing other needs – like safety, better health, work, and education. San Diego County has the fourth highest homeless population in the nation but often is around 20th in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – even with recent increases. So, part of addressing these issues is fighting for more robust federal funding to help end the region’s homelessness crisis, including through targeted investments to provide housing, outreach, and access to social services. As a representative of the 53rd District, I’ll also push for HUD to modernize their funding formula, which I believe will bring further grant funding into our district in support of proven programs to put homeless individuals into permanent housing and help them access the social services they need. I’ll work toward a consistent, government-wide definition of homelessness that takes into account what we know homelessness looks like in our community. And I’ll support federal programs that focus on preventing homelessness, like federal funding for legal counsel and providing emergency assistance in eviction courts. We know that San Diego County has a severe housing shortage. I will support and co-sponsor the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, which leverages federal funding to build new housing units for low- and middle-income families by investing in a Housing Trust Fund, a Capital Magnet Fund to leverage private dollars, and a Middle-Class Housing Emergency Fund. And we need to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and restore its value since the Republican tax bill gutted it. I will also co-sponsor the Rent Relief Act – which creates a refundable rental housing tax credit that would help individuals who live in rental housing and pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent – so that we are not unfairly penalizing renters in our tax code. And I would go even further and allow this tax credit to be directed to a tax-exempt savings account that can be used for a down payment to buy a home. I also support universal housing vouchers, so that anyone who is eligible for housing assistance receives it – instead of only 1 in 8 applicants, as is the case right now. But we know that more funding from the federal government will not solve the problem unless local governments change their zoning laws. So, I support new federal grants that require localities to reform land-use rules to be eligible, which can be used to build infrastructure, parks, roads, or schools. I also support inclusive zoning as a criteria for determining prioritization of new Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). And we also know that wealth derived from housing is a major contributor to the racial wealth gap – so I support no or low cost loans to families and individuals who live in formerly red-lined communities, and HUD-administered grants that provide down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers who live in historically red-lined communities. I believe Congress must continue to fund and improve federal programs to root out housing discrimination and make renting and owning a home more accessible and affordable. We need to resist the Trump Administration’s attempts to cut funding for HUD programs that directly reach our communities – like Section 8 rental vouchers, assistance for home buyers, and more. I’ll fight to protect and expand HUD funding for the 53rd District overall, and work to give more benefits to first-time and middle-class home buyers. Serving Military Members, Veterans, and Their Families Our military is the best-trained, best-equipped fighting force in the history of the world, and we should all be proud of those who serve in our Armed Forces. But it’s deeply concerning to me that even though we spend more on our military than the next eight countries combined, 39,000 service members, veterans, and their families in San Diego County have to rely on food banks every month to get by. I believe Congress needs to do more to make sure that our military budget is supporting members of our armed services and their families. There needs to be more support for families on military bases, with expanded child care and educational and career opportunities for military spouses. The children of our Armed Forces should receive a world-class education, no matter where they are. Across the board, we need to do more to support our military families – from continuing what the Obama Administration’s Joining Forces initiative started by making it easier for military spouses to retain their employment credentialing across state lines as they move. And by making the transfer schedule align with the school calendar, so kids don’t have to change schools mid-school year. I’ve spoken with military families across San Diego County about how the federal government can do more for military families, such as increasing access to free or highly-subsidized child care, both on base and off, and remaining committed to extended leave policies for new parents and family caregivers. I am also committed to bringing home our deported veterans. If you served this country, you should be able to live in this country. And we need to end the scourge of military sexual assault, by taking the decision to prosecute outside the chain of command and providing more services to survivors. The VA has struggled to modernize and keep up with the fast pace of medical innovation and the influx of patients since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is our duty to those who have served to make significant investments in modernizing the VA – employing enough staff and resources needed to end wait times, installing highly-skilled executive leadership, providing top-quality reproductive health care, and ensuring that mental health care and counseling are always available – while always protecting against Republican attempts to privatize the VA. As a country, we invest billions of dollars training and educating members of the military to be the best in their fields. As their military service concludes, it’s both our responsibility as a country as well as an economic necessity that we take the final step to help launch millions of talented veterans into successful careers. I am a big proponent of expanding and making permanent tuition assistance programs like the post-9/11 GI Bill so that veterans can complete an advanced degree or earn a certificate that will help them transition to a new kind of job without worrying about paying the family bills. And we must end the discriminatory and hateful ban on trans troops serving in the military. If you want to serve this country, you should be able to. As a Member of Congress, I will help root out discriminatory practices against veterans in hiring, education, and housing; fight for more funding for effective local initiatives working to find permanent homes for veterans experiencing homelessness; and legislate against deceptive practices at for-profit colleges. For instance, I support federal legislation to make GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funding part of the 90/10 rule, which requires for-profit colleges to collect at least 10 percent of tuition from sources other than federal aid. This would effectively eliminate the impetus for lower budget for-profit colleges to recruit veterans in order to count more DoD-funded tuition among that 10 percent. We need to both support and protect our veterans and military families from discriminatory practices. Protecting Our Environment and Transitioning to Clean Energy Climate change is one of the biggest threats faced by humanity, and we need to do far more to stop it. That’s why I support a Green New Deal. We need to transition to an entirely clean energy economy by 2030, starting with the most polluting sources of energy first. We need to make dramatic investments in clean energy – and in doing so, make sure clean energy jobs pay well and are good union jobs. And we must repair and upgrade our existing energy infrastructure to reduce pollution, save families money, and remain competitive in a 21st-century global economy. Congress must also maintain, establish, and fully enforce environmental regulations that protect our ecosystems, natural resources, and public health. Many of these laws control exposure to pollutants that disproportionately impact low-income individuals, families, and communities of color. We need to do far more for communities most impacted by the effects of climate change right now, which are often the communities that are most vulnerable for other reasons too. I will hold corporate polluters that are poisoning our kids and communities accountable and fight against offshore drilling. I have proudly signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge and won’t accept a dime from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, or corporate PACs. And I will fight for the federal government to uphold our commitments to the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Working in the Obama Administration, I saw the value and urgency of the Paris Climate Agreement and will push to re-enter it. We need to protect our environment and address climate change with the urgency it deserves. ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE As a policy advisor on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, I consulted with experts to develop our policies and commitments to protect the welfare of animals and wildlife. I was proud to do this policy work on the campaign, and even prouder when I learned that it was the first time a U.S. presidential candidate had animal protections policy highlighted on their website. Those policies I helped develop, some of which live on as part of the Democratic Party platform, were designed to protect animals, lands, and wildlife. It includes policy to protect pets and domestic animals, protect farm animals from inhumane treatment, and end the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the painful practice of horse soring. We also committed to working to shutter the U.S. market for illegal wildlife products and combating international animal trafficking and poaching, which not only harms the environment, but also fuels terrorist activity. As a Member of Congress, I would uphold these commitments. I would also champion the promotion of humane animal treatment. In particular, I support legislation that helps women leave abusive partners and protect their pets. I’d also fight to make sure the next President enforces, funds, and keeps in place current protections for animals and wildlife. I’d work to close loopholes like those in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and others designed to benefit the few and risk animals and their habitats. And we need to establish and enforce stronger regulations on puppy mills and other inhumane commercial breeding facilities. Our pets are members of our families, and wildlife are an important part of our ecosystem. I am currently the mom of a dog named Winston, and have had pets throughout my entire childhood. As a child, I volunteered at Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary, Helen Woodward Animal Center, and beach clean ups, in addition to supporting conservation efforts and taking wildlife classes at the San Diego Zoo. I would bring this lifelong commitment to our environment, animals, and wildlife, which I know so many people in the 53rd District also share, to my work in Congress. Reclaiming Net Neutrality I was outraged by the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality through the hypocritically named Restoring Internet Freedom Order in July of 2018. One of the central tenets of the internet, and the reason it has led to so much innovation, is the free flow of ideas. Until recently, the United States had been a leader in advocating on behalf of this principle and against censorship by other governments. The Restoring Internet Freedom Order makes it harder for us to take a principled approach. First, the fact that it is widely known that bots and fake accounts flooded the public comment period, and no investigation was ever done, is negligent. Second, the only people who benefit from this decision are big internet service providers, who now can decide what you get to see, and for how much. Not only will this affect your bank account, it will affect your privacy and rights. I ran a non-profit that focused on extending equitable access to the internet and information to schools all over the world, and I’ve seen the harmful effects policies like this have on students. We have seen countries like Russia and China trying to create their own internet, with their respective governments deciding what information is suitable for public consumption and what it considers too dangerous. In the United States, we have seen the internet used in the last decade as a driver of social justice movements – from the #MeToo Movement to Black Lives Matter to those demanding a clean #DreamActNow. Allowing big internet service providers to determine who can start or access these movements and the free flow of ideas would be detrimental to our progress as a country. Supporting Public Education and Tackling Student Debt I was fortunate enough to attend some of the best public schools in the country here in San Diego, and I want to make sure every child has access to quality public education. In Congress, I’ll do everything I can to ensure students have a safe place to learn and educators have the training and resources they need to prepare students for the future. We need to adequately fund schools, and make sure we are doing it in a way that doesn’t exacerbate inequality. I believe that Congress must compel the Department of Education to continue implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), particularly the opportunities it provides to low-income students, students of color, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. I oppose vouchers because they divert resources from our public school system. Further, we need to provide schools more support in helping immigrant students and families, including teacher and principal training aimed at supporting cultural and language diversity. I will also push to bring federal funding back to the 40 percent level that was promised in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and work to ensure that funding actually reaches our schools. As a Member of Congress, I won’t supported federal mandates to our school system without providing schools with the requisite funding to implement them. I also believe the federal government should use Title I funding block grants to get states, which do the bulk of education funding, to create more equitable funding formulas. We also know that the community schools model, and school-based health centers (especially for mental health services), contribute significantly to closing the education outcomes gap, so I would