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Kylie Taitano
Kylie Taitano (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 50th Congressional District. She lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.
Taitano completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kylie Taitano was born in Tamuning, Guam. Taitano earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California at San Diego in 2014. Her career experience includes working as a software engineer. Taitano is a co-founder and CEO of Code With Her.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 50
Incumbent Scott Peters defeated Corey Gustafson in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Scott Peters (D) | 62.8 | 168,816 |
 | Corey Gustafson (R)  | 37.2 | 99,819 | |
| Total votes: 268,635 | |||
| = 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 50
Incumbent Scott Peters and Corey Gustafson defeated Kylie Taitano, David Chiddick, and Adam Schindler in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Peters (D) | 52.3 | 89,894 |
| ✔ | | Corey Gustafson (R) | 29.9 | 51,312 |
 | Kylie Taitano (D) | 9.4 | 16,065 | |
 | David Chiddick (R) | 5.4 | 9,333 | |
 | Adam Schindler (Independent) | 3.0 | 5,168 | |
| Total votes: 171,772 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mari Barosay (D)
- Joseph Rocha (D)
- Timothy Bilash (D)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kylie Taitano completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Taitano's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Born on the beautiful US island territory of Guam, her Filipina and Indigenous Chamorro heritage and upbringing taught her that community is built on respect, reciprocity and taking care of each other. These values are core to who Kylie is and is the driving force behind why she puts community first.
- San Diego deserves un-bought leaders who put community first
- Kylie accepts no corporate money
- San Diego deserves a progressive leader who represents them
- Healthcare for All: The United States has by far the most expensive and one of the least effective healthcare systems compared with our international peers. It prioritizes excessive profits by healthcare, pharmaceutical, and insurance corporations above all else, and leaves too many people price-gouged when needing care. It is past time for us to catch up to other modern nations in embracing and rapidly moving towards Medicare For All, a single-payer universal healthcare system with no premiums, co-pays, deductibles, surprise bills, confusing networks, or enrollment periods.
- Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink was one of the primary architects behind Title IX and as a result countless of women were able to succeed and pursue their dreams in higher education.
- Finally, while it may seem a bit trite, my mother is the person I most look up to. She is a living example of so many aspirational traits - persistence, ingenuity, independence, the ability to think proactively and make the most of one’s circumstances.
My mother had me when she was still in high school and she was a single mom during much of my early childhood. However, she still managed to complete her degree during that time, taking me to classes with her so she could pursue her studies and eventually become a teacher.
Elected officials need to remember the communities they came from and remain tied to the needs and struggles of those communities. Elected officials also need empathy. They need to be able to understand the challenges faced by their constituents, even if they don’t necessarily share those challenges.
Elected officials need tenacity. Making significant political change is hard. It requires persistence and a willingness to go several rounds with political opponents to make headway.
Elected officials need leadership and community-building skills. They must be able to rally a majority to their cause and make it evident why certain goals are worth pursuing collectively.
Second, whether or not I win, I want to help forge a path into elected politics for other young people and other BIPOC community members, particularly women. I want to know that my campaign helped clear some of the brush to make this road more accessible for those who will come after.
However, during my initial interview, I worried I gave a poor performance, and the experience was so disheartening, I actually went back and asked the management to give me a second try. In retrospect, it is unlikely I did as badly as I thought at the time. But either way, I got the job and it was a fun summer job. It also taught me the virtue of persistence and trying again when you feel you did not quite nail it the first time around.
Until recently, I was someone who tended to follow a very well-trodden path - do well in school, get a good job, pay off debt, and so on. But this quote helped me realize life is not set in stone. There are a lot of great big possibilities out there. Perhaps I should go and seek out some of them. It’s one of the reasons I am running for congress. This campaign is a ‘Great Perhaps’ for me.
The widening wealth gap is also one of our most urgent challenges. Cost of living has skyrocketed over the last decade, particularly rent and housing costs (easily the largest share of most household budgets). Yet, our federal minimum wage remains a paltry $7.25 an hour, which is an unlivable income in most areas of the US in 2022. Workers are the ones who generate our nation's abundance of wealth; they should be entitled to keep more of the wealth they are creating.
Science, Space & Technology: My experience as a computer scientist would be immeasurably useful when it comes to how technology is employed in good governance and how the government can regulate the big tech companies to ensure that they are serving Americans ethically and responsibly.
They also help bring in fresh ideas. While there is value in having veteran leaders who understand the political process well, there is also value in ensuring new ideas have a chance to be heard and debated. New voices are essential to innovation in politics.
