Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Melanie Burkholder
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Melanie Burkholder (Republican Party) ran for election to the California State Assembly to represent District 76. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Burkholder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2020
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 76
Incumbent Tasha Boerner Horvath defeated Melanie Burkholder in the general election for California State Assembly District 76 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) | 55.6 | 132,688 |
 | Melanie Burkholder (R)  | 44.4 | 105,855 | |
| Total votes: 238,543 | |||
| = 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 California State Assembly District 76
Incumbent Tasha Boerner Horvath and Melanie Burkholder advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 76 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) | 57.5 | 77,792 |
| ✔ | | Melanie Burkholder (R) | 42.5 | 57,391 |
| Total votes: 135,183 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melanie Burkholder completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Burkholder's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Melanie Burkholder is a decorated Secret Service Agent, Mental Health Counselor and proud wife and mother. She is a proven leader and distinguished member of the community with experience helping members of the community, not special interests. Melanie is a conservative Republican who will take the same fight to Sacramento politicians that she took to our nation's criminals while serving in the Secret Service.
- Assembly Bill 5, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez is a job-killing bill. It has taken thousands of careers and has stripped people of their income, their livelihoods, and their ability to earn an honest living. It's time to GET RID OF IT! Truckers, translators, medical professionals, journalists, women, single and stay-at-home parents, people of color, LGBTWQ+ and many more are being exploited by this bill because it has devastated their right to earn an honest living. Rids-share drivers, especially those who are retired, do not want AB5 because it takes away their opportunity to make extra money. AB5 has made living in an already expensive state even more difficult, especially for lower income residents.
- Prop 13 must be protected. There is a ballot measure that is very misleading to the voter and will lead to the demise of business and home ownership. The School and College Facilities Bond is a manipulative measure and should be voted down. Please, note no on Prop 13.
- Homelessness is the biggest threat to public safety and public health facing our district. I support rolling back laws that let dangerous felons out of jail early, and tough love for those with drug addiction or mental illness.
As a mental health therapist and former federal law enforcement agent, I'm very interested in how to address the homelessness issue which requires a multidisciplinary approach. I have listened to my constituents and consulted with local leaders in the fight for the homeless. We cannot continue to throw piles of money at failed social programs that keep people in their current situation or make it worse! I believe we need to meet the individuals where they are, which is recognizing they are not simply a "number" to include in a census. They are individuals who are suffering and need help, whether it is mental illness or drug addiction, or both, we need to offer a loving approach, including tough love, to affect positive change. Tying the hands of law enforcement and decriminalizing criminal behavior will not solve this problem. Under current law, there are two options: Jail or Emergency Room, and that's not enough. There needs to be a continuum of care for the homeless, walking alongside of them and lifting them up. Finally, we need accountability of spending that includes ending failed programs that keep people in the cycle of homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction. The government continues to enable people to be failures and it is not humane and it has got to stop. Independence and self-sufficiency instill dignity and economic mobility in people and that should be the goal. Treat those who can't, assist those who can and incentivize those who won't.
I have long operated under the motto of "kill them with kindness" because I believe it is easier to be kind than not. I am a very organized individual who multi-tasks very well and I love to read. As a mental health therapist, I am constantly having difficult and strained conversations with clients. Sometimes, difficult conversations are required to move the agenda forward and I am not afraid of that. I will be strong in my convictions and stand for my district and represent them based on their needs, not mine.
I believe the core responsibilities of anyone elected to any office is to listen to their constituents and vote based on the needs of the district and that means making hard decisions sometimes and showing up to cast the vote. Elected officials should be held accountable for their voting record so that it is clear where they stand on issues that affect their constituents. With regard to the assembly, it's critically important that legislators think about unintended consequences of their laws. In California, we are taxed too much, housing is not affordable, traffic is terrible and now, the gig economy is all but dead because of poor legislation from Sacramento democrats. We have got to right the path and get back to adding jobs, repairing roads, repealing bad legislation like the job-killing gig economy bill (AB5), ensuring public safety by addressing the homelessness problems, and improving schools so that our kids have every opportunity for success.
My grandparents owned a restaurant and I started working there as soon as I could carry a large round tray full of homemade fried catfish, right around 11 years old. I also babysat for my neighbor, worked the clock at church basketball games and did chores around the house to earn money. Very early on, I learned that hard work pays off and I saw everyone in my family working hard as well. My father was a welder at the local paper-mill and I'm blessed that he taught me his great trade. My mother owned a local beauty products store and was a hair stylist when I was born. I learned that nothing is free and we all contribute to the greater good when we are doing our part. That's why, when I went to college and worked three jobs while living independently, I could handle the heavy load. My family laid the foundation and instilled the values in me that helped me succeed.