invest federal funding in helping more schools to convert to that model. And I would make sure that the federal government creates laws so that for-profit education technology companies are not profiting off of our students’ data, and are adequately protecting the privacy rights of children. Next, we know that access to early childhood education is one of the most important steps in closing the opportunity gap – so I will push for universal Pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. We need to ensure every child has access to quality early childhood education so that they don’t start kindergarten already behind. Recently, California has made strides in expanding state funding for pre-K – but access to high-quality early education remains elusive for many families in California and across the country. I’ll push for significantly more federal funding for Head Start – including incentives for states to fund training and higher pay for educators. I also believe that all students should have the option to attend college debt-free. When my father attended UCSD in the late 1970s, it cost around $300 a quarter. Recently, tuition at California’s state universities has increased roughly 60 percent – and those same schools are admitting more out-of-state residents to shore up their finances, leaving deserving California students behind. We also have to address barriers to higher education that go beyond tuition – like the cost of books, housing, transportation, and food – that are often the reason that students are unable to complete their degree, even with financial aid. To make this a reality, I support expanding federal funding for Pell Grants and indexing that funding to inflation so that students receive enough funding to cover their education costs over time, as the Pell Grant Preservation & Expansion Act proposes. I support Department of Education trial programs to expand access to Pell funding, such as by allowing high school students to use Pell grants to earn credits at their local colleges after they finish their high school graduation requirements. I’m excited about the College Affordability Act that has passed the House. I also plan to explore policies to improve efficiencies, cut costs, and raise graduate rates at colleges and universities. We also need to reign in unfair practices that drive up costs for students, such as deal-making between institutions and firms that supply necessities like textbooks, on-campus child care, transportation, and other campus services. And we need more oversight and accountability of for-profit colleges, that often target low-income students without providing them pathways to better jobs or increased earnings. I will champion more federal funding for college scholarships, particularly for student parents and students of color, and I’ll advocate for Minority-Serving Institutions. We can also broaden opportunities for students through tuition-free community college and by supporting more career and technical training, including and especially for teachers. We need more incentives, like tax credits, for companies that create apprenticeship programs for students and hire recent graduates, and incentivize more institutions to partner with local schools to create specialty degrees and foster diverse talent from a range of educational backgrounds. We need to expand internship opportunities across the board as well as financial support for students who can’t afford to take an unpaid internship. And we can’t forget young people currently struggling to pay off student debt. I will advocate for programs to help refinance debt to lower interest rates; allow those in bankruptcy to discharge student debt; and provide more debt forgiveness options for young people doing their best to open a business, invest in innovation, and improve their communities, whether through teaching, caregiving, or other forms of public service, by expanding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM Everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, wants a society that is just, and where laws are applied equally to everyone. To achieve that reality, we need to refocus our criminal justice system on the offenders that create the most damage – white collar crime, the leaders of crime syndicates, and the like. And we must prioritize rehabilitation and treatment over prison for low-level and nonviolent drug offenses and work to end the era of mass incarceration. We need laws that make racial profiling illegal, provide police departments with body cameras, and support training on use of force and de-escalation techniques. We also need to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by changing mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent, low-level drug arrests, devoting greater resources and training to treatment and rehabilitation, and reforming school disturbance laws to emphasize intervention rather than detention or arrest. I support federal legislation to enable people returning from prison to re-enter society more easily, from encouraging companies and organizations to hire and invest in these individuals to fully restoring their voting rights. California is currently one of only 22 states that allows formerly incarcerated individuals to register to vote after their incarceration, probation, and parole are completed. States that add conditions to the reinstatement of voting rights – and states like Iowa and Kentucky, which have implemented lifetime bans on the voting rights of formerly incarcerated individuals – further contribute to the racial divide perpetrated by our criminal justice system. In fact, African American citizens are four times more likely to face disenfranchisement; 1 in 13 African American citizens of voting age are currently prohibited from voting due to felony convictions, compared to 1 in 40 Americans overall. We urgently need to address a racist justice system in which Latinx and African American people are still far more likely to be profiled, stopped by police, and sentenced to longer prison terms than white people. Once elected, I will proudly sponsor legislation in the House similar to the Senate’s Harris-Paul bill that incentivize states to reform their systems of “money bail” and the Senate’s Booker-Blumenthal legislation that would incentivize states to reduce their prison populations and get rid of private prisons. We also know that, for too long, Congress has operated under outdated norms related to cannabis that continue to punish already vulnerable populations and waste taxpayers money on enforcement. It’s time for the federal government to de-criminalize cannabis. And we need to make sure that tax money derived from legal cannabis sales go back to rebuilding communities that have been devastated by the drug wars, and that we pardon all those who are in the criminal justice system due to non-violent marijuana-related offenses that would now be considered legal. Finally, we know that the laws themselves are not the only problem; the application of the law is also where inequity happens. It is imperative that we find ways to fix the procedural issues that cause so much harm in our criminal justice system. Supporting Zero-Tolerance for Harassment and Abuse I’m glad that women’s voices are finally being heard, but I didn’t need the #MeToo movement to know that sexual harassment in the workplace was a problem. As a young woman, I’ve experienced it myself. We need a zero-tolerance attitude towards sexual harassment and assault – in all facets of our society, and at all levels, but especially in our politics. Our elected leaders write and pass legislation affecting millions of lives, including those of women, and serve as an example to our children of what we value as a society. If our leaders don’t respect women in their own lives, we certainly can’t count on them to make policy that will uphold women’s dignity and rights. We need to protect young people on college campuses and in our Armed Forces, so they can receive a quality education and serve our country without having their safety violated. And statistically, low-wage workers are the most susceptible to workplace harassment, and the risk of losing an income often prevents individuals from coming forward. Nearly two-thirds of Black and Latina women reported experiencing racial discrimination at work. To start, we must pass the domestic workers bill of rights, so that we can ensure that all people are protected from sexual harassment in the workplace. We have an opportunity to build on the #MeToo movement and root out sexual harassment and discrimination across our workplaces and institutions. Congress should pass the Fair Employment Protection Act to restore protections for individuals who experience harassment from a supervisor and incentivize employers to work toward better prevention methods and timely follow up when harassment is reported. We also have an opportunity to go even further and set a goal as a country to create workplaces that reject aggressive, discriminatory behavior and empower employees to look out for one another. For instance, office prevention programs that provide training for bystanders on how to report or intervene when they see harassment happening have been found to reduce incidents overall. And as a Member of Congress, I commit to being an ally to anyone experiencing sexual harassment. We need to make clear to the leaders of the future that touching a person without their consent is an unforgivable offense. Every candidate who vies for higher office has to see and treat women as equal members of our society. I’m glad that Congress updated rules for its own conduct, but we have so much more work to do to ensure Members of Congress are living up to their leadership responsibilities. The rate of domestic abuse in our country is heartbreaking and it disproportionately impacts women of color, and trans women of color most of all. That’s why I will fight to make it harder for domestic abusers to own firearms, so we can prevent assaults from turning into deadly and tragic events, including crafting legislation that would require anyone with a temporary restraining order to forfeit their firearm, and closing the “boyfriend loophole” which allows domestic abusers who are boyfriends to keep their guns in the case of a protective order. And we need more provisions so that people fleeing from domestic abuse get the services that they need, and don’t experience homelessness as a result. Making Government Actually Work Our government should represent all of us – not just wealthy special interests. We need to ensure government is transparent, by requiring the public disclosure of political spending. We need to update disclosure requirements for online political advertising to apply the same rules as TV, radio, and satellite ads. And companies should have to disclose their political spending to shareholders. I also support encouraging more participation in our democracy by supporting small dollar matching programs. And most importantly, we need to prevent corporations from having unlimited sway over our elected officials – which is why I support a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United. I support legislation that prohibits federal registered lobbyists from contributing to or bundling for federal campaigns, and strengthening the definition of who must register as a lobbyist. I believe that no Member of Congress should receive contributions from industries that are regulated by the committees on which they sit, and I believe that Members of Congress should be banned from becoming lobbyists after leaving office. I’m also operating under the policies I support: my campaign will not accept any corporate donations or contributions from federal and corporate lobbyists. And I pledge to publicly post my official schedule as a Member of Congress. And I’m committed to innovating and modernizing the way Members of Congress interact with their constituency and finding ways to bring more people into the policy-making process – through deliberative democracy and participatory processes. We have new technologies and tools that enable us to reach out to people in a different way, and it is well past time we use them. Fighting for Equality for our LGBTQ+ Siblings As someone with both a gender-nonconforming sibling and a trans sibling, issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community are deeply personal to me. We know the fight for equality didn’t end at marriage. In 30 states, it’s still legal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender expression. And there is an epidemic of violence against trans women of color. In Congress, I will fight for all of our siblings, including my actual siblings, to have equal protection under the law. I will fight to ensure the Equality Act becomes law, so that no one can be fired or denied public housing and other government services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I support the Do No Harm Act, so that the important religious freedom protections that we have cannot be used to harm LGBTQ+ people. And I support ending the practice of conversion therapy once and for all. I will also work to ensure that we adequately fund the federal Offices of Civil Rights to have the resources to enforce protections for LGBTQ+ people, and I will ensure that HUD and EEOC have the resources they need to quickly respond to and investigate complaints that they receive about discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. We know that LGBTQ+ youth are uniquely susceptible to bullying and depression. So, we need to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act, to ensure that schools are enacting codes of conduct that specifically prohibit bullying and harassment; and the Student Non-Discrimination Act, that protects students from being discriminated against for their gender or sexual orientation in any federally funded programs and institutions. We also need to do more to help train teachers to spot when a child is being bullied because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. And we need to increase funding for school-based mental health services. We know that around 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ+, and that trans people experience vastly higher than average rates of homelessness and housing insecurity. So, as we work to end our homelessness crisis, we must make sure that any shelter that receives federal funds does not discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, particularly youth, and accommodates trans people in a way that aligns with their gender identity. We must expand federal initiatives to end youth homelessness and reauthorize and fully fund the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act. We need to ensure that everyone has access to the physical and mental health care that they need. We need to pass legislation that addresses key risk factors