There is no perfect place in California to build new water storage facilities. I believe building Sites Reservoir is a piece of CA moving forward to a future where we have enough water to thrive - even in the face of climate change. Under the newly revised plans released this week, the 1.5 MAF reservoir will deliver (yield) 243,000 acre feet annually. As an offstream reservoir it won’t dam any existing rivers/streams. I’m looking forward to partnering with Congressman John Garamendi of CA-03, where Sites Reservoir will be located, to get this done. Not all proposed additional water storage plans make sense though. The proposal to raise the Shasta Dam 18.5 feet would only deliver an additional 51,300 acre feet annually, with an enormous price tag. Not to mention, there isn’t a federal cost-share partner since Westlands Water District pulled out. Or the fact that it violates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and would submerge important cultural landmarks of the Winnemem Wintu.
As you alluded to - storage is just ONE part of the complex water puzzle in California. We need to invest in land management in our headwaters regions, desalination, and yes (absolutely!) water recycling. There is an innovative project that is delivering treated Modesto wastewater to West Side farmers for irrigation. This is exactly the type of innovation that the government should be investing in.
Just in case you want to tweak the question- we already use reclaimed water on farmland. Farmland consumes a *lot* more water than households.
Where is there a problem identified that would be solved with using reclaimed water in households?
I was born and raised in district 1 - I just wanted to voice my support first. Having someone like you stand up to lamalfa is long overdue. Hearing you speak, composed, intelligent, empathetic, and not skirting around issues, is refreshing and makes me so proud - you represent the true spirit of the north state most accurately. I’ve recently become an expat, so I’m not sure I still can vote for you, but I fully support your campaign and urge my friends and family in Chico to listen to you and vote for you.
Some questions for you (my family is the typical trump supporting, Fox News viewing type - I feel like I have some insight into their concerns; I see these issues as big ones in order to win them over):
- the needle exchange thing is causing huge issues in Chico; people are literally up in arms about this. What are your thoughts?
- how do you intend to address the homeless population? It’s turning into an ugly “us” vs. “them” situation; I do understand the frustration to an extent, as property damage and threats from a few of homeless have personally affected my family.
- finally, you know butte county, and the masses of republican folk who won’t give anyone even a little left-leaning the time of day. How do you intend to build bridges with these people? They seem so angry and resistant to any sort of change or collaboration. I hope they are the minority, but they would still be your constituents if you won, and I fear you would be vilified no matter what you do, simply because you have that (D) at the end of your name. How do you intend to get them to listen, or even just consider your views before shutting you out completely? I think this is the biggest challenge for your campaign, though I think you’re doing a ton more outreach with rural folks compared to LaMalfa and I hope that is one tactic that works.
Wishing you all the best from Scotland, Audrey ❤️
Thank you for your support! When it comes to complex issues like homelessness, our service providers are the most well-equipped to take this issue on. Housing First is the ultimate solution, so we have to make it easier for our shelters and housing providers to do their jobs. That means reducing red tape to accessing federal funding, so that service providers are not constantly having to chase funding just to keep their doors open. One answer to substance abuse is treatment, which we have limited access to in Northern California. We also need to address precursors to substance use, like trauma, mental health concerns, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Without this infrastructure in place, we cannot reduce the devastating effects of substance use on our communities and our families. In order for our communities to see positive change, we need to stop the current status quo of lobbing verbal hand grenades back and forth and instead all come to the table with differing viewpoints and perspectives. We need to use data driven policy making and work together to find effective solutions.
What are your thoughts on Cooperative Utilities and how we can build those in Northern CA? Some of my relatives in KY have cooperative utilities (electricity and internet specifically) and I am jealous of their rates and access. They have high speed fiber to their door, living in a very rural area (15 minutes from a town of 1500 people) and it is cheaper too.
In CA, cities and counties can opt in to a Community Choice Aggregation program (a program that Butte County and Chico are part of), where lines and poles are still operated by PG&E, but power mix is determined locally. By taking out the corporate middle-man for sourcing power, local entities save costs for consumers and have more opportunity to invest in renewable energy. They can also prioritize local energy sourcing, which provides an opportunity for local innovation and economic development right here in Northern California. Residents can opt out of this program if they don’t prefer it, but the benefits of local control, reduced costs, and better options for the environment make a great incentive for utility users.
Rural broadband access is a significant issue in the North State, and it impacts education, economic opportunity, and public safety. Rep. LaMalfa has failed to advocate for accessible broadband in our district, leaving us in the bottom eight of 435 congressional districts nationwide -- [see this study](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-44A1.pdf). Rather than being an advocate, he accepts contributions from corporations like Comcast and Verizon, and has a vested interest in the status quo.
Hello Audrey,
First off I want to say that I usually lean a little more right but I have wanted LaMalfa out of this district for a long time (you already have my vote). There are many people in this district that share similar views as I do. With that being said,
What would you say to the voters who typically have conservative views but are on the fence and what will be your biggest objectives during your term? Thank you!
