My name is Paula Villescaz and I am running to represent our Placer and Sacramento County communities and families in the California State Senate. I am a public servant and an advocate, with extensive experience in the fields of education, health care and emergency response. After serving as President of the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) and as an Assistant Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency during the pandemic, I understand firsthand the opportunities and challenges our communities are facing as we try to keep schools open and our economy moving.
Paula believes everyone deserves access to high-quality, affordable health care. The pandemic has demonstrated the crucial importance of universal access to health care services. Losing your job should not mean losing your health insurance, nor excessive medical costs. As a cancer survivor, Paula knows that access to affordable and high-quality health care is a life-or-death issue. As the Principal Consultant for the Assembly Health Committee, Paula helped craft and enact numerous bills to improve health care access in California. As Assistant Secretary of the California Department of Health and Human Services, Paula traveled throughout California to manage the state’s COVID-19 response.