Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives - California 53rd Congressional District in 2020 California Primary Election.
View your personalized ballot, check your voter registration, make a plan to vote, and research every name and measure on the ballot with BallotReady.
Get StartedReduce the criminalization of poverty and its link to incarceration. Learn more
Decriminalize mental illness and addiction. Learn more
Support increased funding for federal grants for states that commit to criminal justice reform and ban private prisons. Learn more
Legalize marijuana, reduce sentences for other drug offenses and apply these reductions retroactively, expunge past convictions, and eliminate mandatory minimums. Learn more
Aggressively pursue a national student debt relief agenda. Forgiving student debt will positively impact long term economic growth and provide a serious middle class stimulus. Learn more
Index Pell Grants and other non-loan sources of funding to inflation to ensure they keep pace with the rate of college tuition, make such support tax-exempt, and provide these programs with the funding they need. Learn more
Massively increase federal resources for students at Title I schools, issuing new regulations to diversify the teaching profession, and investing in high-quality state and local educational programs. Oppose federal funding for private school voucher programs which undermine public education and have been used to further racial and socioeconomic segregation. Supporting funding for universal pre-K and childcare to support our families and economy. The data is clear on the long-term benefits: quality early education produces better health, educational, and employment outcomes well into adulthood. Learn more
Support a federal standard that holds school districts accountable for putting resources where they are most needed. This includes paying our teachers like the professionals that they are and ensuring they have the supplies they need to teach. Learn more
Lower the overall cost of public education by increasing public funding directly to colleges and universities - and tying those increases to accountability measures that require universities to lower the cost of tuition. Learn more
Demand America re-enters the Paris Climate Agreement - and increases our ambitions in order to lead the world on new shared commitments, new technologies and transitioning the world to 100% renewable energy. Learn more
Ensure that the federal government leads climate resilience planning missions in every town and city across our country. Learn more
Support substantial funding increases in federal clean energy research and development, development and deployment of resilient infrastructure, federal incentives for local carbon reduction plans, and full funding for maintenance and upkeep of our public lands. Learn more
Author legislation mandating the Department of Defense, which burns 350,000 barrels of oil a day, convert to carbon neutrality and develop a DOD-wide climate action plan to convert the single biggest user of carbon fuels to be the world’s leader in reducing carbon footprint. Learn more
Oppose all subsidies for polluters and any new oil drilling leases on public lands. Learn more
Climate change is the greatest national security and public health threat we face as a country, and tackling the climate crisis must be a top national priority. Janessa knows that in order to make meaningful change, we must implement a whole of government approach to ensure that all federal spending and research is tied to meeting our climate goals - to include building a 100% clean energy economy by 2050. Learn more
Increasing federal funding for research and education on gun violence and gun violence prevention. Learn more
Directing the IRS to conduct a thorough investigation into the NRA’s tax-exempt status. If the IRS can prove that the NRA is abusing its tax-exempt status to help churn profits for the gun industry, then the NRA's tax-exempt status should be immediately revoked. Learn more
Closing the “boyfriend loophole” to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Learn more
Required registration of all existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act (NFA) while also addressing the future manufacture and/or sale of these firearms. Learn more
A nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons. Learn more
A national buy-back program and safe storage laws. Learn more
Support Medicare for all who want it. This would make a Medicare-type public option available on the exchange and invite people to buy into it, achieving universal coverage while putting every American in charge of their health care choices by allowing those who like their employer-provided healthcare to keep it. Learn more
Support investments in research and new technology in order to make our healthcare options more tuned to the 21st Century. This means making sure that the public option is built on biometric data, personalized genomics, and web and telephone-based care. All Americans deserve to have personalized care, with medicine tailored to their individual needs. In the end, these investments will lower costs for everyone and increase the quality of care. Learn more
Author legislation that provides tax breaks or vouchers to support families who choose to take care of their aging or sick loved ones at home, providing a benefit to caregivers who today are mostly unpaid. An estimated 75 percent of unpaid caregivers in the United States are women, and more than a quarter of them are forced to reduce their work hours or give up their jobs entirely, impacting their current and future financial stability. Learn more
Champion legislation to build a fairer system that allows the federal government to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies to make drugs more affordable for everyone, hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging, and penalize companies that raise prices more than inflation. Learn more
Support expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage to ensure that it includes long-term care for aging seniors and champion substantial federal investments to increase the availability of affordable supportive housing for seniors nationwide. Learn more
Support the Family and Insurance Medical Leave Act (FAMILY ACT), which would create a national program to meet the needs of new parents and those caring for family members with serious illnesses. This federal program would guarantee all workers up to 12 weeks paid leave no matter the size of the company or type of work they do. The FAMILY Act protects workers’ economic independence, promotes equity in the workplace, and is good for businesses’ bottom lines. Learn more
Support expanding housing vouchers for people on the verge of losing their homes. Learn more
Support a massive increase in investment of federal funding to build middle and low-income housing in accordance with a Housing First approach, as well as supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters Champion funding for shelters and supportive housing for transitional age youth and veterans, two of the largest segments of San Diego’s homeless population. Expand funding for HUD-VASH vouchers and caseworkers. Support legislation that addresses the racial wealth gap by increasing asset ownership among those previously prevented from accumulating capital, and prevents housing discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, or the source of one’s income, like a housing vouchern. Learn more
End the family separation crisis and evaluate ICE and CBP practices to ensure similar humanitarian crises never happen again. Champion legislation that protects asylum seekers, allows undocumented residents like DREAMers the ability to come out of the shadows with a serious amnesty plan and path to citizenship, creates more efficient and safe border crossings for San Diego businesses and workers, expands new technology for the border patrol, and reforms the legal immigration lottery system. Fight for a firm, bright line between local law enforcement operations and federal immigration enforcement, implementing California’s protections for undocumented families at the federal level. Learn more
Author legislation that would increase job training assistance through local Workforce Investment Boards and ensure that all community colleges across America are free and focused on a work-ready curriculum. Increase federal funding for apprenticeship and job-training programs, with emphasis on transitioning veterans ending active service in San Diego. Stand up against structural inequalities in the workplace by supporting equal pay and non-discrimination laws. These protections, in addition to paid family leave, healthcare for all, and transition from the carbon economy will grow opportunities for the middle class for years to come. Learn more
Support the repeal of the disastrous Trump tax-cuts and use part of that money to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit so that workers get a bigger take-home paycheck. Support a $15 minimum wage, because one full-time job should be enough to live in America. Strengthen the rights of workers to bargain collectively, join a union without penalty, and expand union membership nationwide. Learn more
View your personalized ballot, check your voter registration, make a plan to vote, and research every name and measure on the ballot with BallotReady.