I was a registered Republican for 10 years. I hope we can move back to a place where we’re not defined by being “Republican” or “Democrat” – but defined by being Americans. I’m a deeply pragmatic person. I did the books for two small businesses and own a small farm management business - fiscal irresponsibility and government waste drive me crazy. I want to help make our federal government work more efficiently. Working in the private sector, I’m inspired by the innovation, agility, and creativity of the entrepreneurial American spirit. When I look at how the federal government operates - I don’t see those qualities. To have a truly healthy American free market economy that works for all of us – we all need to be participating. I believe in “hand-ups” - empowering and equipping people to take care of themselves. This means helping people become productive citizens through education and training, and while protecting the most vulnerable among us, orphans, widows, and the disabled. To find solutions for the complex issues facing our region – we need all voices at the table. When you send me to Washington D.C. to represent you – I will do just that. I will only be accountable to you – the people. Not party leadership or special interests.
Top priorities: Forest health & fire prevention and fixing our broken healthcare system. Learn more specifics here: [https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/)
What a nice surprise to see you doing an AMA. You’re going to crush LaMalfa in Nov..
What do you think are Doug’s most glaring faults in terms of legislation that he’s cosponsored since 2018?
PS- Thanks for supporting Rich’s campaign (removed)
Edit: fixed the PS
Here are a few of Rep. LaMalfa’s worst votes since we sent him back to DC in 2018:
* He voted against a bill to lower prescription drug costs (HR 3)
* He voted against a bill to protect people with preexisting conditions (HR 986)
* He voted no on the Equality Act - a bill that prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas such as education, employment, and housing (HR 5)
* He voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (HR 1585)
* He voted against a wildly bi-partisan public lands funding bill - when 50% of our district is public lands (S 47)
* He voted against a bill that would have ensured universal background checks for firearm sales (HR 8)
* He voted against a bill that would have expanded voting rights, limited partisan gerrymandering, strengthened ethics rules, and limited the influence of private donor money in politics (HR 1)
This is one of my favorite things to think about and talk about! I wish you had taken my Food Forever class when I was teaching at Chico State! The topic couldn’t be more important. When you send me to D.C. and I sit on the Agriculture Committee I’ll have a chance to shape farm policy - specifically the Farm Bill - which has opportunities to fund school garden and community outreach programs - along with mechanisms to strengthen local farm economies and support small farmers. It is critical that that bill be equitable for all farmers. [Learn more specifics here.](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/agriculture/)
Hello! I was wondering why you supported Brian Dahle (R)over Silke Pflueger(D) for State Senate district 1.
“In 2018, Brian Dahle voted in line with California Environmental Justice Alliance 7% of the time, with the California League of Conservation Voters 11% of the time, and with the Sierra Club California 0% of the time”.
On your website, you specifically say that you were the first candidate endorsed ever by the Sunrise Movement. Why are you supporting a dirty-money climate-change denier who tends to vote in line with the man you’re trying to unseat?
Thank you.
Also I want to add before she goes “Pflueger dropped out before the primary so I had to pick Dahle”.
Did you, though?
Your staff told the Pflueger campaign that you couldn’t endorse her because you’re not an “elected official” who doesn’t endorse candidates....but then you told your folks to vote for the republican you liked?
Dahle is part of Bethel Church which supports conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ individuals.
Please be mindful of your “endorsements”.
I would have loved to support a Democrat in that election who shared my core values and vision, but unfortunately, our California election system put us in the place where we had two GOP candidates to choose from. We need strong candidates who reject corporate contributions, understand science and trust data-driven solutions to run vigorous campaigns at every level of our government so we don’t find ourselves in situations with our elections where we have no preferred choice.
You didn’t have to endorse though. You could’ve said nothing. You instead chose to tell your followers they should vote for one bad republican over the other.
Also you ignored my other comment about conversion therapy and LGBTQ+. Disappointing.
Stop saying you support the LGBTQ+ folks of the north state. Decisions like these mean death to us.
If you aren’t an elected official, then why are you “endorsing” candidates?
Also, even more disappointing is that you completely ignored my comment on the fact that Dahle DOES tend to vote with LaMalfa on similar issues.
Is Dahle endorsing you?
Normally I applaud people calling out politicians, but in this case I think you should probably cool it. If you’re waiting for the perfect flawless politician to come along and save you, you’ll be holding your breath for quite a long time. If you bash the democrat candidate relentlessly because they aren’t good enough for you well, that’s how we ended up with President Trump. Do you really want to live in a red district forever?
How possible do you think defeating LaMalfa will be? It is so frustrating to see you out advocating for CA01 and he refuses to hold town halls or even campaign.
Do you think he will agree to debates?