for LGBTQ+ deaths by suicide, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth. We need to expand access to PrEP and align federal HIV-specific criminal laws with our current scientific understanding of HIV. We need to ban medically unnecessary genital surgeries on intersex infants and children. And we need to make sure that all trans people have access to gender affirming care. In 2018, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition counted 26 incidents of fatal transgender violence. And this rate of violence has only continued in 2019. We must end this epidemic of violence against the trans community, especially trans women of color. I support the compilation of disaggregated crime statistics so we can better understand the problem and how to help solve it, and I support increasing funding for law enforcement training on cultural competency and how to identify and respond to these issues. And we need to ensure that when trans people are incarcerated, which they are at a much higher rates than average, they are incarcerated in a way that is safe and respectful of their gender identity. I’ve seen firsthand the hurt and pain that can be caused by misgendering someone. And how easy it is to be an ally by taking the extra time to normalize sharing your pronouns. That’s why I support ensuring that it is easy to access federal identity documents with the pronouns you identify with. I am using my platform to educate people about correct pronoun usage and am striving to use gender-inclusive language throughout my campaign. It is long past time that we ensure that all members of our community have access to opportunity, no matter whom they love or how they identify. Modernizing and Investing in Infrastructure and Transit We need to vastly increase our federal investment in our nation’s infrastructure and ensure that any infrastructure bill includes provisions on PLAs and prevailing wage. We know that we need more funding for modernizing and building schools, increasing mass transit, extending internet connectivity and rural broadband, rebuilding our crumbling highways and bridges, retrofit existing projects to be more energy efficient, and ensure we have the highest quality water infrastructure. To do that, I believe the federal government should invest $650 billion directly in needed infrastructure projects and create a national infrastructure bank that leverages public dollars with private investment. And we know that more funding alone will not solve the problem. We also need to modernize the public evaluation framework for projects to ensure they take into account the latest research. We need to ensure projects are selected based on impact, not politics. And we need to streamline permitting, break down silos that limit funds to a single type of transportation, and encourage 21st century design and technology. We should also explore merit-based competitive grants instead of handing money directly to state governments. Rebuilding America’s Leadership Role in the World I believe that the United States can play a leadership role in the world, ensuring that Americans are safe and secure and that we are working to make the world more peaceful. I also believe that in 2021, we will have a very unique opportunity to rebuild our foreign policy and national security architecture after Donald Trump’s complete decimation of it. That means re-entering the Paris Climate Accords and treating climate change with the urgency it deserves, rebuilding and funding our State Department and USAID, and re-focusing our Defense Department to the threats of the future, instead of fighting yesterday’s wars. It is well past time that Congress stops abdicating its role in our national security. I support repealing the 2002 AUMF which authorized the Iraq War, a clear mistake, and amending the 2001 AUMF to a new time-limited one that authorizes the use of military force in specific countries against specifically named groups while enhancing congressional oversight and public transparency. We need to end the forever wars – America’s involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and fighting terrorism around the world – and we need to do it responsibly. We’ve seen successful peacebuilding and conflict stabilization interventions in other places and we need to take the lessons that we learned from those experiences and make sure that we are funding a day after plan for leaving, just as we should have funded a day after plan for intervening in the first place. I know that development and diplomacy are the most important foreign policy tools that we have. So, not only do we need to protect and maintain current funding levels for the State Department and USAID, we need to drastically re-balance our approach to foreign policy to give enough resources and emphasis to these agencies.[19] |
” |
| —Sara Jacobs 2020 campaign website[25] | ||
Eric Kutner
| “ |
We Need a National Vision and Strategy If you are in putting-out-fires mode (crisis mode), then you are losing. I say this often. I remind people that if you have actual or proverbial fires, put them out, BUT make sure a consequential portion of your team is dedicated to thinking strategically to get out of crisis mode. Most 53rd Congressional District and national issues are as they are because they reflect a nation in perpetual crisis mode. We need to get a national vision and strategy for dealing with the future of the entire Universe--not simply our neighborhood or our world. If we had an overarching universal United States vision and strategy, the local and national answers to crises like mass shootings, health care, climate change, wildfires, immigration, border security, and cybersecurity could be made more obvious because they would be part of a sensible big picture and not based on always-limited and polarized crisis mode thinking. The Economy: Business, Health care, Innovation I have been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager with a tennis racquet stringing business that continued as a side gig thru college and my early business years. I have mentored startup companies and not-for-profits via organizations like CONNECT and San Diego Sport Innovators (SDSI), and, most importantly, I have mentored (often volunteer/ pro bono) many members of the military, veterans, and first responders with respect to life and business matters. I am all about having a sensible business environment because I've lived it. For instance, regulations should be reasonable, rational, and enforceable and never onerous unless absolutely necessary for health, safety, and security reasons. Health care is one of the biggest drivers of our economy and a key aspect of running a business and being an employee. I would like to see some form of single-payer system in the future, but having been around the Hill when Obamacare was born, we can't go through the ~1400-page reinvention of health care of the late 2000s right now. I believe we can find a way in the short term (2-3 years) to overhaul Obamacare into something where everyone can have actual very affordable access to real, suitable, useful health care services and which could build the framework for single payer. Lack of Affordability in Housing, Homelessness The 53rd definitely has a housing affordability crisis. There will always be the tug between business thinking that wants to see the value of people's investments in housing increase vs. the reality that not everyone can afford the most expensive housing in a given area. Given its status as a beautiful vacation destination, there is a quandry of where to encourage and where to draw the line on vacation rentals and other vacation home challenges. The shortage of housing in many areas means 53rd District municipalities have to at least think about potential solutions such as allowing more high-rise buildings. I am a fan of gentrification that pushes people up and NOT out. Too often, glitzy town centers pop up as an announcement to lower income and the homeless that they should start thinking about moving. I disagree with that method. I think that given enough time there are ways to have all ships benefit from the rising tide. One of the challenges is that no one improves their situation overnight. Even if federal or other funds are injected into an area to give the homeless more support, provide low, middle, and upper income residents with higher paying work and business opportunities, and everyone training for higher paying opportunities, it takes more than days, weeks, or even months to truly improve one's situation to where one can really afford to stay in a gentrifying neighborhood. Those plans should make sure there are multiple years built into the pre-gentrification period. Homelessness is one of our greatest challenges. For many, if not most, homeless people it is not a choice that they are homeless. Due to mental illness, physical health challenges, lack of employable record or skills, and the like it will take a well-funded multi-pronged approach that builds blocks of support into their lives over time. At the same time, we may be able to make that really difficult program simpler by removing those homeless who don't want to be homeless and for whom a shelter, training, and a job and eventually affordable place to live might be enough to get them off the streets. That makes the proverbial stack of needles smaller making it more obvious who is in desperate need of a much higher level of support. Equality, Immigration, Border Security Civil rights and liberties are at the core of my policy thinking: EVERYONE is equal under the law and in opportunity. I include immigration and border security here because I believe that many of the challenges we have in those areas are due to forgetting the importance of leading with EVERYONE Is equal under the law and in opportunity. First, we need the aforementioned national vision and strategy. Then, we can create a whole new immigration system based on strategic (where border security and immigration have related pieces, but are not treated the same) as opposed to crisis-mode thinking (where border security is always erroneously 100% interwoven with immigration). That system should be based on what we want to encourage for our own economic hope and national security. For me, we need to encourage legal immigration so our country doesn't get stale. Part of having an edge over the rest of the world in innovation is having new people flow into the country bringing their ideas and resilience. We need to rethink what asylum means to us. For me, we need a system that addresses the issue humanely. This form of immigration system is one that eliminates most of the needles in the stack of needles that are our border security challenge, thereby significanty reducing the complexity of border security. Education and Science and Technology: I am lucky to have grown up in a family of university and college professors, teachers, lawyers, and health care providers. I had access to computers and the pre-internet when I was a child and I used the internet as it was created and evolved so I am about as close to a digital native as one gets. I have an undergradute degree in Physics from Princeton University and have continued to be part of the scientific research community. I tutor K-12 students across San Diego in science, math, reading, writing, and test prep and I started tutoring two decades ago. I love helping others learn and have put a lot of effort into getting more people, especially women and girls, into STEM/STEAM fields. I have lived the crucial role played by science and technology investment, including in basic and applied research. We have reached a time where government and industry have forgotten that research for the sake of exploration of the unknown, otherwise known as basic research is even more important than the ever-crucial research with specific, often shorter term challenges in mind, otherwise known as applied research. Climate Change, Wildfires, Infrastructure Resilience I have approached these monster challenges with many hats. Clearly, I have the scientist and sensible business hats. As a former Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and technical rescue provider (including vehicle rescue) who managed a rescue squad not far from New York City not long after 9/11, I have spent nearly 17 years dealing with first responder, emergency management, and other related issues. In the 53rd District, I have been a senior advisor to San Diego State University's homeland security center and program with their focus on humans, communication (including social media), and teamwork in disasters and other forms of crises. I have also advised Department of Homeland Security (DHS) research centers at Rutgers University and the University of Maryland at College Park where some of my work focused on infrastructure resilience, which is DC Beltway jargon for how communities prevent crises and survive those that occur. We need a national vision and strategy which embraces the future far enough out that it becomes obvious to deal with climate change and it is not an excuse from our fixing the problem that other nations pollute as much or more and how are we possibly going to stop them. We need to lead by example. This has happened before in our history. We have led the world into amazing places never envisioned by humanity. We can do it again. Sports and recreation I understand the important part sports play in building life skills, fostering leadership, and bringing people together around common interests. I have been part of the professional and Southern California (including San Diego) grassroots tennis community as a former member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA). I was Coach of the Year in Billie Jean King's prestigious World TeamTennis (WTT) Professional League and have coached college and junior tennis. I am also a pickleball coach and player.[19] |
” |
| —Eric Kutner 2020 campaign website[26] | ||
Annette Meza
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Education As an educator within the district, I experienced a lack of support services and a learning gap in students as early as kindergarten. Therefore, I advocate for universal pre-k, affordable higher education and vocational training, and encouraging girls to participate in STEM education, career planning, and leadership skills.
Climate Change According to the San Diego Foundation report on climate impacts in San Diego County, District 53 has seen an increase in extreme temperatures, wildfires, and sea level rise. These environmental factors cause an increase in energy costs, exacerbate health issues, and displacement from our local communities. Therefore, I will collaborate on a green new deal that all parties can agree on, support the district in its implementation, provide opportunities to small businesses, and continue supporting the desalination plant within the district.