Having been a United States Secret Service Agent, I have taken the oath of office once and pledged to protect the Constitution and the President of the United States, even to the extent of taking a bullet for him. My experience as a mental health counselor allows me the skill set to listen to people and take them to a higher level of functioning. I believe it's not about prior experience, it's about your record. What have you done? Locally, I was joined by several concerned residents about the use of glyphosate (Round Up) on our fields at our children's schools. I worked with democrats, republicans, and independents through the City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Unified School District to end the use of glyphosate throughout the entire city, and there was no increase in taxes to achieve the implementation of an alternative pest management plan. Additionally, after learning of trace amounts of lead in the water, I worked, through the Parent Teacher Association, of which I am the Vice-President, to install a water filtration system in the elementary school. We need these common sense approaches in the assembly and I'm the only candidate who is willing to work with both republicans and democrats to get things done.
In a world driven by social media and people hiding behind screens, I don't know of a more critical issue than building relationships with others. Once you look someone in the eye and shake their hand, regardless of party, it's harder to be dismissive, angry or combative. I look forward to building bridges, not walls, in Sacramento.
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.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
Current members of the California State Assembly
Leadership
Majority Leader:Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
Minority Leader:James Gallagher
Representatives
District 1
Heather Hadwick (R)
District 2
Chris Rogers (D)
District 3
James Gallagher (R)
District 4
District 5
Joe Patterson (R)
District 6
Maggy Krell (D)
District 7
Josh Hoover (R)
District 8
David Tangipa (R)
District 9
Heath Flora (R)
District 10
Stephanie Nguyen (D)
District 11
Lori Wilson (D)
District 12
Damon Connolly (D)
District 13
Rhodesia Ransom (D)
District 14
Buffy Wicks (D)
District 15
District 16
District 17
Matt Haney (D)
District 18
Mia Bonta (D)
District 19
District 20
Liz Ortega (D)
District 21
Diane Papan (D)
District 22
Juan Alanis (R)
District 23
Marc Berman (D)
District 24
Alex Lee (D)
District 25
Ash Kalra (D)
District 26
Patrick Ahrens (D)
District 27
Esmeralda Soria (D)
District 28
Gail Pellerin (D)
District 29
Robert Rivas (D)
District 30
Dawn Addis (D)
District 31
Joaquin Arambula (D)
District 32
Stan Ellis (R)
District 33
Alexandra Macedo (R)
District 34
Tom Lackey (R)
District 35
Jasmeet Bains (D)
District 36
Jeff Gonzalez (R)
District 37
Gregg Hart (D)
District 38
Steve Bennett (D)
District 39
Juan Carrillo (D)
District 40
Pilar Schiavo (D)
District 41
John Harabedian (D)
District 42
Jacqui Irwin (D)
District 43
District 44
Nick Schultz (D)
District 45
James Ramos (D)
District 46
Jesse Gabriel (D)
District 47
Greg Wallis (R)
District 48
Blanca Rubio (D)
District 49
Mike Fong (D)
District 50
Robert Garcia (D)
District 51
Rick Zbur (D)
District 52
Jessica Caloza (D)
District 53
District 54
Mark Gonzalez (D)
District 55
Isaac Bryan (D)
District 56
Lisa Calderon (D)
District 57
Sade Elhawary (D)
District 58
Leticia Castillo (R)
District 59
Phillip Chen (R)
District 60
Corey Jackson (D)
District 61
Tina McKinnor (D)
District 62
Jose Solache (D)
District 63
Natasha Johnson (R)
District 64
Blanca Pacheco (D)
District 65
Mike Gipson (D)
District 66
Al Muratsuchi (D)
District 67
District 68
Avelino Valencia (D)
District 69
Josh Lowenthal (D)
District 70
Tri Ta (R)
District 71
Kate Sanchez (R)
District 72
Diane Dixon (R)
District 73
District 74
Laurie Davies (R)
District 75
Carl DeMaio (R)
District 76
Darshana Patel (D)
District 77
Tasha Horvath (D)
District 78
Christopher Ward (D)
District 79
District 80
David Alvarez (D)
Democratic Party (60)
Republican Party (20)