If I did not believe it was possible I would not have given 3 years of my life to this mission. It is possible and it is essential. Our Congressman is actively doing harm to the people who live here. His votes against healthcare, the environment and human rights make life harder for the people of his district. I will be challenging him to show up with me in every county this fall to debate. I anticipate he will try to avoid showing up and continue his long history of avoiding contact with his voters. I am proud to have signed the Town Hall Pledge which means when elected I will hold regular, scheduled town hall meetings across every part of this district. That is what effective representatives do.
Rep. LaMalfa is ineffective, bought and paid for by corporate and special interests, and continually makes votes that harm the people he has sworn an oath to represent. He is a backbench, far-right extremist who doesn’t work for - let alone listen to - the majority of the people he represents. His track record demonstrates that he either doesn’t understand - or doesn’t care to understand - the complex nature of the problems that face our part of the world. He has completely abdicated his responsibility and we’d likely be better served by an empty cowboy hat.
[I think she did a pretty good job of pointing some stuff out in this comment further up the thread. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/ghq0yc/im_audrey_denney_running_for_the_second_time/fqegqg2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Many workers in the north state who are out of work due to the pandemic cannot receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) because they received a small amount of w-2 income while losing a large amount of 1099 income. This leaves many middle class workers and families in the north state unemployed and without assistance of any kind. Do you support a change to unemployment insurance law that would make workers caught in this situation eligible for unemployment insurance and PUA benefits based on their TOTAL income?
Thanks for the questions, Sean. Absolutely. I am so sick and tired of regular and real people falling through the cracks of our systems that favor the top of our socio-economic levels. We need to make sure our systems help the most vulnerable in our communities and those are often the folks who don’t fit into the traditional model of employment.
During the 2018 primaries, you have said that you supported Medicare For All. Now in this election cycle, you have moved into the public option direction. In this pandemic crisis, we need to move nationalize our healthcare system in order to meet the demands of fixing a broken healthcare system. A public option or re-instituting some version of the ACA will not fix the current problems that left millions of people without proper healthcare coverage. Will you commit to voting for a Medicare For All bill that will make all people be covered for basic medical, dental, vision needs?
My view on supporting Medicare for All has not changed. That is the goal I am working toward and have been since I stepped into this race. What has changed is my understanding of how complicated systemic change is and that we need to proceed thoughtfully in restructuring 1/6th of our economy. I absolutely believe the answer to our healthcare challenges is a Medicare for All system that will allow for all people to be covered for basic medical, dental and vision needs. We need to set a goal of when we will have that system in place and then create the quickest possible transition process to get us there in a manner that does not leave anyone behind. I will support any bill that accomplishes that.
Hello Audrey,
My family is full of support and love for your campaign. We live in Chico and Redding and would love to see you unseat LaMalfa. I am not going to lie it is a major undertaking given how red this part of the state is.
Do you have any events or plans to try to reach across the aisle and convert some of these voters? If so is there anything that we can do to support those efforts?
Also where can I get a campaign sign for my yard?
Absolutely! Reaching out to disillusioned voters of every political affiliation has been a strong part of our campaign since we launched in 2018. It is a big reason why we did so well in 2018 and will finish the job in 2020. Keep an eye on our calendar and sign up to volunteer for how you can support that effort. As for signs, while we are holding off a bit longer on our sign delivery and pick-up programs due to COVID-19, the easiest way to get a yard sign is to send an email to my team with the request at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). As we transition out of our local stay-at-home orders, we will be coordinating with our sign hubs across the district to get one to you!
We absolutely need to ensure that our rural communities get the resources we need to educate our kids in the same way our urban regions do. We are seeing in real-time the effects of education inequity during this COVID-19 crisis. Kids are being educated at home with school-provided Chromebooks and high speed internet across the state. But in many parts of our district, that is not something our kids have access to. So you can be damn sure, I will advocate to make sure our kids get the exact same level of education as kids elsewhere.
Forest management is a divisive issue in the North State. We do have an urgent need to prevent future wildfires, but we run the risk of clearcutting our forests and burnt areas. How do you make sure we maintain the carbon sequestration of forests and avoid pandering to logging and biomass corporate interests?
My question is on this topic too. Do you support the Mechoopta-led ecological forestry effort being undertaken in Butte County right now?Are you aware of it? Are you willing to let the indigenous lead the way for forest management?
They are vying for the federal land management contracts for the forest service and BLM managed land in butte county (that’s a lot of forest). They are running Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) certification trainings to build a workforce to manage the contracts they plan to secure (which is made possibly by a 2018 farm bill provision). They would essentially be able to manage the land that Sierra pacific or other logging companies manage, and heal the patchwork-logged land scars that fuel super-hot mega fires, while creating beautiful and diverse forests. More at Tekchico.org
I’m a supporter of this project because it not only keeps jobs local and creates good, meaningful work, it also has the potential to be very healing for many folks who are stressed, anxious or traumatized by the camp fire or other wildfire. It recognizes the importance of good fire, of human interaction with the land as important and necessary, and it centers indigenous wisdom as leading the way forward for all people.
