Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief
Image taken from Wikipedia Article “California’s congressional districts”
In the Bay Area, seven congressional districts have seats open for election this November 5th, all listed below with general information on the elections.
Congressional District 11
Incumbent Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) and Bruce Lou (Republican) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 11 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 12
Lateefah Simon (Democrat) and Jennifer Tran (Democrat) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 12 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 14
Incumbent Eric Swalwell (Democrat) and Vin Kruttiventi (Republican) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 14 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 15
Incumbent Kevin Mullin (Democrat) and Anna Cheng Kramer (Republican) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 15 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 16
Sam Liccardo (Democrat) and Evan Low (Democrat) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 17
Incumbent Ro Khanna (Democrat) and Anita Chen (Republican) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 17 on November 5, 2024.
Congressional District 18
Incumbent Zoe Lofgren (Democrat) and Peter Hernandez (Republican) are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 18 on November 5, 2024.
We will be looking more deeply into the elections for Congressional Districts 11 and 12 in specific.
Congressional District 11
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) on Issues in this Election:
Education:
For early education, she believes in investing in teacher and classroom quality, focusing on school readiness, having universal pre-kindergarten programs, and increasing accessibility to Head Start and Early Head Start.
For K-12 Education, Pelosi is committed to investing in STEM, supporting teachers through resources, training, and professional development, imrpoving the No Child Left Behind Act, and creating high standards to make sure that students graduate from high school and college ready for the next chapters of their lives.
For higher education, Pelosi wants to help higher education affordability, assist graduates in paying back their loans, allow the refinancing of student loans, and protect Pell Grants and college accessibility.
More here: https://pelosi.house.gov/issues/education
Health care
Pelosi believes in expanding the Affordable Care Act to make health care more affordable and accessible, enacting the Inflation Reduction Act, and allowing negotiation of prices with drug companies (such as capping insulin at $35 or providing seniors free vaccines.)
Housing
Pelosi hopes to address housing affordability through Low Income Housing Tax Credits and tax credits for first-time homebuyers, supporting initiatives to reduce homelessness, and supporting programs that will build public housing for low-income people.
More here: https://pelosi.house.gov/issues/housing
National security
Pelosi believes that Congress needs to prevent radicalization, ensure our military has the resources it needs to eliminate security threats while maintaining oversight of the Department of Defense, and that Congress needs to prevent breaches in national security, and protect our country from cyber-attacks.
More here: https://pelosi.house.gov/issues/national-security
For more on what Nancy Pelosi advocates for, visit this site: https://pelosi.house.gov/issues
Bruce Lou (Republican) on Issues in this Election:
Protecting Constitutional Freedoms
Bruce Lou advocates for a more limited government that respects our fundamental Constitutional rights. He believes that the government has the power to “spy on us, detain us, search us, all in violation of the Constitution”.
Reduce Government Spending and Taxation
Lou believes that the government is too bloated, and wants to slash government spending to reduce the tax burden and create a more limited federal government.
Stop Hate Crimes
Lou hopes to help stop hate crimes by bringing bills that apply hate crime enhancements to consistent hate crimes against Asians.
Secure the Border
Lou advocates for a strong border and the end of sanctuary cities, stating that the border crisis “brings millions of illegal immigrants into the United States that bring gang violence, drugs, and human trafficking within our borders”.
Education
Lou believes that education is the “bedrock of democracy”, and therefore wants to reform the education system to promote practical education and wants to promote school choice, meaning parents would be allowed to choose how and where their children are taught.
For more on what Bruce Lou advocates for, visit this site: https://www.bruceforcongress.org/issues
Congressional District 12
Lateefah Simon (Democrat) on Issues in this Election:
Public Safety
Simon champions legislation that closes loopholes in federal gun laws, stops the import of illegal firearms into communities, and wants to provide resources for mental health and addiction treatment.
Affordable housing and Homelessness
Simon is currently working on the BART Board to add over a thousand bedrooms to the district and hopes to gain resources for Oakland’s housing crisis, pursuing 4.5 billion dollars to build and operate permanent housing for homeless people.
In the House of Representatives, Simon promises advocacy for policies that work to end landlord discrimination, increase rental subsidiaries, support legislation like SB 567, and ensure that financial burdens on tenants are alleviated.
Simon hopes to leverage federal funds to transform empty government buildings such as the old County Jail in Oakland into emergency shelters for homeless individuals. She also hopes to strengthen mental health services.
Healthcare for All
Simon believes in expanding and protecting healthcare coverage and working towards an affordable single-payer health system. She also wants to lower prescription drug prices by expanding Medicare drug negotiation, close the Medicaid coverage gap, and expand Medicaid to reach more people.
Somin’s other beliefs: Reproductive Freedom; Racial and Social Justice; Immigration; LGBTQ+ Rights; Disability Rights; Voting Rights and Democracy Reform; Global Security; Innovation; Transportation and Infrastructure; Climate and Environmental Justice; and Building a Care Economy.
For more on what Lateefah Simon advocates for, visit this site: https://www.lateefahsimon.com/priorities
Jennifer Tran (Democrat) on Issues in this Election:
Public safety
Tran wants to establish federal standards for Police Departments, meaning a minimum ratio of population (police officers to federal funding), and create nationalized standards for police academies. She also wants to integrate mental health into policing, mandating weekly mental health treatment for officers and adding social workers into police departments. Finally, she wants to standardize starting salaries and offer discounted down payments on houses for police, firefighters, and teachers.
Homelessness
Tran wants to reopen state-run mental health hospitals, invest in drug addiction treatment hospitals, expand housing voucher programs that prevent at-risk individuals from losing housing, and establish Care Courts where unhoused citizens can assess needs before placement.
Immigration policy
“It’s 2024. The United States needs new immigration laws urgently. It’s time to recognize that the border concerns of both Democrats and Republicans are important. We can have controlled borders AND humane treatment for asylum seekers. The left wants humane borders and the right wants controlled, secure borders. These are both valid points, but yet the two sides scream at each other from across their aisle over these two immigration priorities.”
Tran believes that with a sweeping infrastructure and immigration bill, we can fund construction and improvement projects at a lower cost if we create a worker residency program for immigrants. Immigrants will be taxed and registered in federal databases, and in exchange for four years of reduced-cost labor and living in low-cost temporary housing (they would not have to pay for housing or food on-site while working), workers will receive professional training in a construction trade and a 10-year work visa. Construction unions would be used to train the immigrant workforce, and after four years of service, they would be eligible for full union membership.
For more on what Jennifer Tran advocates for, visit this site: https://drtranforcongress.com/solutions/
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