The only candidate with a track record
of delivering for the Valley
Water & Agriculture
Defeated AB 2639, a bill that would have accelerated the adoption of the State Water Grab, officially known as the update to the Bay-Delta Plan, and jeopardized water storage projects like Sites Reservoir.
​
Ensured that $2.75 billion would be included in the 2014 water bond for storage. Without that leadership, funding for storage would have been zero.
​
Organized the 2018 rally that saw 1,500 Valley residents converge on the Capitol steps to protest the State Water Grab.
​
Led the Valley’s efforts to have SB 1 vetoed, which would have taken vast amounts of water used for growing food and drinking into the Delta.
​
Continues to demand California recognize hydroelectricity as renewable energy, creating incentives for modernization and expansion of generation capacity as brown outs once again threaten our state.
Restored state funding for FFA chapters serving 83,500 high school students.
Education
Secured $2 million for Stanislaus County’s Office of Education to create the VOLT Institute in Modesto, providing high-skill job training and serving as a pipeline to jobs at companies such as E.&J. Gallo Winery, Del Monte Foods, Foster Farms and Crystal Creamery.
​
Secured funding to build the Ag Tech Building at Merced College.
Carrying legislation to fund schools based on enrollment, not attendance.
​
Secured $500,000 for after-school programs at Stanislaus and Merced Boys & Girls Clubs.
​
Supported $2.7 billion to offer transitional kindergarten to all 4-years-olds by 2025. Serving 400,000 students, it will be California’s version of universal preschool.
​
Supported more than $100 million in school-based health centers, bringing healthcare into schools – including mental health care.
Public Safety
Secured funding to create the VIPER program, resulting in the arrest of 50 gang leaders and confiscation of weapons and ammunition from the streets. This cut the county’s murder rate in half in the first year.
​
Wrote the bill to crack down on theft of parts from irrigation pumps and farm equipment.
​
Wrote a bill to eliminate the Ticket Tax – a 20% surcharge on traffic fines that goes entirely into the General Fund and does not support any specific program.
​
Secured $1 million to bolster UC Merced law enforcement after an attack on campus linked to ISIS.
​
Carrying AB 2682 – supported by district attorneys, police chiefs, sheriffs and others in law enforcement – to fight catalytic converter and organized retail theft.
​
Opposed zero bail, which voters also rejected as Prop 25.
​
Opposed Prop 47, which reduced sentencing, allowing criminals to return to communities before rehabilitation had been completed.
​
Worked across the aisle to advance a bill making the theft of any firearm a felony regardless of its financial value to reverse a critical mistake created by Prop 47.
​
Opposed Prop 57, that allowed early prison release and is now linked to retail theft rings.
​
Worked with law enforcement to ban the use of the chokehold that killed George Floyd without jeopardizing officer safety.
Veterans
Named the first ever Legislator of the Year by the Military Officers Association of America.
​
Named the Leo P. Burke Legislator of the Year by the American Legion, Department of CA.
​
Carried legislation to eliminate tax on veteran retirement pay.
​
Supported legislation creating veterans license plates and driver’s licenses.
​
Wrote legislation to protect property tax exemption for veterans’ halls that serve alcohol.
​
Wrote legislation to create license reciprocity with other states so that professionally licensed veterans can work in California without barriers or unnecessary testing.
​
Passed a law making it much easier for military veterans to transition into jobs in the water industry.
​
Secured funding to construct 21 units of permanent supportive housing for Veterans who have experienced chronic homelessness in Merced.
Healthcare
Secured $220 million to build a medical education building at UC Merced and $18 million per year to operate the program which will enroll its first class of future doctors in 2023.
​
Secured more than $100 million to fund new graduate medical residency positions throughout the Central Valley.
​
Wrote legislation that doubled operating hours for health clinics, meaning working families have more access to doctors, nurses and care.
​
Secured coverage of continuous glucose monitors under Medi-Cal. Prior to this effort, Medi-Cal was the only health insurer in California that did not cover continuous glucose monitors despite serving the most vulnerable population in the state.