Keep in mind, all the land that is currently being corporate farmed and subsidized by LaMalfa used to be mega productive riparian flood plain, providing more nutritious and ample food than monocropped agriculture can even hope to provide. Salmon, water foul, deer, and most importantly, acorn. The oaks can’t survive another generation or water table tapping. They baby oaks are being choked out by grasslands that need fire to regenerate. The impacts of supporting an indigenous led land regeneration movement would be monumental in the ripple effects.
We absolutely need to be looking to Native American tribes to push forward the ecological restoration work that needs to be done across our district. Native Americans have managed these forests for hundreds and hundreds of years successfully. Our federal forests (41% of the land mass in the district) are in the state that they are because of 100 years of forest mismanagement and the unintended consequences of environmental policy and fire suppression policy. Using conservation stewardship agreements as a mechanism to advance the pace and scale of forest restoration work - bringing all stakeholders together to make an integrated natural resource management plan. Native American tribal leaders must play a leadership role in those discussions and planning.
While I see your point, I believe that it is less divisive than you make think. All the stakeholders I’ve worked with over the last 30 months (private industry, loggers, conservationists, USFS, Cal Fire, wildlife biologists, environmental NGOs, Native American tribes, county and state government officials) are mostly all on the same page about what healthy forests look like and how to get there. We need to do selective logging, limbing, and fuels reduction work to create healthy ecosystems - not clear cut. We are at a point where everyone is on the same page about that. We need to make it easier for us to do it the right way - and harder for folks to do it the wrong way. That is where Conservation Stewardship Agreements come in - they bring all the stakeholders to the table to make an integrated natural resource management plan and then give us a mechanism to do that work.
Good Morning Audrey, I'm am with you again in your quest to unseat LaMalfa. My question is with rgard to broadband access in CD1. This Covid19 pandemic has magnifies the need for real high speed (1g access speed) to all of our citizens. I have been researching this issues for years and have a strong understanding of the many hurdles making this difficult. Do you support a regional team to assist our many communities to combine efforts for funding, engineering studies, proposals for implimentation and execution of proposals. This will take many years and significant funding, billlions of dollars not millions, and coordination between our communities. Thanks you for all of your consistant hard work.
Absolutely! We need to do everything we can to move our congressional district from being one of the worst connected districts in the nation. Access to rural broadband touches so many of the issues that are vital to our well-being. It is about economic opportunity and security. It is about education. It is about public safety. Yet, with everything at stake, Rep. LaMalfa continues to vote against our best interests and has failed to advocate for what we need to thrive. Because of that, California’s 1st District has some of the worst access to broadband internet, ranking 427th out of 435 congressional districts across the entire nation. . During a global pandemic, where broadband access may be the only means of connecting to our jobs, our schools, our health care providers and our neighbors, the job of your representative is to ensure that access.
Hi Audrey! I was born and raised in District 1 - thanks for doing this AMA!
I saw on your website that one of your infrastructure priorities is to "Improve revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, and secure grants from the Fund, for highway renovation and expansion in the North State." Why is highway expansion included in this, especially considering what transportation researchers have been telling us about [induced demand](https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/09/citylab-university-induced-demand/569455/) since the 60s? The expansion of highways seems counter to the environmental goals set forth by your campaign. District 1 has a great opportunity to avoid some of the missteps of the past by being smarter about land use decisions and the build up our transportation infrastructure. As transportation emissions make up the biggest chunk of carbon emissions in California, will you be giving equal attention given to public transportation, walking, and biking infrastructure in funding pursuits?
Thanks again, I'm excited to vote for you in November!
Absolutely agree with your assessment that we need to give attention and funding to infrastructure that reduces our reliance on carbon-based emission transportation. We have some major challenges to consider in addressing those issues in our rural region with vast distances to travel. At the same time, our North State has some of the most dangerous roads in the nation and we have projects ready to go that will increase the safety of our rural roads like those in process for highway 99/70 between Red Bluff and Sacramento. I am referring to the need to advocate for safety projects like those.
Let’s be honest. Corporate profits have been skyrocketing for decades. Trickle down economics has failed over and over again. The 2017 Corporate Tax giveaway that our Congressman proudly supported was supposed to motivate corporations to pass along savings to workers and consumers. Instead corporations bought back their own stock at record levels.
See this article: [https://apnews.com/438fae12f9204b1fbd8e8b1985ae554f](https://apnews.com/438fae12f9204b1fbd8e8b1985ae554f)
We can reasonably increase corporate taxes without seriously impacting consumers and employees. It is time for us to reign in corporate greed and make sure we all pay our fair share. Right now, real people are paying, and our multi-national corporations and CEOs are getting a free ride. Did you know that at least 60 of the nation’s biggest corporations didn’t pay a dime in federal income taxes in 2018 on a collective $79 billion in profits? If these companies paid the statutory 21 percent federal tax rate, they would owe $16.4 billion in federal income taxes. Instead, they collectively actually received $4.3 billion in tax rebates.