Veteran Wellness According to census data (ACS 2018), San Diego has multiple military bases and 9.3% of the population in District 53 has a veteran status. By focusing on education, I can help veterans integrate back to civilian life by providing vocational training and internships. With medicare for all, I can strengthen mental health programs to prevent veteran suicide and homelessness.
Family Empowerment As of 2017, 19.7% of the population in District 53 were still uninsured according to a study conducted by Congressional Research Service. I believe that healthcare is a basic human right, and no one should be bankrupted from being sick or injured. I will push for medicare for all, so that everyone can be covered. I will also push for the plan to encompass family planning, universal daycare, maternal and paternal leaves, mental health, and regulating costs of prescription drugs.[19] |
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| —Annette Meza 2020 campaign website[27] | ||
Suzette Santori
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MAIN TOPICS Climate Change How do we know that CO2 (carbon dioxide) rises in the atmosphere because of human activity? When we burn fossil fuels or natural gas, we leave fingerprints in the atmosphere called Carbon 14 or Radioactive Carbon that can be measured. Several countries in Europe have been working on solutions to reverse Climate Change, but the clock is ticking. Co2 removal has been successfully performed by channeling it into a greenhouse with some technology or turned into rocks in others (CLIMEWORKS.COM). We can see the most extreme impacts of Climate Change in the Artic, the substantial melting of ice is raising sea levels. In the Permafrost Territory in Alaska, the release of methane gas through the melting of the ice, has caused some concerns. The methane is highly flammable and the gases are far more dangerous than burning fossil fuels, therefore accelerating the process. In California we experience fires and more frequent hurricanes in the east coast. Another producer of CO2 are animal farms. Meat farms are highly toxic, due to minimum regulations in place, to maintain animals clean from their own secreted feces and dead of other animals. The consumption of meat treated with antibiotics, fed with process foods plus adding hormones to increase their size, are all being considered in human diseases. When the animals die and are not immediately removed from the farms, surrounded land and air becomes extremely toxic. The living conditions of such animals also play a big role, in some farms the use of small cages (except in some states that have banned the practice) for chicken and egg production, is not only consider animal cruelty, but decreases the quality of the product. In essence, we could all help by consuming less meat, to reduce their mass production. The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project in California CVRP, has great incentives to purchase or lease eligible electric vehicles, offering up to $7000 tax credit and rebates up to $2500. You can also get a carpool car sticker to ride in the carpool lane with or without passengers. You must apply within 3 months of obtaining the vehicle, until rebate funds are exhausted. https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng Under the Trump Administration, the United States has walked away from the Paris Accord, mainly because as a capitalist country, eliminating fossil fuels under the fallacy that Climate Change is a Chinese hoax, is a mistake that will hurt our economy https://climate.nasa.gov In reality, most scientists agree that Climate Change is real and if we don’t reverse course, the results will be irreversible, leaving the planet uninhabitable. All the opposite, a green industry, will create jobs, will help the environment and will strengthen the economy. So far, there are extremely ambitions solutions in a green project by Stanford University that will bring 100% clean energy, wind, water and solar. It’ll cost 73T that will be paid by itself in 7 years. There are 143 countries committed to this project. The roadmap calls for the electrification of all energy sources, electricity, transportation, agriculture, forestry and fishing, building heating and cooling and the military. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-country-green-stanford-paths-countries.html In California, we can adopt planting a determined amount of trees per year, create an agricultural farm, where low income families can purchase organic fruits and vegetables. Without adding additional taxes, volunteers could help maintain the area, some students could also get school credits by helping and learning agriculture traits. So either we believe Climate Change is the result of fossil fuels or not, we must agree that pollution is bad. But the real question is, are we ready to move to a cleaner environment or do we prefer to believe it’s a hoax? Corporations will soon create more propaganda to validate our bias. Let’s commit to a clean environment for us and our future generations. For those who completely dislike the idea of migration, Climate Change will be a legitimate excuse for people to move. Drinking water scarcity, sea level rising, and lack of food, will be the main causes for people to migrate to a better place, and it may include some of us. Immigration Reform One of the biggest issues that our country has is immigration. Undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers are considered a threat to some, and there’s an instant and endless blame to the government for allowing it to happen. We are a country of immigrants, however, that statement is forgotten, especially when people from other countries settle and change the demographics. Revisiting history might give another perspective on why this situation has continue, despite efforts to limit the number of immigrants allowed in the country. For decades, migration has existed, and different administrations have face it in different ways than previous ones. Most undocumented immigrants entered the country legally, and become undocumented at the expiration of their visas. Not a wall or additional border security will help to mitigate this type of migration. In the other hand, it’s more beneficial to increase funding at the southern border, and hire more judges and social workers, speeding up the vetting of those immigrants entering without a visa. We must use fair practices to alleviate the situation, instead of opting to incarcerate them, separate children from their families and violating their human rights, that has caused a lot of controversy in the current administration. The obsession with punishing immigrants is becoming more accepted, as they are considered the cause of Americans lack of jobs and therefore social mobility. Some of those immigrants, are highly educated and even more prepared to start a business, obtaining a job, other than agricultural or service industry, than a born and raised citizen. Their survival skills and determination gives them the perfect attributes necessary to succeed in any environment. With proper training and the necessary tools, they become successful members of society compare to others who unfortunately, have not been able to get ahead, due to lack of mentors and socioeconomic obstacles. Those who were born and raised in this country, who have not obtained a degree, a business and have failed to create a better life for themselves and their families, see those immigrants with disdain. But despite the public outcry, empathy still exists and the sentiment of those who came to this country the same way, persists. The Monroe Doctrine, has dictated the continuation of the American Imperialism, perpetuating the destabilization of many Central and South American countries. For as long as we permit the government to interfere, invade and utilize coup presidents, for regime changes in other countries, we’re contributing to the migration movement. The vast majority of immigrants see no recourse but to abandon their country of origin, due to politically motivated violence, for fear of losing their lives. So far, immigrants have been used as bargaining chips by several administrations. Late President Regan was the last president that gave amnesty to undocumented immigrants who lived in U.S. for more than 10 years. Recently, not even DACA recipients have been given a permanent status. According to California Immigrant Policy Center, “Undocumented immigrants in California alone contribute about $181 billions of California GDP – a figure just about equal to the 2015 GDP for the entire state of Oklahoma.” Medicare for All “I pay less for health insurance as a Congresswoman than as a waitress” AOC Dec 2018. No deductibles No co-payments No premiums Free at the point of service, therefore eliminating private insurance companies. Dental, eyeglasses, hearing aids and mental health are also part of the coverage. Why do people doubt that this system is better than the one we already have? Let’s start by acknowledging that a for profit company exists to make money, provide dividends for their shareholders, and mainly their CEO’s. And they won’t reconsider cutting or denying services to maximize profits. In the first quarter of 2017 the big five for profit insurers, cumulatively collected 4.5 billion dollars in net earnings, in the first three months of the year. CEO’s have been overcompensated at approximately 400 times more than the lowest paid employee. But are we getting better healthcare than other developed countries? We pay double than they do, and service continues to be denied, if the cost exceeds a predetermined amount at the time of enrollment. The myth that people from other countries come to US for better care is unfounded. If someone travels over, adding air/ground travel to their cost, is because they’re affluent and waiting short or long term is not their preference. Yes, we might have state of the art equipment in our ERs, but not everyone benefits from it. Some people wait several days to weeks (depending on their insurance) or months to get certain services or even to schedule a doctor’s appointment. While services are denied if tests are conducted out of network, many doctors are hand tied until they get the necessary test results, to conduct a fair assessment of their patients. Unfortunately, time is of the essence for services that are essential to treat patients, and to avoid further injury. The notion coming from the corporate media, and corporate politicians that you’ll maintain the same doctor, is an insult to injury. There’s no warranty of keeping the same doctor or hospital. When General Motors went on strike, the company decided to take away their health care benefits on the third day of the strike, leaving them in a difficult position, especially to those, who rely on insulin or other medication to stay alive. Employers will offer the same insurance but not if their cost increases, subsequently, you’ll be notified of your new options. Others even reduce full time employment, or adopt a hiring freeze. People will have a better chance to maintain continuity, by opting for a nationwide single payer system, where you choose your doctor and hospital. How about the uninsured? there’s still approximately 45K people who don’t have any coverage. Adding the numbers for the underinsured the statistics get even higher. Health insurance and employment shouldn’t be depended of one another, to avoid hurting the morale of those employees, suppressing them of their dreams to start their own business, switching to a more fulfill job, instead of working for an employer just to receive benefits. As a veteran, we had a good system, if we’re sick, we’ll go to see a doctor and pick up our medications in the way out. No middle man, no long complicated forms, no out of pocket expenses, no enrolment periods. Rideshare drivers, are becoming more and more accustomed to pick up passengers, who should be in an ambulance instead of a Lyft or Uber. An ambulance can cost between $1500 to $3000 depending on location, that most working class people cannot afford. Those patients should be using the correct path, utilizing professional personnel for their care, instead of leaving their faith on drivers. The lack of empathy towards mental health patients, especially homeless, is decreasing. Most are being categorized as drug addicts and are being left on the streets wandering. While a few have gotten a place to stay, they’re being neglected as to their mental state. Cities are not doing enough to eliminate this socio-economic problem, due to lack of funds to cover health insurance. Words as “access, affordable, health care” are utilized to confused, to maintain the same system where shareholders continue to overcharge patients. #MedicareforAll will eliminate worrying about medical costs for good. My personal experience under countless visit to our representative’s office, it’s the challenge to make your point across, when there’s lack of understanding, information and empathy. Transparency is a must, and as your representative, I’ll hold town-hall meetings often, and allow Q&A for people to participate, get their questions answered and removing the fear of the unknown. With all changes, there’s a period of adjustment, so be mindful that this initiative will go into phases. The first year, coverage age requirement will be dropped to 55yrs, second year to 45yrs and third year 35yrs and under. Townhalls will be a place to brainstorm, and bring your best ideas to the table, this is your community and you’ll have a say. Let’s make this a reality, and move forward to an easier system that’ll cover all, not some. Money out of Politics[19] |
” |
| —Suzette Santori 2020 campaign website[28] | ||
Joaquin Vazquez
| “ |
Issues & What's At Stake Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed. Our nation’s success is built on the founding principles of unlimited opportunity, quality education, commitment to hard work, and the freedom to pursue our dreams. Joaquín Vázquez fights each and every day to ensure that the community is advancing towards meeting these founding principles. Read on to learn about the issues at hand, and what is being done to combat them. Education For All We are fighting to reform our public education system, to ensure equity in education. Knowledge is power and education is the best path for people in poverty to grow out of it. As a first generation Mexican-American, Joaquín was the first in his family to graduate high school and the only one in his family to receive a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. Access to education was integral to his ability to pursue a career in public service and to support his family. Your zip code should not determine the quality of education you receive. It is time to fund public education equitably. Students throughout San Diego County should be receiving the same high-quality education regardless of their neighborhood or school district. To reform our public education system, we are fighting to:
Medicare For All We are fighting for equitable, quality healthcare for all Americans because healthcare is a human right, not a commodity to be profited off of. Americans are paying more than every other major country in the world for poorer quality healthcare. Our health outcomes in life expectancy, infant mortality, and chronic conditions (among others) are lagging far behind other wealthy nations. Families are breaking the bank to pay for insulin, PrEP, and other life-saving medications. Overall the US pays almost double per person for prescriptions than the average spent per person in ten other high-income countries. Twenty percent of CA-53 residents were uninsured for all or part of 2011-2012, and 20% of adults in San Diego County were uninsured for all or part of 2014-2016. The Affordable Care Act, a good first step, still left many Americans without coverage or struggling afford their new coverage.
