There are no compromises when it comes to women’s access to abortion and contraception. Women should have full autonomy over their own bodies and their ability to make their own healthcare decisions. Full stop. I’ve been a loud and outspoken advocate for abortion rights, and have authored leading legislation to protect these rights, including Proposition 1, which codified abortion rights in the state Constitution, as well as SB 374, which made California the first state in the nation to recognize reproductive coercion as a form of domestic violence. I’m proud to be the only candidate in the race for CA-47 rated 100% by Planned Parenthood and NARAL, and I look forward to taking that record to Washington, DC.

Look, we’re going to have to fight like hell if we want to restore abortion rights as core Constitutional rights. I’ve fought that fight in Sacramento, and I’m prepared to take up the cause in Congress. I support the federal codification of Roe v. Wade and other key legislation to protect the rights of women to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. But we must go further. We have to begin the long, hard work of taking back our federal judiciary from the extremist MAGA judges who are rewriting the Constitution to attack the rights of women. We cannot go back in time to the days when women regularly died from pregnancy complications or were forced into having back alley abortions.

There is no place in America that is safe from the specter of gun violence, even here in Orange County: whether it’s a church in Laguna Woods, an office park in Orange, a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, or a hair salon in Seal Beach. We are the only developed nation in the world with anywhere close to this level of gun violence, and I refuse to let this be normalized. I’ve been proud to earn an ‘F’ rating from the NRA for my leadership on gun safety, authoring a number of key bills to end gun violence, including the bills that banned gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds and on all state property. 

In Congress, I will support the renewal of the assault weapons ban, and expanded background checks and red flag laws. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with leading gun safety groups to ban ghost guns, push for safe gun storage, and expand the liability of gun manufacturers. We don’t have to live in constant fear of gun violence, but if we want to change this, we have to elect people who are unafraid to take on the gun lobby.

As the parent of three young kids, I cannot think of a more urgent issue to tackle than climate change. The science is clear: we are facing tectonic changes to our basic way of life unless we begin to aggressively reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and turn the tide on carbon emissions, and the longer we wait, the more terrifying the consequences. The wildfires, droughts, severe weather anomalies, and high temperatures we’re experiencing now will seem mild compared to the Biblical-level events that climate change will wreak on our planet.

I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race endorsed by and rated 100% by Sierra Club. In the State Senate, I’ve authored and coauthored a number of key climate bills, including legislation to end offshore drilling, decarbonize transportation and household appliances, and to require companies to disclose their climate risks and carbon emissions from their supply chains. I’ve also been a leader in the fights to preserve our wilderness and protect biodiversity, including authoring the first law in the country to enact the “30 by 30” goals of protecting 30% of our open spaces by the year 2030, which leading scientists have said are necessary to ensure we prevent mass extinction. 

In Congress, I hope to bring to bear at the federal level many of the changes that we’re leading here with in California. The fact is that the high profile efforts– such as pushing electric cars, encouraging solar and wind, electrifying the grid– is not enough. We’re going to need to bear down on some of the more technical and mundane aspects of climate policy– addressing methane leaks, decarbonizing more difficult sectors like heavy duty transit, aviation, or cement and asphalt production while continuing to push to address our open spaces and adapt to the changes that climate change will wreak– and federal policy has a huge role to play here in driving the necessary green innovation and incentivizing private capital to come into these areas. We can solve the climate crisis, but we must act with urgency and smart policy.

The January 6 insurrection was horrifying. It has become clear that this was not a “peaceful protest gone awry,” but rather the coordinated effort of Donald Trump and his closest supporters to try to utilize the powers of the presidency, coupled with fake electors and violence, to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

I’ve spent my career upholding the rule of law, whether as a young attorney at the SEC prosecuting corporate fraud or as a law professor teaching the next generation of advocates at UC Irvine School of Law. In the State Senate, I have not only been outspoken in fighting back against voter suppression efforts and book bans, but I have also introduced legislation to crack down on these anti-democratic efforts. I’ve authored a bill authorizing our Secretary of State to remove candidates from our ballots who have committed insurrection, as required under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. 

When I’m elected to Congress, I’ll continue fighting for democracy and what’s right, including supporting legislation to end stock trading by members of Congress and bolstering voting rights. 

The number 1 reason people are leaving our great state of California– and the number 1 reason for homelessness here– is the high cost of housing. It is unfathomable that in a state as wealthy as California, in a country as prosperous as the United States, we have such a major homelessness issue. We must do more to address this problem. I’m proud to have a 100% rating from California YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), the leading pro-housing group in the state, and to be a leader in the efforts to build more housing in the state. 

At the federal level, we must expand efforts to fund affordable housing, including the creation of new housing, the rehabilitation of existing housing, and the easing of barriers that prevent lower income households from accessing housing. Earlier in my career, I led the Center for American Progress’s efforts to bolster our federal affordable housing funding, including developing the major proposal on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing finance entities that were put into federal conservatorship following the 2008 financial crisis. I hope to bring this expertise to bear in finding solutions for affordable housing in Congress.