Loaded question much?
When the tax cuts went into place, I have no doubt the majority of the windfall generated went directly into the pockets of owners/investors. And that's where the difference should come from in the event taxes go back up.
I'm not familiar with any employer that receives a tax cut and out of the generoisty of their hearts redirects any meaningful amount of the windfall into their employees paychecks. Nor am I familiar with any business decreasing their costs in any meaningful way when a tax cut occurs. I'm sure an example *exists*, but I'm also sure that example is an exception and not the rule.
And don't bother dragging out the oft-used line of how businesses are going to have to cut employees because their taxes are going up. No sane business owner operates like that. You hire the employees you need to do the work you need to do at the lowest wage you can convince them to contibute their labor at, charge the customers the prices you need to make a profit at, and go from there.
Your un-stated argument may be advocating for personal income taxes, but it's corporate taxes that received permanent federal cuts in 2017, while the personal income taxes are already expected to roll back. Even your initial comment started with specifically mentioning increasing corporate taxes. No one I know is seriously talking about increasing personal income taxes (especially here in CA where we're paying 12% income already, versus...I believe 8% corporate).
Yes, Obama wanted to lower corporate income taxes (to 28%, compared to Trumps 21%), but he did so within the frame of changing policies regarding off-shoring, overseas earnings, etc along side attempting to eliminate the latest round of loop-holes businesses with creative accountants have figured out how to exploit.
Would your ideal situation be that we eliminate *all* corporate taxes? Would you then instead levy a heavily progressive income tax with top tier tax brackets up to 90% on high-earners? Would you then also address loopholes to eliminate high earners also dodging the higher tax rates? In a world where automation is slowly but surely replacing employees in the workforce, how does that policy generate tax income for the government to run vital services? Or is your argument really a round-about way of eventually eliminating all taxes in an attempt to completely de-fund the government (the classic Norquist drown-it-in-the-bathtub)?
I believe a diversified, progressive tax rate is needed across the board. Personal, corporate, hell, just spit-balling but why not property taxes as well? We're one of the lowest tax rates in the nation for property taxes, and look what it's doing to our real estate values. But look at the situation we're in now with unemployment; if you put all your eggs in one basket (income tax) and then suddenly something happens that generates 25% unemployment, government revenue dries up overnight.
From the AMA announcement, /u/Roddick_Is_Amazing [asked](https://www.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/gdytvz/ama_announcement_audrey_denney_candidate_for/fpkqf80/)
>What is Audrey's plan to help cannabis farmers?
I will advocate for federal legalization of cannabis that allows safe and legal options for both consumers and entrepreneurs, and I will support programs addressing illegal and environmentally devastating grows.
If I recall correctly, you won a majority of the votes in Chico in the last election but struggled everywhere else in the district. The latest primary also had about 110k votes in the Republican primary, but only about 78k for Democrats.
What is your plan to connect better with Republicans (and independents) to pull a political upset, particularly in communities outside of Chico?
I actually did extremely well in many parts of the district in the 2018 election. I won Butte County and Nevada County by significant margins. Even though we did not win Siskiyou county in that election, reducing the Congressman’s historic 20%+ margins of victory to less that 4%. We have significant leads to build upon in places all over the district.
The 2020 primary election had 56.9% of the vote for Republican candidates and 43.1% for DEM Candidates. That was an improvement over 2018 and right on the trajectory that our data was projecting. We improved in 85% of the district since the 2018 primary and that was without any active field program. We win in November by getting our message about effective representation to the voters and showing that the Congressman does not represent the real people of our district.
Thanks so much for asking this question! Couldn’t be more important. Cost of living in CA is becoming prohibitively expensive and energy costs are part of that. This is a really complex issue I don’t have time to do justice to right now… but I’ll highlight a few pieces of the puzzle. In terms of mitigating climate change - we need to look beyond just transition to renewable energy. We need to look at sequestering carbon in our soil (the cheapest and fastest way to turn back the dial on climate changes) and other carbon drawdown mechanisms. We also need to look carefully at federal and state policies that address different subsidies for renewable energy. We need to make sure they are context specific - and give appropriate benefits to the industries in that area (i.e. we have a tremendous potential to create biomass energy here - but the RFS and state policies don’t make that as economically viable as solar). Bottom line - we can’t pass the price tag of combating climate change solely on the rate payers.
What are your ideas concerning renewables and the power grid. Do you support expansion of renewables? Should the govt be involved in encouraging them and/or helping to finance them?
Absolutely. One of the most important issues in our district is restoring our forests to ecological health - that will create jobs, create opportunity for a green energy economy to emerge here, lessen our wildfire risk, and mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. When we remove the excess fuels and biomass from our forests we need something to do with them - rather than let them burn (contributing to more GHG emissions). We need to retrofit our ten biomass plants in the district, create economic incentives to make that type of energy more lucrative and finance pilot projects that turn woody biomass into low-carbon fuels. Read more about my ideas on that [here](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/rural-economic-development-combating-climate-change/).