Every other major developed nation has a government-run universal healthcare system (or strict regulations on private insurers) that prevents health insurers from profiting off of people's health. It is time for the richest economy in the world to catch up and cover every American through a single-payer, public system. Medicare for All will be comprised of:
In addition, we will fight for a healthcare system that emphasizes healthcare quality, equity, and respect by taking substantial measures to reduce healthcare provider burnout and to address inequalities in patient treatment, especially those experienced by women of color, LGBTQIA+ persons, and the elderly. We're fighting for a system that is oriented to prevention and education, which emphasizes mental health care, prevention of chronic diseases, and increased funding for health research for cancer, obesity, dementia, Parkinson's, diabetes, autism, an HIV vaccine, and other health areas.
Finally, while the Veterans Health Administration and Indian Health Service will remain in place, individuals who qualify for these services will have the option to use the VA and IHS systems or the same services as the general public. Regardless of an individual's choice in healthcare services, it will be covered under the Medicare for All system. In addition, adequate attention and funding will be given to reduce the amount of administrative burden and red tape in these systems, to support providers and administrators, and to ensure patients, especially female and trans persons, are treated fairly and have their medical needs fully covered. Green New Deal Our time on Earth is precious. We need to make sure that our actions today are focused on preserving the environment and building a sustainable economy for future generations to enjoy our planet. Our movement will work toward the goals outlined in the Green New Deal (GND), which provides a road-map to revamp our economy, fight inequality, and reverse the effects of climate change.
The GND resolves to mobilize public resources to transition our economy from one built on worker exploitation, corporate greed, and fossil fuels to one focused on clean renewable energy sources and dignified, good-paying jobs with livable wages and benefits.
We will fight for the GND to ensure that people can succeed in an ever-changing labor market by staying ahead of technological advances with a proactive approach to job creation, and protecting the environment through polices highlighting sustainability and closing the inequality gap. Immigration Reform Abolish ICE We are fighting to reform our unfair immigration system from one that treats immigrants like criminals to one that treats humans like humans. Immigrants have been model citizens and strong pillars for the nation's economic growth and well-being. It is time we start treating people like people. Families have been separated long before this administration took office. It happened to Joaquín when he was a child. Immigrants should not be treated as criminals. They are our fathers, mothers, siblings and neighbors. They are all of us. Our current immigration system is focused on enforcement and criminalization and needs to be refocused on humanizing immigrants and asylum seekers to preserve the American dream.
To achieve this, we are fighting to:
Justice For All We are fighting to reform the country's broken criminal justice system. The failures of the current system enable prison overcrowding and private prison companies bank on it. On top of that, it is infected by systemic racism and policies that place a disproportionately higher number of black and brown people behind bars. It is no secret that most people who have been incarcerated come from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities of color. It's time to put an end to it, stop the school to prison pipeline, and stop letting corporations profit out of this unjust system. Money needs to be flowing into communities to fund schools, clinics, and job training programs, not incarcerating people for profit. Additionally, preventing people with felony convictions from voting is one of many disgraceful voter suppression tactics. They too are fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. They should have a say in how policy affects their families and their future. Without this, the rich and powerful will continue to enjoy and benefit from lower voter turnout. Disenfranchisement of the most vulnerable communities must stop. It's time to be smart on crime, not tough on crime. It's time for a Justice For All Act that ensures a criminal justice system that operates fairly and equitably for everyone.
Our Justice for All approach proposes a package of reforms that will:
With the hate being spread across the country towards people of color, police killing Black adults and youth, using excessive force, and monitoring every move made, we have to go beyond fighting for what is owed. We need to bring federal dollars to our marginalized communities that have been left out for too long, we need to get the police out of our schools and bring counselors and teachers with cultural competence, and that starts with the people that understand the needs of the community having a seat at the table. That starts with putting people first and not catering to special interests. Economic Justice Our movement will put labor rights, higher wages, better benefits, safer work conditions, public banking, and a federal jobs guarantee at the very top of the national agenda. Even though labor unions have been very effective in correcting issues to create safe workplaces for employees and ensuring job security, there is still a long way to go to create a level playing field for workers and put their well-being before corporate profits. As companies seek to keep up with the pace of technological advancement, they continue to reduce the number of their employees and their reliance on certain employees, making these workers less competitive in the job market. The government's focus should be on ensuring that the economy works for the people. One job should be enough. While serving under the Obama administration, Joaquín's priorities were fighting to ensure higher labor standards in economic policy in order to protect our workers and jobs.
To continue this fight, we will work to:
Housing For All I fundamentally believe that housing is a human right. The need for affordable, low-income housing is undeniable. We have a housing crisis, a homelessness crisis, and a rental affordability crisis. In Washington, we will fight to ensure that everyone is able to afford a decent place to live without having to spend nearly all of their income on rent and utility bills. The working-class works hard to ensure that the rest of the country can live a comfortable life, full of luxury and be financially worry-free, and has earned guaranteed housing. Across the country, an approach of consciousness is severely missing. There is no time to waste by catering only to developers and corporate landlords in the fight to end homelessness. We must ensure that people at risk can stay in their rental homes and have the resources they need to take steps to purchasing a home if they chose to take that route at some point. For the increasingly high homeless population, the answer is housing first. What is certain is that development and rent control are not issues that are at odds. Local governments must ensure that zoning laws are appropriate for the continued development of low-income housing. If we are serious about housing and ending homelessness, we must focus on preventing and ending homelessness. That means that new housing developments must ensure that the most vulnerable can qualify and afford the units, and provide comprehensive wraparound services in-building.
We can't stop there. Truly progressive housing policy also comes with a large emphasis on rent control. I am fighting for a national annual rent increase capped at 3%, with special attention at regions like San Diego where even lower figures are more effective, from an emergency freeze to as high as 2%. In Washington, Joaquin will fight for a national housing guarantee so that San Diego has the funding that ensures housing for all, because everyone deserves to live a dignified life. Equality Our movement will ensure that women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people of color have the same rights as everyone else, free from discrimination and unequal treatment in housing, healthcare, employment and all aspects of society. Equal rights means:
We should all be able to enjoy a life with equal rights, freedom of expression, and association with any group and/or religion, without discrimination at schools, workplaces or anywhere else. Money Out of Politics It's time to get big money out of politics. Money from corporations and their PACs’ dominate elections and cast a shadow over the American democracy. Special interests such as pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, the NRA, and defense contractors have a disproportionate power over the actions of our congresspeople. In addition, powerful individuals like Trump who run self-funded campaigns end up working for themselves and their own interests. Their values are frequently at odds with the will of the American people who want to see affordable healthcare and prescriptions, safety from gun violence, clean air and water, and an end to our endless wars. In order for government to truly represent the people, the Citizens United Supreme Court decision must be overturned and candidates need to commit to running clean money campaigns.
Joaquín is putting people over profits and standing up against powerful corporate interests, starting by taking zero corporate or corporate PAC campaign donations. This is a movement funded by the people, not corporations or wealthy individuals. As your congressperson, Joaquín will work for the people, not for himself or special interest groups.
As we fight to get money out of politics, your support and donations are essential to growing our grassroots movement. It is time to take the power back from big money and give it to the people to finally have a real democracy with a government that is of the people, by the people, for the people. Let's start putting people first. Protect Voters & Democracy Voting rights are under attack nationwide. Through voter suppression laws and tactics that put certain voters at a disadvantage, the rich and powerful remain in office. These tactics violate our constitutional right to choose our own representatives. If we are going to succeed as a democracy and have a fighting chance to address all the issues above, we need to level the playing field by protecting our voters.
We are fighting to:
Gun Control Gun violence is an epidemic that we must stop, as it claims nearly 40,000 lives every year. We need big bold progressive solutions for this, not half measures. At the end of the day, it's about saving lives. In Congress, I will continue to fight to:
Justice For Veterans Our country has been in constant war for almost its entire history, building up the military complex, while recruiting people with the promise of a full ride to college, healthcare benefits, and everything that service-members, veterans and military families will ever need. We do an outstanding job in training them and deploying them, but when they come home, they are left to struggle at making ends meet and just barely getting by. Veterans are having a hard time finding a job and getting their basic mental and health care needs met. Roughly 40,000 veterans are homeless, and many who were promised citizenship have been deported and discarded by our government. To make things worse, we lose 17 veterans per day to suicide, due to the harsh realities and the lack of care when they come home from war. It is time to end this and focus on a peace economy that cares for our veteran women and men who have served our country in the armed forces, and their families. We must reduce the military industrial complex and redirect funds to ensure that we are putting veterans first. I am fighting to:
Transit For All Our country has been in constant war for almost its entire history, building up the military complex, while recruiting people with the promise of a full ride to college, healthcare benefits, and everything that service-members, veterans and military families will ever need. We do an outstanding job in training them and deploying them, but when they come home, they are left to struggle at making ends meet and just barely getting by. Veterans are having a hard time finding a job and getting their basic mental and health care needs met. Roughly 40,000 veterans are homeless, and many who were promised citizenship have been deported and discarded by our government. To make things worse, we lose 17 veterans per day to suicide, due to the harsh realities and the lack of care when they come home from war. It is time to end this and focus on a peace economy that cares for our veteran women and men who have served our country in the armed forces, and their families. We must reduce the military industrial complex and redirect funds to ensure that we are putting veterans first. I am fighting to:
Media Justice It is time to ensure accurate and fair representation of diverse communities in media.