I have heard stories of students trying to study and attend school without having stable housing. Students are living in two bedroom apartments with six roommates, paying $6000 a month in rent in order to attend school. This is unconscionable. These students are trying to do as they have been advised by their parents, their teachers, their future employers, and society at large - go to college and earn a degree. And now, not only is their pursuit of an education putting many of them in substantial debt, it is being hamstrung by insufficient and unaffordable housing.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Taitano's campaign website stated the following:
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Green New Deal Climate change is the defining crisis of our time, and our actions to mitigate its effects will determine the future of the human race and civilization as we know it. We’re already seeing the impacts on agriculture, housing, energy, and the economy at large. From stronger hurricanes to record-setting wildfires to infrastructure-destroying floods, we’re feeling it across the country. San Diego County is no exception – among other issues, we’re seeing homeowner’s insurance companies raising rates and dropping coverage for homes because of increasing fire risk. The climate crisis is damaging our coastline and our way of life, and we must act boldly and with urgency to combat its devastating impacts. Worse yet, climate change is sparking conflicts and wars around the world by creating increasingly scarce resources – and, in turn, refugees. If you’re worried about immigration now, consider that the U.N. is forecasting that by 2050, there will be more than a billion climate migrants. The solution is not to build walls, but to address the core issue, because we simply can’t afford not to. That’s why I support the Green New Deal, which will not only protect our planet and our nation from the perils of climate change, but also inspire a new generation of American innovation and job creation. With a large-scale mobilization of our economy, we can transform our energy system away from fossil fuels, confront the climate crisis and preserve the future of humanity. The Green New Deal is a 10-year mobilization plan that transitions the U.S. to clean and renewable energy by 2050, upgrades our infrastructure, and addresses the broader consequences of climate change. The world scientific community says we have all the tools in place to cut our carbon emissions in half by 2030 – the only thing getting in the way is politics. We cannot allow that to remain the case.
A home is more than just a roof over our head and a place to call our own – it provides us with the consistency and stability we need for ourselves and our children to live happy, prosperous lives. When people are forced to spend half their income on rent, get priced out of the housing market, can’t afford to buy a home, or get pushed into homelessness, our entire community suffers morally, socially, and economically. This is why the fight to make housing a human right is so important. Not only is it the right thing to do, but just as importantly, it’s something we can do. The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, and we have all the resources we need to give every single American a stable home. All we lack is the willpower and compassion in Washington, D.C. to take action on this issue. But we’re going to change that. There are a number of common-sense policies we can implement to address housing insecurity, prevent the exploitation of lower-income Americans, and enable everyone to achieve the dream of homeownership. These include:
Healthcare should not be run for the profit of administrators, executives and stockholders – nor should these faceless strangers have the ability to decide the quality and affordability of your medical care. America has by far the most expensive healthcare in the world, yet we’re not even in the top 30 in healthcare outcomes. Whether you call it a tax or an insurance premium, the bottom line is that a huge amount of money is coming out of American paychecks and American pockets for private healthcare, and we’re getting ripped off with high copays, huge deductibles, less choice and subpar care. Our system prioritizes excessive profits by healthcare, pharmaceutical and insurance corporations above all else, leaving our people to choose between medical care and putting food on the table. It’s past time for us to catch up to other modern nations by embracing and rapidly moving toward Medicare For All, a single-payer universal healthcare system with no premiums, co-pays, deductibles, surprise bills, confusing networks, or enrollment periods. We have to end the corruption, price gouging, inefficiency and ineffectiveness that have been the status quo of our healthcare system. For those who ask “but how do we pay for it?” and throw out the multi-trillion-dollar figures that have commonly been cited in the media, consider that our current annual healthcare spending is over $4 trillion per year, and it’s only going up – it’s projected to reach $6.2 trillion per year by 2028. Meanwhile, Medicare For All has been estimated to cost $32 trillion over 10 years. That’s a big number, but at $3.2 trillion a year, it actually represents trillions upon trillions in savings – with the added benefits of greater simplicity, a healthier country, and the end of the scourge of medical bankruptcy. This district deserves a Congressional representative who will actually listen to constituents rather than healthcare profiteers and Washington lobbyists. As a member of Congress, I will fight to reduce and ultimately eliminate the role private insurance companies have played as middlemen, and I will push to enact Medicare for All.
Bodily autonomy is a right, not a privilege. As a woman who has decided not to have children, it's extremely important to me to ensure that all women are guaranteed the right to make these vital life decisions for themselves too. As a member of Congress, I will enthusiastically support legislation to codify Roe v. Wade, such as the Women’s Health Protection Act. I'll also fight to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which will write equality into the Constitution clear as day, protecting women and all marginalized genders, sexual minorities, and orientations. I support ending the filibuster, which has become nothing more than a procedural barrier preventing critical legislation from getting passed. Guaranteeing legal access to abortion is one barrier we have to hurdle, and the other is medical access. That's why I'll co-sponsor a Medicare For All bill that includes safe, affordable access to birth control, abortions and pregnancy care for all women, no matter what path they choose.