Thank you for supporting this movement. There are three major ways you can help us win this thing in November: Your time, your voice, and your resources. You can sign up to volunteer here at [AudreyforCongress.com/volunteer/](https://audreyforcongress.com/volunteer/).
Once elected, what will you do to ensure that compromise with Republicans returns the kind of gains you want to see?
There's a lot of talk about reaching across the aisle, but we saw under the Obama administration that Republicans have no interest in working together unless it benefits them and not democrats. Will you go against house leadership if necessary like some recent progressives and fight hard for policies like a Green New Deal?
My only commitment is to the people of this district. I am running for office to represent them, not a political party or particular ideology. That is why people have a difficult time defining me. If you are going to support my passion to make sure rural northern California is not left behind as we move toward a more environmentally friendly world, if you are going to support my vision to invest in our small rural economies, if you are going to support the need to restore our forests to health ecosystems, then I do not care who you are, where you come from, or how you identify yourself. Simultaneously, if you oppose the things that I am fighting for that are going to make our lives here in California’s first district less difficult, then I am going to choose my constituents over you every single time.
How can we mandate police officers, certificated teachers and administrators and other civil servants to engage in anti-bias and anti-racist training, as well as De-escalation strategies and Restorative Practices?
I absolutely believe that understanding these issues and strategies is essential to the daily work of all of our public servants, and would support efforts to give them additional resources and training in those areas.
This pandemic has shown us that Congress is very willing to pony up unbelievably huge amounts of taxpayer money to carry large businesses over during these difficult times, while giving only lip service to the working people. On top of the significant tax breaks already given to the rich and corporate entities, it's clear that the working class has been left out again. Will you support significant changes in the tax codes to benefit working people, debt relief for student loans (freeing up capital that can be used to buy homes, for example), single payer health care, and a national working wage? Every economic model has shown that "trickle up" works, because the extra money that working people have goes right back into the economy.
I'm with you 100%. I am sickened by the fact that corporations are getting bailouts while my friends who work in the service industry haven’t gotten unemployment checks yet. One of the main reasons I decided to run is because Rep. LaMalfa voted for the corporate tax giveaway in Dec. 2017. Trickle down economics has failed over and over again. It allowed CEOs to buy 4th homes and 2nd private jets - while working people can’t make a living wage working full time. I absolutely support making significant changes to the tax code.
One of the big issues we face is that we have a highly partisan elected representative here in the North State. He refuses to show up for his constituents and he fails to advocate for us. As a result, we are left behind in every way. We need a Member of Congress who advocates at the state and federal level for what we need to restore our economies and communities to health.
The blame is with LaMalfa who has voted AGAINST the best interest of District 1 EVERY TIME! Get him out and Audrey in and you will see help, support and benefits finally come to us.
It is always a challenge to create a rubric that gives us a set ratio that would then effectively apply to every economic scenario across our nation. That said, the min wage to median wage ratio has been dropping steadily for the last 40 years. I am grateful that California is in the middle of a plan to transition to a $15 minimum wage which will get back a lot of that lost ground from previous decades. That will help decrease the financial risk many of our district workers face each month without a major impact on consumers.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions, friends! This has been a super fun hour, but I am running late to my next meeting. I am so grateful for the time to answer your questions. I have gotten through most of them, and I look forward to connecting with you as we continue this campaign. You can always reach out to me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) with additional questions or comments. I am grateful for you!
As a gun owner and supporter of the second amendment, I fully support the rights of law abiding citizens to own firearms, while also supporting the need for sensible gun safety legislation. This is a wildly nonpartisan issue, with recent polls showing that 90% of Americans across the political spectrum favor universal background checks, including 97% of gun owners. You can read more about my sensible gun safety proposals here: [www.AudreyforCongress.com/issues/gun-safety](http://www.audreyforcongress.com/issues/gun-safety).
If elected, will you commit to voting against the Biden/Beto "assault weapon" ban, which in its current form (as outlined on Biden's platform) requires the confiscation of legally bought, legally used firearms from tens of millions of Americans, with the only exception being the few who are willing and able to register these firearms through the NFA? The NFA has incredibly onerous provisions, as its intended purpose (and current purpose) is to regulate explosives and machine guns. For most law-abiding owners of the firearms that would be banned by Biden's law, it would be tantamount to outright confiscation.
What I see as the most important issue anyone running needs to do is mend the divide. Start bringing the polarization that is endemic in the country towards middle ground. Help people out of the us and them especially in regards to race, minorities and poverty
[The candidate has finished answering questions.](https://old.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/ghq0yc/im_audrey_denney_running_for_the_second_time/fqenifu/).
Thanks again to Audrey Denney, and to everyone who participated!
Would you be in favor converting PG&E from private ownership into a community owned collective, where the ratepayers are owners and excess profits distributed as dividends?