If we are serious about achieving meaningful, inclusive and safe spaces for diverse communities, we must end inaccurate and racially biased coverage in news outlets, films, TV, radio and online sources. This includes in front and behind the scenes. To get there, we must ensure that teams are built with a diverse group of people, from all socio-economic classes, as well as gender, sexual orientation and race. To effectively combat police brutality, gun violence, employment inequality, and economic inequality, it is necessary to reform the criminal justice, education, and immigration systems that disproportionately and negatively affect people of color, portraying them as criminals on screen, on paper and online. Media justice is imperative. For centuries in our society, mass media has legitimized inequalities in class and race relations through the reproduction of the ideological hegemony of the dominant white culture. It is no surprise that media is structured to harbor and communicate messaging that meets the needs of one dominant culture, that of the upper middle-class and above white-anglo community, our country's ruling class. As this continues, white working families and lower middle-class families struggles also get swept under the rug, while pitting them against POC. We are fighting to boldly advance a mass media future where everyone has sustained and universal access to open and democratic media coverage, to include fighting for fact based, unbiased information distribution via all technology platforms. I am fighting for a Communications Bill of Rights that emphasizes access, and power for communities that have been historically harmed, disadvantaged and marginalized by persistent dehumanization, discrimination and unfair treatment. In 2020, we are putting a stop to this, and the ruling class will hear the people's voices. Voices from all communities, regardless of color, gender, sexual orientation, ability, disability, or socio-economic class. Their times of ruling, and their politics of divide and conquer are over. We, the people, are taking Washington and this country back! Financial System Reform Check back for more information on this issue.[19] |
” |
| —Joaquin Vazquez 2020 campaign website[29] | ||
Tom Wong
| “ |
In Congress, I will champion immigration reform, fight for working-class families, work to ensure that medicare for all provides quality healthcare for all, strengthen our public education system, support common sense gun laws, and reform our criminal justice system, among priorities. I will also fight to restore and further uplift the role of science and research to bring evidence-based solutions to address our country’s most pressing challenges, the foremost of which being our climate crisis. And I will work to improve federal hate crimes tracking so we can take stronger action to better protect communities of color, LGBTQ persons, Muslims, Jews, and people of faith, and others who feel marginalized by this administration. Read below for more on immigration reform, supporting working families, healthcare, and the environment (and ask why other candidates aren't telling you where they stand on the issues). Champion Fair and Inclusive Immigration Reform
Support All Working Families
Healthy Families, Healthy Communities
Climate Action and Environmental Protection
|
” |
| —Tom Wong 2020 campaign website[30] | ||
Michael Oristian
| “ |
free speech Everyone has a right to fully express themselves and their ideas — free of censorship
Include political ideology in the list of protections in our equal employment opportunity laws
Lead firmly with strategies to curb the plight of our citizens living on the streets, balancing effective law enforcement with liberty
Protect and defend our clean air & water in sensible ways & let innovation lead us, not apocalyptic mandates
Enforce legal immigration and employment visas based upon meritocracy and domestic labor supply
Cut the red tape that inflates the costs of everything from housing to insurance to public utilities
Support charter schools and parent choice, empower teachers to pursue their own curricula towards student learning
Support interstate healthcare insurance and patient choice. Repeal ACA and ensure medical provider transparency and cost-fairness[19] |
” |
| —Michael Oristian 2020 campaign website[31] | ||
Famela Ramos
| “ |
Armed Services: I strongly feel that our existence as a Nation is dependent on our ability to effectively counter threats to our Country’s security. Defense of the Homeland is one of the most important responsibilities in our Constitution. San Diego County receives more defense spending than any other county in the U.S. with the exception of Fairfax County, Virginia, home to the Pentagon. As your Congresswoman, I will fight for increased investments in key military capabilities by leveraging the most cutting edge technologies while avoiding redundancy and waste. Veterans: Veterans have served our Nation proudly and now our Nation must also serve them. Being the daughter of a Navy Veteran, I see first-hand the importance of supporting our Nation’s Heroes. Unfortunately, mental illness, poverty, and high suicide rates plague many veterans. It is believed that approximately 20 suicides per day occur in veterans. As your Congresswoman, I will push for comprehensive and effective reform to the Department of Veterans Affairs and support laws that address the unmet need of our veterans. I will fight on behalf of our Nation’s Heroes by introducing and supporting pro-veteran legislation on the House floor and prioritize constituent casework. Immigration: A nation without borders is not a nation. Despite the complex, emotional debates, with passionate and potentially valid beliefs on all sides, being an immigrant from the Philippines, I understand and support the essential need for legal immigration. While we are a nation of immigrants, we are not a cesspool for foreign ideologies and cultures who refuse to integrate into our way of life to take advantage of us. I will work with my colleagues to promote immigration reform that puts the Constitution and Americans first. Heath Care: A healthy nation is a prosperous nation. While I believe it is important that everyone has access to good medical care that is reliable and affordable, I do not believe that government monopoly, which restricts freedoms to both the patient and the employer is a good thing. I will fight for innovative approaches to Health Care and support legislation that provides win-win solutions for all stakeholders. Science and Technology: Our Nation’s success is based on innovation. San Diego is a hotbed of Biotechnology and High Technology Innovation. I will ensure the continued growth of this space by supporting reproducibility and consistency in our intellectual property laws, as well as encouraging economic stimulus through an expansion of programs such as SBIR and STTR, which support innovative, pre-revenue businesses. Middle East Policy: America must protect its Allies, including the State of Israel, and will not tolerate nuclear proliferation. I support the push for regime change in rogue nations through enhancing cyberwarfare, social media information, and situations where the people of the state are empowered financially and/or through military support/training. Abortion: I am strongly Pro-Life and am committed to providing alternatives to a woman facing an abortion. Second Amendment: It is clearly stated in the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights, “The right of the people to bear and keep arms shall not be infringed.” It is by this fundamental freedom that protection is given to gun owners and restrains the presence of criminal activity and tyranny. I support bills such as H.R. 822, the National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity Act, which allows law abiding gun owners with valid state-issued concealed firearm permits to carry a concealed firearm in any other state, which also allows concealed firearms. It is unfortunate that ill-intent politicians and false media seek to put blame on guns for acts of violence in order to leverage sorrow and suffering as a rationale to restrict the fundamental freedom to bear arms. Education: I am a strong advocate for the advancement and reform of our education system. I believe that the parents and local communities guide the educating our children – not the federal government. I believe in the elimination of the Common Core Standards from our schools. This is a bizarre mind manipulation of the Obama administration that fails to address concerns from parents, administrators, and teachers on the front lines of education. I believe that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. Each student learns differently and our education system should be individualized to best fit their needs. Furthermore, I believe in stopping hypersexualization, in sex education. I believe in stopping the teaching of Islam, and other religions in Public schools.[19] |
” |
| —Famela Ramos 2020 campaign website[32] | ||
Fernando Garcia
| “ |
You never realize how important health care is until you are sick. When you are sick you are not interested in shopping around for the cheapest doctor or hospital. You just want to receive care and get better. Having Health Care is fundamental to living a prosperous life. I believe that having a Public Option is the best way for our country to move forward. I do not believe that a Public Option should be 100% free. I do believe we should still charge co pays for office visits, urgent care, emergency room, and prescriptions. This would allow us to control some costs and promote healthy living. Most of the people who go to the doctors, go for chronic illnesses that are usually preventable. This will incentivize people to choose a healthier lifestyle. We should invest money in teaching doctors and pharmacists about the medicinal and therapeutic uses of cannabis and psychedelics to treat pain and mental health. A public option would be a “boom” to small business, which is the backbone of our economy. More people would be willing to start a business knowing that they will have health care coverage. We cannot afford to not offer a public option. Our country is unique because we are the melting pot of the world. It is truly one of our greatest strengths. We attract the best the world has to offer. We should honor and understand our immigrant history. We all came here through different paths and for different reasons. But it’s Americas freedoms and opportunities that keep us here. The issue at hand are the people who are here undocumented. To me, many of the people are no different then the pilgrims who landed on these shores 400yrs ago. They are just good people looking for a better life. Some of the best people I know came to our country undocumented. I have friends who have served in our military, are teachers, social workers, and business owners who are now American citizens. Now I know what most people are saying, “Don’t we have laws for a reason?” The answer is “yes”. That’s why I believe there should be a penalty for coming here illegally. However, it does not mean deportation and demonization. We can simply fine them, deny them welfare and reduced entitlement benefits. This would allow people who are here undocumented to stay in the United States to work and live without draining our social services. This would also incentivize people to come here legally, and we will reward them for doing so. In regard to the DREAMERS/DACA. This is a no brainer issue for me. These are people who came here as no fault of their own, they contribute to our society, and it would be our country’s loss if we deport them. We should provide them a path to citizenship ASAP and let them know they are HOME! We have to understand that immigrants are not the source of our country’s problems. They are a vital part of our nations economy and community. I believe the role of government is to protect the rights and liberties of its citizens. I believe it is a fundamental right for us as human beings to be able to defend ourselves and our property. But I also believe with this right comes a high level of responsibility. I believe in universal background checks, waiting periods, and the registering of guns. I believe gun owners should have to register their guns with local law enforcement at least every 5yrs. This would prevent people with no criminal records from buying guns and then selling them to criminals for a profit; also known as Straw Buying. The problem is not law-abiding citizens with firearms, its people with no regard for the law obtaining firearms. We must do what we can to prevent criminals from getting guns and not restrict law abiding citizens from having them. As a green entrepreneur I see firsthand the value that a green economy can bring to our country. The green economy is about jobs, jobs, and more jobs! Its about owning our own energy not just as a country but as individuals. The transition to a green economy has already started but we must accelerate it. Here is what we need to do: 1) We need to extend the ITC tax credit that is set to expire at the end of 2021. We should also allow the tax credit to be used for rental properties. 2) Our infrastructure is also in need of being upgraded. We must supply tax credits that reward landlords for producing more energy efficient homes and buildings. 3) We should also focus on making HEMP the cash crop of the future. We need to offer tax credits to those people and businesses that grow hemp, create hemp materials, and choose to build with hemp. A green economy will help us become more self sufficient, independent, and a stronger nation. The cost of the drug war has cost more than just billions of dollars. It has been one of the leading contributors of breaking up families in the inner city. We need to move towards regulating and taxing drugs, rather then criminalizing them. I do believe this transition should be a process and this process should honor state rights. We should first start by legalizing cannabis and psychedelics in the United States and allow each individual state to offer it as recreational or medical. Once the people see the benefits of legalizing cannabis and psychedelics, we can then look at legalizing other drugs. The only thing the federal government should do is prevent drugs from coming into our country or being transported across state lines. The student loan debt crisis is unfortunately a huge problem that is preventing young people from starting businesses, families, and buying homes. This problem has been caused by the inflated cost of college. We need to attack the problem from two fronts. We need to bring down the cost of college and provide help for those struggling with student debt. Lowering the cost of college can be achieved in many different ways. Here are a few was we can achieve this: •We should reduce the amount of general education courses needed to get a college degree by half. Most of these courses have nothing to do with your major and are unnecessary. •Promote more online courses. Many of these courses could be achieved while in High School. •Promote more trade professions in High Schools and Junior Colleges. The new Green Economy will not be achieved by psychology majors but by plumbers and electricians. In regards to helping people with student loans, I don’t believe forgiving all student loan debt is the answer. I feel it would be a slap in the face to those people who didn’t rack up tons of debt. There were thousands of people who joined the military, worked during college or worked hard after college to pay their debts off. With that said, we should still offer help to those who need it. We should allow people to declare bankruptcy on their student loans. This will have a short-term negative affect on a persons credit score but it will allow them to free themselves from this debt. I also believe we should stop all interest on student loans. That way all payments are going towards paying down the loan.[19] |
” |
| —Fernando Garcia 2020 campaign website[33] | ||
Campaign advertisements
This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.