Currently, there are no federal standards that prevent discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in employment, healthcare, education, and so many other foundational aspects of everyday life. I wholeheartedly support passing the Equality Act to expand civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and their families against discrimination in all aspects of their lives. This country has made a lot of progress in terms of establishing and protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, but there is still a long way to go. From housing to employment to military service, there is still far too much standing in the way of this community — our fellow Americans — living free and peaceful lives. A truly free society cannot exist without the freedom to live authentically, without fear of reprisal over your sexuality or gender identification. LGBTQ+ people are our friends, neighbors, family members, teachers, scientists, athletes, entertainers, and so much more. They do nothing but add vibrancy and depth to the fabric of American society, and they deserve nothing less than full equality. One huge part of that equality is ensuring that any Medicare For All bill includes access to affordable, inclusive healthcare such as PrEP, gender-affirming treatments and procedures, mental health resources, and other medical needs for the LGBTQ+ community.
The influence of big money and dark money has corrupted our political system to its very core. Instead of serving the people, many of our politicians serve their corporate donors. Worse yet, because of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in the Citizens United case, spending money on political advertising is legally considered free speech. This has led to a dizzying collection of Super PACs that are not legally obligated to disclose their donors (including foreign donors) despite spending unlimited amounts of money in support of political candidates. Meanwhile, the cost of running for office has skyrocketed, with the 2020 election seeing $14.4 billion in spending. When such big money is in play, small donors are lost in the fray and the interests of regular Americans go unrepresented in government. Changing this will not be simple or easy; it won’t fit neatly in a paragraph or on a billboard. It will take a constitutional amendment and then some to rewire our campaign finance system into a form that serves the American people rather than taking advantage of us. No more Super PACs, no more foreign corporate influence, no more lobbyists bundling campaign contributions, no more opaque inauguration committees. Free and fair elections demand complete transparency. It will be a difficult fight, but this is one of the most important actions we can take to secure our elections, hold our politicians accountable, and get the American people to trust that the government is working for them, not for corporate donors making back-room deals. Congress has failed to enact common-sense gun control; expand Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing coverage; or enact meaningful legislation to fight against climate change – all in large part because of the influence of big money on policy and politicians. As a member of Congress, I will not take a dime of corporate PAC money, because I want to represent my constituents rather than powerful special interests. And when elected, I pledge not to own any individual stocks, because members of Congress should lead by example and not engage in insider trading. Equally damaging to our democracy is the current assault on voting rights. States are rapidly passing laws to increase barriers to voting and suppress the vote. The right to vote in a free and fair election is the core of democracy, and if we fail to preserve it, we will lose everything this country stands for. I will fight furiously to enact automatic voter registration, eliminate voter suppression laws, and remove unnecessary barriers to voting. I wholeheartedly support the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act — two bills that will help us ensure free and fair elections, both of which enjoy overwhelming support from the American people.
I was born into a single-parent household. My mom was still in high school, but she persevered because she wanted a great future for me and my sister. Like so many other San Diegans, my parents worked hard to make sure my sister and I had the opportunity to focus and succeed in school. Thanks to their support, I became a software engineer and co-founded a nonprofit organization, Code with Her, which empowers young people to learn about tech and maybe, one day, become technology leaders themselves. There is a wealth of talent and potential both here in our district and across the country, and I intend to help give the next generations all the support they need to succeed. In Congress, I will fight for universal pre-K, tuition-free public college and trade school, and eliminating student debt so that every San Diegan can successfully achieve their dreams. I will fight to ensure that our education system is properly funded. Our teachers are our heroes, but too often they are overworked, underpaid, and used as political scapegoats. Our classrooms are understocked, and our students are undervalued. It’s time for all that to change.
Our current immigration system is complex, cumbersome and inefficient. Law-abiding people who want nothing more than to pursue the American dream are met with a myriad of requirements that are confusing and inconsistently enforced. For those who are here already, whether legally or not, we can create a single, unambiguous path to citizenship that respects their dignity while allowing them to integrate with our society. Spending resources on casting out otherwise law-abiding immigrants because of the way they came into our country is wasteful and uncompassionate. Illegal immigrants actually commit crimes at a far lower rate than natural-born citizens, and they pay more in taxes than they receive in services. Ensuring a clearer path for immigrants and compassionate treatment for the migrant workers who quietly prop up our economy will only make our nation safer, and it will not prevent the strict enforcement of laws against criminal and especially gang activity. We need immigration policies rooted in our common humanity and values — after all, we are a country of immigrants. We must abolish ICE and stop the mass deportations tearing families apart. We cannot be the country of family separation and forced sterilizations. We must protect DREAMers and ensure that the 11 million undocumented Americans have a path to citizenship.[2] |
” |
| —Kylie Taitano's campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 14, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kylie Taitano for Congress, “Issues,” accessed May 19, 2022