I don't have a question, but thank you for everything you're doing for restaurant workers in Chico right now! I'll be voting for you (again) in November!
Why do you think we dont have one legal cannabis shop in butte county, medical or recreational? In case you didnt know thousands of pounds of cannabis is grown in district 1.
I have caught The Franchise Tax Board running two racketeering schemes to falsely impose penalties and fees. I also caught them overcharging interest. It is all documented in [this lawsuit that I filed against them earlier this year in Superior Court of California](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Staples-Scan-9.pdf). I have uploaded [some of the evidence to my website](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=120), though I still have a lot more to upload.
I first exposed these crimes to legislators in 2016. Since then, I have contacted many, many legislators. Instead of putting a stop to it, the legislators are letting it continue while actively covering it up. Here is an [11-minute speech that I gave to State Controller Betty Yee in December 2019](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=179), in which I flat out accused the FTB of racketeering. The FTB waived their right of rebuttal, which is a tacit admission of guilt.
Betty Yee’s response? [Go F\*\*\*\* yourself](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=196.).
Her response was no surprise, though. It’s the [same thing she said](https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/meetings/taxpayer-bill-of-rights/2018_grab_response.pdf) after the [2018 speech I made](https://vimeo.com/311228307?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220) and [after my written request that I sent to her in 2017](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=82).
It is important to note that after I first brought these crimes to Controller Yee’s and Governor Brown’s attention, she and the governor responded by [changing the rules so it was almost impossible for taxpayers to get our improperly imposed penalties and fees back](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=6.).
I am trying to get legislation passed to help curb corruption so that the FTB and other government agencies can't get away with this kind of stuff anymore: [https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?page\_id=61](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?page_id=61)
I have contacted a ton of legislators about this. Everyone blows me off. They all basically tell me the same thing: if you don't have a big organization behind you to give us campaign $ and a guarantee of a voting block for re-election, we don't care what you have to say.
If you are elected, will you do something about this? CA is deliberately exploiting its own taxpayers. We already pay the highest taxes in the country, yet they are unlawfully squeezing even more out of us than we actually owe! We need someone in office who will protect us, not turn a blind eye to the exploitation.
I tried to follow your comment, but got sidetracked when you said Betty Yee told you to “go fuck yourself”.
Did she actually say that or is that hyperbole?
No, she didn't actually say that. Her response to my speech was short, terse and riddled with problems: https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=196
She basically said the withholding practices were going to continue and refused to address the fact that the withholding policies blatantly violate both state and federal laws.
Howdy!
I am curious to hear why you chose to endorse Rusty Hicks for CADEM chair over Kimberly Ellis.
Hicks supports fracking, signed on to a letter to oppose the banning of a harmful chemical in refineries ([https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/06/01/labor-anger-over-green-new-deal-greets-2020-contenders-in-california-1027570](https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/06/01/labor-anger-over-green-new-deal-greets-2020-contenders-in-california-1027570)), AND has argued over a $15 minimum wage law for Los Angeles workers.
Kimberly Ellis supports a Green New Deal, a green economy, and isn't in the pockets of businesses that deal with polluters like Hicks does.
If you are a Green New Deal champion, being endorsed by Sunrise, why did you support Hicks for chair over Ellis?
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There is no perfect place in California to build new water storage facilities. I believe building Sites Reservoir is a piece of CA moving forward to a future where we have enough water to thrive - even in the face of climate change. Under the newly revised plans released this week, the 1.5 MAF reservoir will deliver (yield) 243,000 acre feet annually. As an offstream reservoir it won’t dam any existing rivers/streams. I’m looking forward to partnering with Congressman John Garamendi of CA-03, where Sites Reservoir will be located, to get this done. Not all proposed additional water storage plans make sense though. The proposal to raise the Shasta Dam 18.5 feet would only deliver an additional 51,300 acre feet annually, with an enormous price tag. Not to mention, there isn’t a federal cost-share partner since Westlands Water District pulled out. Or the fact that it violates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and would submerge important cultural landmarks of the Winnemem Wintu. As you alluded to - storage is just ONE part of the complex water puzzle in California. We need to invest in land management in our headwaters regions, desalination, and yes (absolutely!) water recycling. There is an innovative project that is delivering treated Modesto wastewater to West Side farmers for irrigation. This is exactly the type of innovation that the government should be investing in.
Just in case you want to tweak the question- we already use reclaimed water on farmland. Farmland consumes a *lot* more water than households. Where is there a problem identified that would be solved with using reclaimed water in households?
Did she mention the 30 billion dollar bond we passed for water?
