Hi, I’m Stephen. I grew up right in California’s 48th district, — just 10 minutes down the road from where I now live with my wife and son. I know the folks in my district because I grew up facing many of the same challenges that plague our community today. I know what it’s like to be in the working class; what it’s like to have to choose between paying your mortgage and your health care. My mother worked two jobs to make ends meet, so I helped raise my sister and started working when I was 13. Darrell Issa is a multimillionaire who can’t possibly know what it’s like to be you or me, to struggle finding good work, or to pinch every penny so you can afford to one day send your child to college.
I support women’s individual freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions, which are private between patient and doctor.
The Supreme Court Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v Wade undermines a women's right to make her own reproductive choices.
As a registered nurse of over 25 years, I know this is healthcare being taken away from women, and this is a dangerous overreach that affects us all.
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Election Integrity
The United States of America is the birthplace of modern democracy. I believe that ensuring the right to cast our votes and have them counted is paramount to our way of life. That is why as your congressman, I will do whatever it takes to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
I believe that life’s quality improves when people can engage in the decisions that impact their lives. That’s why we need to make it easier to legally vote, not harder.
California can set the example for the rest of the country: we already have same-day voter registration, and most counties already allow early voting.
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Energy and Climate
I will bring federal funding back to our district to diversify our energy infrastructure portfolio, protect our homes from drought-induced wildfires, and ensure affordable and reliable water supplies.
The US subsidizes fossil fuels to the tune of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars every year. This subsidy comes out of your pockets and goes straight into the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs and shareholders.
Global gas prices are soaring even as the market is moving away from fossil fuels – the price of solar and wind power is dropping every day, and if we don’t jump on this train, it’s going to leave without us (with China at the helm).
California can be the global leader in solar energy. Early investments here can lead to huge returns. As a clean energy champion, I led the way to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California’s 48th. As a result, schools, businesses, and residences have made big investments in clean solar energy.
Wildfires are too often started by power lines igniting the surrounding vegetation, resulting in billions of dollars in property damage, with ratepayers left footing the bill. It is time to rebuild our energy grid, including undergrounding of power lines to protect our precious backcountry.
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Healthcare
The US spends the most money per capita on healthcare in the world, but we rank among the lowest when it comes to health outcomes. I know how painfully inefficient our healthcare system is – I work in it every single day.
Medicare and Medikid As your congressman, I will make sure our Medicare safety net is funded, and work to expand Medicare to 55+, streamlining healthcare for the folks who are most likely to use it. I will also propose “Medikid” to help cover the more than 4 Million uninsured children in our country.
Big Pharma Big Pharma is placing a huge burden on millions of Americans every year who can't afford their necessary medications. I know, because my own medicine cost $42,000 per year. As your congressman, I will stand up to Big Pharma and make sure every American can access the medication they need.
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COVID-19 National Recovery
COVID-19 is personal for me. In the early days of the pandemic, I was called by the ICU to help triage patients and prepare for crisis standards of care. The possibility of my decisions impacting who got critical care and who didn’t is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
COVID-19 moved fast; our response must be faster.
We need to do a number of things to make sure California and the country get out of COVID stronger than ever before:
Make sure everyone who wants to be vaccinated is able to. California is one of the most vaccinated states, and because of that, we have some of the lowest infection and mortality rates from COVID in the country.
Make sure every American has access to affordable healthcare. It is unconscionable that during a global pandemic that has cost 700,000 American lives, many people still can’t afford health insurance, let alone can access health care.
Fight poverty and inequality. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated poverty and inequality to new highs. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, with the help of the Federal Reserve, have made billions upon billions of dollars during the pandemic, all while regular Americans have lost their jobs, taken pay cuts, and pinched pennies.
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LGBTQ+ rights.
The Trump Administration took multiple actions to invite discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in housing, health care, education and in the workplace. Because there is no federal anti-discrimination law, LGBTQ+ people and families can still be denied access to work, housing, health care, and education in 29 states.
That is why we need to pass the Equality Act. Not only will it protect the LGBTQ+ members of our community, it will also expand protections for women, people of color, and religious individuals.