Finally, it is critical that we recognize that to address the problem of the chronically homeless, we must do more than just provide housing. By the time you see someone on the streets, they’ve typically been homeless or housing-insecure for months or years, creating a vicious cycle of mental health and substance abuse problems that make it very difficult to re-enter society. The non-profit organizations that are dealing with homelessness most effectively have all reported the same thing– that the biggest barrier to their work is the difficulties in combining federal, state, and local funding for housing and mental health and substance abuse services. By easing these barriers, we can help solve the problem of homelessness.

I’m fortunate to be married to Jane Stoever, who is not only an amazing spouse and mother, but is also a thought and advocacy leader in the area of domestic violence. Jane is a professor at UC Irvine School of Law, where she teaches Family Law and directs the Domestic Violence Clinic, which represents survivors of DV in accessing the legal and other help they need to escape abusive relationships. Jane has written a number of leading legal research papers in this area, and her on-the-ground experience has been incredibly informative in her research. 

With her brilliant counsel, I’ve been privileged to author eight DV-related bills into law, protecting survivors of domestic violence and saving lives. These include a number of first-in-the-nation bills, including legislation to designate reproductive coercion as a form of abuse. I’ve also been a leader in protecting women and children from abuse, and last year, I authored legislation to create criminal penalties for religious clergy who take advantage of their positions to sexually abuse those under their supervision. 

In Congress, I will continue to work with Jane to develop solutions to the far too common problems of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Unfortunately, even here in California, we’ve seen MAGA politicians hijack local school boards and city councils. I’ve spoken out forcefully against their culture war efforts, including by issuing statements, writing letters, and even speaking at Council Chambers against book bans, voter suppression efforts, and proposals targeting the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve also introduced legislation to address some of these bad faith initiatives. 

At the same time, we’ve also seen a sharp rise in hate here in the OC and across the country, including anti-Asian hate, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-LGBTQ+ hate. I’ve held or participated in over 150 panels, roundtables, and other events organized to try to speak out against rising hate. I’ve authored legislation to address these issues, including  a major bill trying to deal with rising harassment on public transit, and I’ve worked closely with local officials to try to coordinate strategies on making our residents feel safer. I’m proud of the fact that I’m endorsed by over 60 local government officials, as well as major anti-discrimination groups such as Equality CA, the largest LGBTQ+ rights group in the country, and Asian Americans in Action.

In Congress, I’ll continue to stand up for marginalized communities and stand up to the MAGA extremists, both in Washington, DC and here at home.

As the product of California public schools, I know how important good public education is for the American Dream. I’m proud to be the ONLY candidate in this race who sends his own kids to public schools, and to be the only candidate backed by the major pro-education groups, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. 

In the State Senate, I serve on the Budget Committee’s Education Subcommittee, which is responsible for handling the funding for all K-12 public schools, community colleges, the California State University system, and a good part of the University of California’s budget. In this role, I’ve tried to emphasize the ABCs of good education– good teachers, smaller class sizes, and better access– even as we had to deal with the significant challenges posed by COVID-19.

I’ve also raised concerns about the removal of calculus and other advanced math classes from our state’s required curriculum, as well as the elimination of standardized testing in our UCs.

While I empathize with the policy goals of inclusion and equity behind these policies, I think more data and analysis must be gathered before we engage in massive policy changes that could harm generations of students. 

In Congress, I want to focus on how we can rethink public education in ways that prepare and train children and also adults for the rapidly changing economy. More vocational training and adult education programs will be needed as AI and automation come into play more and more. We should be rethinking how we utilize our K-12 and higher education institutions, and I hope to be a thoughtful voice in this discussion, even as I continue to push hard to emphasize the basics of good teachers and smaller class sizes across our education system.

I’m proud to be the only candidate in the race for CA-47 endorsed by police, and I’ve worked closely with local law enforcement to combat rising crime and homelessness, including authoring two key bills to address rider safety on public transit, and procuring $1 million for local police to help keep our communities safe. I am endorsed by PORAC, the state’s largest association of public safety officers, as well as the Fraternal Order of Police. I’ve also authored leading gun safety legislation to keep unlicensed and unregistered guns off our streets.

In Congress, I will continue to advocate for a common sense approach to criminal justice, one that balances the desire for fair and racially neutral policing with the need to keep our streets, our homes, and our workplaces safe from crime.

Earlier in my life, I tried my hand in business. After graduating from the Wharton School, I joined a group of friends in starting up a technology firm. Unfortunately, during the 2001 downturn, we lost our funding, and my dreams of being a tech mogul were dashed. But because of those experiences, I have a very strong and very personal respect for those entrepreneurs and small business owners who put their blood, sweat, and tears– as well as their own money– into their ventures. 

In the state legislature, I’ve tried to be a champion for small business. I authored the Small Business Relief Grant Program, which allocated $4.1B in relief grants to small businesses suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic and authoring a law to address predatory lending targeted at small businesses. I’ve also authored other legislation trying to help small businesses, including several bills (which did not pass) trying to reduce the regulatory burden that they face in our state, as well as a law that addressed the growing problem of predatory lending targeting small businesses with hidden junk fees and usurious rates. 

In Congress, I’ll continue to try to be a champion for small businesses.