Janessa Goldbeck
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Georgette Gomez
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Sara Jacobs
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Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
| California's 53rd Congressional District election, 2020: top-two primary election polls | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Date | Jacobs
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Stoddard
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Ramos
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Gomez
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Vazquez
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Caballero
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Oristian
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Meza
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Santori
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Goldbeck
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Kutner
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 Garcia
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Brooks
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Fountain
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Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | Sponsor |
| SurveyUSA | Jan. 30 - Feb. 3 | 23% | 10% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 35% | 5.7 | 513 | San Diego Union-Tribune/10News |
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[34] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[35] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Brooks | Democratic Party | $12,000 | $6,500 | $6,860 | As of December 7, 2020 |
| Jose Caballero | Democratic Party | $22,102 | $22,102 | $0 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Joseph Fountain | Democratic Party | $40,000 | $2,814 | $37,186 | As of December 31, 2019 |
| Janessa Goldbeck | Democratic Party | $327,169 | $327,169 | $0 | As of June 30, 2020 |
| Georgette Gómez | Democratic Party | $1,718,982 | $1,690,440 | $28,542 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Sara Jacobs | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Eric Kutner | Democratic Party | $8,181 | $3,960 | $4,221 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Annette Meza | Democratic Party | $10,674 | $10,670 | $4 | As of May 13, 2020 |
| Suzette Santori | Democratic Party | $6,215 | $6,215 | $0 | As of March 18, 2020 |
| Joaquín Vázquez | Democratic Party | $20,257 | $20,242 | $15 | As of April 15, 2020 |
| Tom Wong | Democratic Party | $116,472 | $116,472 | $0 | As of September 30, 2020 |
| Michael Oristian | Republican Party | $18,602 | $18,131 | $0 | As of June 30, 2020 |
| Famela Ramos | Republican Party | $52,926 | $52,926 | $0 | As of May 16, 2020 |
| Chris Stoddard | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Fernando Garcia | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[36][37][38]
This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.
- Forward California, a single-candidate super PAC, spent $1.4 million supporting Jacobs.[39]
Primaries in California
California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[40][41]
Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top-two candidates in California occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round of elections.
As of June 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system. See here for more information.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
What was at stake in the general election
U.S. House elections were held on November 3, 2020, and coincided with the 2020 presidential election. All 435 House districts were up for election, and the results determined control of the U.S. House in the 117th Congress.
At the time of the election, Democrats had a 232-197 advantage over Republicans. There was one Libertarian member, and there were five vacancies. Republicans needed to gain a net 21 seats to win control of the House. Democrats needed to gain seats or lose fewer than 14 net seats to keep their majority.
In the 2018 midterm election, Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats, winning a 235-200 majority in the House. Heading into the 2018 election, Republicans had a 235-193 majority with seven vacancies.
In the 25 previous House elections that coincided with a presidential election, the president's party had gained House seats in 16 elections and lost seats in nine. In years where the president's party won districts, the average gain was 18. In years where the president's party lost districts, the average loss was 27. Click here for more information on presidential partisanship and down-ballot outcomes.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[42]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[43][44][45]
| Race ratings: California's 53rd Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 53rd Congressional District the 93rd most Democratic nationally.[46]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.85. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.85 points toward that party.[47]
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in California. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won California with 61.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 31.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, California voted Republican 53.33 percent of the time and Democratic 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, California voted Democratic all five times. In 2016, California had 55 electoral votes, which was the most of any state. The 55 electoral votes were 10.2 percent of all 538 available electoral votes and were 20.4 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in California. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[48][49]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 58 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 38.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 66 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 40.3 points. Clinton won 11 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 22 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 12.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 14 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 13 points. |
| 2016 Presidential Results by State Assembly District | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 39.63% | 57.31% | R+17.7 | 36.09% | 56.75% | R+20.7 | R |
| 2 | 64.68% | 30.51% | D+34.2 | 62.20% | 28.98% | D+33.2 | D |
| 3 | 42.41% | 54.46% | R+12.1 | 39.47% | 53.31% | R+13.8 | R |
| 4 | 63.16% | 33.86% | D+29.3 | 63.03% | 29.95% | D+33.1 | D |
| 5 | 41.27% | 55.92% | R+14.7 | 38.51% | 54.85% | R+16.3 | R |
| 6 | 38.59% | 59.09% | R+20.5 | 41.17% | 52.02% | R+10.9 | R |
| 7 | 67.59% | 29.61% | D+38 | 67.63% | 25.69% | D+41.9 | D |
| 8 | 51.72% | 45.62% | D+6.1 | 51.77% | 41.03% | D+10.7 | D |
| 9 | 60.56% | 37.52% | D+23 | 61.47% | 32.89% | D+28.6 | D |
| 10 | 73.76% | 23.28% | D+50.5 | 75.65% | 17.96% | D+57.7 | D |
| 11 | 60.96% | 36.87% | D+24.1 | 58.86% | 35.17% | D+23.7 | D |
| 12 | 45.19% | 52.50% | R+7.3 | 43.11% | 51.05% | R+7.9 | R |
| 13 | 64.23% | 33.88% | D+30.4 | 62.97% | 31.79% | D+31.2 | D |
| 14 | 68.80% | 28.72% | D+40.1 | 69.55% | 24.47% | D+45.1 | D |
| 15 | 86.82% | 9.56% | D+77.3 | 87.39% | 7.04% | D+80.4 | D |
| 16 | 57.74% | 40.10% | D+17.6 | 64.47% | 29.23% | D+35.2 | R |
| 17 | 87.07% | 9.36% | D+77.7 | 88.12% | 6.95% | D+81.2 | D |
| 18 | 86.89% | 10.23% | D+76.7 | 85.89% | 8.44% | D+77.5 | D |
| 19 | 78.94% | 18.38% | D+60.6 | 81.63% | 13.34% | D+68.3 | D |
| 20 | 75.74% | 22.15% | D+53.6 | 75.52% | 19.12% | D+56.4 | D |
| 21 | 55.61% | 42.03% | D+13.6 | 54.63% | 39.46% | D+15.2 | D |
| 22 | 71.43% | 26.31% | D+45.1 | 75.16% | 19.75% | D+55.4 | D |
| 23 | 43.46% | 54.71% | R+11.2 | 43.95% | 50.78% | R+6.8 | R |
| 24 | 72.16% | 24.96% | D+47.2 | 78.19% | 15.93% | D+62.3 | D |
| 25 | 72.40% | 25.26% | D+47.1 | 73.61% | 20.90% | D+52.7 | D |
| 26 | 41.15% | 56.68% | R+15.5 | 41.54% | 52.93% | R+11.4 | R |
| 27 | 76.36% | 21.54% | D+54.8 | 77.76% | 17.29% | D+60.5 | D |
| 28 | 66.64% | 30.77% | D+35.9 | 70.63% | 23.08% | D+47.6 | D |
| 29 | 69.95% | 26.66% | D+43.3 | 70.00% | 22.96% | D+47 | D |
| 30 | 66.99% | 30.86% | D+36.1 | 66.70% | 27.32% | D+39.4 | D |
| 31 | 61.98% | 36.21% | D+25.8 | 62.13% | 32.93% | D+29.2 | D |
| 32 | 56.20% | 41.81% | D+14.4 | 56.50% | 37.98% | D+18.5 | D |
| 33 | 41.80% | 55.51% | R+13.7 | 40.02% | 54.61% | R+14.6 | R |
| 34 | 33.96% | 63.85% | R+29.9 | 34.07% | 60.21% | R+26.1 | R |
| 35 | 47.82% | 49.42% | R+1.6 | 49.57% | 43.43% | D+6.1 | R |
| 36 | 48.79% | 48.48% | D+0.3 | 49.94% | 43.86% | D+6.1 | R |
| 37 | 60.97% | 36.28% | D+24.7 | 64.27% | 29.21% | D+35.1 | D |
| 38 | 46.73% | 50.84% | R+4.1 | 49.64% | 44.39% | D+5.2 | R |
| 39 | 73.75% | 23.67% | D+50.1 | 74.64% | 19.80% | D+54.8 | D |
| 40 | 53.14% | 44.72% | D+8.4 | 54.08% | 40.01% | D+14.1 | R |
| 41 | 59.74% | 37.72% | D+22 | 62.82% | 31.27% | D+31.5 | D |
| 42 | 44.98% | 52.93% | R+7.9 | 45.61% | 49.70% | R+4.1 | R |
| 43 | 67.35% | 29.62% | D+37.7 | 68.94% | 25.45% | D+43.5 | D |
| 44 | 52.37% | 45.51% | D+6.9 | 57.12% | 36.99% | D+20.1 | D |
| 45 | 63.46% | 34.12% | D+29.3 | 67.36% | 27.39% | D+40 | D |
| 46 | 73.73% | 23.65% | D+50.1 | 76.20% | 18.48% | D+57.7 | D |
| 47 | 71.49% | 26.54% | D+44.9 | 70.10% | 24.80% | D+45.3 | D |
| 48 | 64.08% | 33.44% | D+30.6 | 65.60% | 28.50% | D+37.1 | D |
| 49 | 64.69% | 33.26% | D+31.4 | 67.57% | 27.17% | D+40.4 | D |
| 50 | 70.79% | 26.51% | D+44.3 | 76.72% | 18.33% | D+58.4 | D |
| 51 | 83.48% | 13.50% | D+70 | 84.05% | 10.19% | D+73.9 | D |
| 52 | 65.01% | 32.92% | D+32.1 | 65.78% | 28.71% | D+37.1 | D |
| 53 | 84.64% | 12.59% | D+72 | 84.83% | 9.63% | D+75.2 | D |
| 54 | 83.62% | 13.88% | D+69.7 | 85.15% | 10.12% | D+75 | D |
| 55 | 45.77% | 52.23% | R+6.5 | 49.92% | 44.61% | D+5.3 | R |
| 56 | 62.14% | 36.26% | D+25.9 | 64.21% | 31.24% | D+33 | D |
| 57 | 63.71% | 34.01% | D+29.7 | 65.92% | 28.39% | D+37.5 | D |
| 58 | 70.24% | 27.80% | D+42.4 | 72.54% | 22.26% | D+50.3 | D |
| 59 | 93.24% | 5.19% | D+88 | 90.70% | 5.09% | D+85.6 | D |
| 60 | 51.32% | 46.31% | D+5 | 52.48% | 41.97% | D+10.5 | D |
| 61 | 63.43% | 34.55% | D+28.9 | 62.47% | 31.62% | D+30.9 | D |
| 62 | 80.81% | 17.00% | D+63.8 | 82.05% | 13.06% | D+69 | D |
| 63 | 76.06% | 21.73% | D+54.3 | 77.35% | 17.38% | D+60 | D |
| 64 | 88.74% | 9.98% | D+78.8 | 86.21% | 9.61% | D+76.6 | D |
| 65 | 51.90% | 45.68% | D+6.2 | 56.73% | 37.28% | D+19.4 | D |
| 66 | 54.18% | 43.24% | D+10.9 | 59.97% | 33.60% | D+26.4 | D |
| 67 | 39.61% | 58.33% | R+18.7 | 38.89% | 55.94% | R+17.1 | R |
| 68 | 42.55% | 55.12% | R+12.6 | 49.42% | 44.58% | D+4.8 | R |
| 69 | 67.37% | 30.30% | D+37.1 | 71.94% | 22.33% | D+49.6 | D |
| 70 | 67.38% | 29.93% | D+37.5 | 68.13% | 25.09% | D+43 | D |
| 71 | 38.47% | 59.51% | R+21 | 38.19% | 56.26% | R+18.1 | R |
| 72 | 46.71% | 51.06% | R+4.4 | 51.40% | 43.13% | D+8.3 | R |
| 73 | 38.68% | 59.36% | R+20.7 | 43.89% | 50.38% | R+6.5 | R |
| 74 | 45.14% | 52.42% | R+7.3 | 50.71% | 43.29% | D+7.4 | R |
| 75 | 39.42% | 58.50% | R+19.1 | 43.22% | 50.68% | R+7.5 | R |
| 76 | 48.76% | 49.04% | R+0.3 | 53.11% | 40.38% | D+12.7 | R |
| 77 | 48.25% | 49.83% | R+1.6 | 55.16% | 38.94% | D+16.2 | R |
| 78 | 63.15% | 34.08% | D+29.1 | 67.48% | 25.85% | D+41.6 | D |
| 79 | 61.21% | 36.91% | D+24.3 | 64.24% | 30.04% | D+34.2 | D |
| 80 | 69.47% | 28.67% | D+40.8 | 73.15% | 21.34% | D+51.8 | D |
| Total | 60.35% | 37.19% | D+23.2 | 62.25% | 31.89% | D+30.4 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for 53rd Congressional District candidates in California in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.
| Filing requirements, 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| California | 53rd Congressional District | All candidates | 2,000 | Fixed number | $1,740.00 | 1% of annual salary | 12/6/2019 | Source |
District history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 53
Incumbent Susan Davis defeated Morgan Murtaugh in the general election for U.S. House California District 53 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Susan Davis (D) | 69.1 | 185,667 |
 | Morgan Murtaugh (R) | 30.9 | 83,127 | |
| Total votes: 268,794 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 53
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 53 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Susan Davis (D) | 64.1 | 93,051 |
| ✔ | | Morgan Murtaugh (R) | 14.3 | 20,827 |
| Matt Mendoza (R) | 13.6 | 19,710 | ||
 | Shawn Gino Kane (R) | 3.7 | 5,319 | |
| Bryan Kim (Independent) | 2.4 | 3,460 | ||
 | Brett Goda (R) | 2.0 | 2,898 | |
| Total votes: 145,265 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Susan Davis (D) defeated James Veltmeyer (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Davis and Veltmeyer defeated Nicholas Walpert (D) and Jim Ash (R) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.[50][51]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Susan Davis Incumbent |
67% | 198,988 | |
| Republican | James Veltmeyer | 33% | 97,968 | |
| Total Votes | 296,956 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Susan Davis Incumbent |
65.5% | 110,831 | |
| Republican | James Veltmeyer |
15.2% | 25,656 | |
| Republican | Jim Ash | 15% | 25,410 | |
| Democratic | Nicholas Walpert | 4.4% | 7,363 | |
| Total Votes | 169,260 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
| Click [show] for previous cycle election results. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014
2012
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State profile
- See also: California and California elections, 2020
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of January 23, 2020
Presidential voting pattern
- California voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Both U.S. Senators from California were Democrats.
- California had 45 Democratic and six Republican U.S. Representatives, with two vacancies.
State executives
- Democrats held 10 and Republicans held one of California's 21 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- California's governor was Gavin Newsom (D).
State legislature
- Democrats controlled the California State Senate with a 29-10 majority, with one vacancy.
- Democrats controlled the California State Assembly with a 61-19 majority.
California Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty years with Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Assembly | D | D | D | S | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
|
|
| Demographic data for California | ||
|---|---|---|
| California | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 38,993,940 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 155,779 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 61.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 13.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 4.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31.4% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,818 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
- California's 53rd Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in California, 2020 (March 3 top-two primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Chris Stoddard on March 4," accessed March 12, 2020
- ↑ San Diego Union-Tribune, "Poll: Sara Jacobs has wide lead in race to replace retiring Rep. Susan Davis in 53rd District," accessed February 25, 2020
- ↑ 10 News, "Poll has Sara Jacobs leading in race for Rep. Susan Davis' 53rd District seat," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Janessa Goldbeck 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 5.33 5.34 5.35 5.36 5.37 5.38 5.39 5.40 5.41 5.42 5.43 5.44 5.45 5.46 5.47 5.48 5.49 5.50 5.51 5.52 5.53 5.54 5.55 5.56 5.57 5.58 5.59 5.60 5.61 5.62 5.63 5.64 5.65 5.66 5.67 Georgette Gomez 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 Sara Jacobs, "Supporters," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgoldbeckthemes - ↑ Facebook, "Chris Stoddard 2020 - About," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedramosthemes - ↑ Jacobs self-funded $529,654 of her Q4 totals.
- ↑ The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Jacobs, Gómez lead fundraising in race to replace Rep. Susan Davis," accessed February 11, 2020
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Endorsement: Janessa Goldbeck for the 53rd Congressional District," accessed February 20, 2020
- ↑ OB Rag, "OB Rag Primary 2020 Recommendations," accessed February 27, 2020
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9 Famela Ramos 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 NBC News, "AOC announces new PAC, endorses slate of progressive candidates for Congress," accessed February 22, 2020
- ↑ Email communication with Serve America PAC dated June 25, 2020.
- ↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 19.13 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ John Brooks 2020 campaign website, "The Issues," accessed February 7, 2020
- ↑ Jose Caballero 2020 campaign website, "Blueprint for the Future," accessed February 7, 2020
- ↑ Joseph Fountain 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 7, 2020
- ↑ Janessa Goldbeck 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 7, 2020
- ↑ Georgette Gomez 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 8, 2020
- ↑ Sara Jacobs 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 8, 2020
- ↑ Eric Kutner 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Annette Meza 2020 campaign website, "Platform," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Suzette Santori 2020 campaign website, "Main Topics," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Joaquin Vazquez 2020 campaign website, "Issues and What's at Stake," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Tom Wong 2020 campaign website, "Platform," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Michael Oristian 2020 campaign website, "On the Issues," accessed February 6, 2020
- ↑ Famela Ramos 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Fernando Garcia 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 10, 2020
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Forward California," accessed March 2, 2020
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016