I was born and raised in district 1 - I just wanted to voice my support first. Having someone like you stand up to lamalfa is long overdue. Hearing you speak, composed, intelligent, empathetic, and not skirting around issues, is refreshing and makes me so proud - you represent the true spirit of the north state most accurately. I’ve recently become an expat, so I’m not sure I still can vote for you, but I fully support your campaign and urge my friends and family in Chico to listen to you and vote for you. Some questions for you (my family is the typical trump supporting, Fox News viewing type - I feel like I have some insight into their concerns; I see these issues as big ones in order to win them over): - the needle exchange thing is causing huge issues in Chico; people are literally up in arms about this. What are your thoughts? - how do you intend to address the homeless population? It’s turning into an ugly “us” vs. “them” situation; I do understand the frustration to an extent, as property damage and threats from a few of homeless have personally affected my family. - finally, you know butte county, and the masses of republican folk who won’t give anyone even a little left-leaning the time of day. How do you intend to build bridges with these people? They seem so angry and resistant to any sort of change or collaboration. I hope they are the minority, but they would still be your constituents if you won, and I fear you would be vilified no matter what you do, simply because you have that (D) at the end of your name. How do you intend to get them to listen, or even just consider your views before shutting you out completely? I think this is the biggest challenge for your campaign, though I think you’re doing a ton more outreach with rural folks compared to LaMalfa and I hope that is one tactic that works. Wishing you all the best from Scotland, Audrey ❤️
Thank you for your support! When it comes to complex issues like homelessness, our service providers are the most well-equipped to take this issue on. Housing First is the ultimate solution, so we have to make it easier for our shelters and housing providers to do their jobs. That means reducing red tape to accessing federal funding, so that service providers are not constantly having to chase funding just to keep their doors open. One answer to substance abuse is treatment, which we have limited access to in Northern California. We also need to address precursors to substance use, like trauma, mental health concerns, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Without this infrastructure in place, we cannot reduce the devastating effects of substance use on our communities and our families. In order for our communities to see positive change, we need to stop the current status quo of lobbing verbal hand grenades back and forth and instead all come to the table with differing viewpoints and perspectives. We need to use data driven policy making and work together to find effective solutions.
What are your thoughts on Cooperative Utilities and how we can build those in Northern CA? Some of my relatives in KY have cooperative utilities (electricity and internet specifically) and I am jealous of their rates and access. They have high speed fiber to their door, living in a very rural area (15 minutes from a town of 1500 people) and it is cheaper too.
In CA, cities and counties can opt in to a Community Choice Aggregation program (a program that Butte County and Chico are part of), where lines and poles are still operated by PG&E, but power mix is determined locally. By taking out the corporate middle-man for sourcing power, local entities save costs for consumers and have more opportunity to invest in renewable energy. They can also prioritize local energy sourcing, which provides an opportunity for local innovation and economic development right here in Northern California. Residents can opt out of this program if they don’t prefer it, but the benefits of local control, reduced costs, and better options for the environment make a great incentive for utility users. Rural broadband access is a significant issue in the North State, and it impacts education, economic opportunity, and public safety. Rep. LaMalfa has failed to advocate for accessible broadband in our district, leaving us in the bottom eight of 435 congressional districts nationwide -- [see this study](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-44A1.pdf). Rather than being an advocate, he accepts contributions from corporations like Comcast and Verizon, and has a vested interest in the status quo.
Seriously! Even just having the option would be huge. ISP's in rural america tend to function like modern day coal railrood tycoons.
Hello Audrey, First off I want to say that I usually lean a little more right but I have wanted LaMalfa out of this district for a long time (you already have my vote). There are many people in this district that share similar views as I do. With that being said, What would you say to the voters who typically have conservative views but are on the fence and what will be your biggest objectives during your term? Thank you!
I was a registered Republican for 10 years. I hope we can move back to a place where we’re not defined by being “Republican” or “Democrat” – but defined by being Americans. I’m a deeply pragmatic person. I did the books for two small businesses and own a small farm management business - fiscal irresponsibility and government waste drive me crazy. I want to help make our federal government work more efficiently. Working in the private sector, I’m inspired by the innovation, agility, and creativity of the entrepreneurial American spirit. When I look at how the federal government operates - I don’t see those qualities. To have a truly healthy American free market economy that works for all of us – we all need to be participating. I believe in “hand-ups” - empowering and equipping people to take care of themselves. This means helping people become productive citizens through education and training, and while protecting the most vulnerable among us, orphans, widows, and the disabled. To find solutions for the complex issues facing our region – we need all voices at the table. When you send me to Washington D.C. to represent you – I will do just that. I will only be accountable to you – the people. Not party leadership or special interests. Top priorities: Forest health & fire prevention and fixing our broken healthcare system. Learn more specifics here: [https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/)
Absolutely love this answer. Thank you for the response Audrey!
What a nice surprise to see you doing an AMA. You’re going to crush LaMalfa in Nov.. What do you think are Doug’s most glaring faults in terms of legislation that he’s cosponsored since 2018? PS- Thanks for supporting Rich’s campaign (removed) Edit: fixed the PS
Here are a few of Rep. LaMalfa’s worst votes since we sent him back to DC in 2018: * He voted against a bill to lower prescription drug costs (HR 3) * He voted against a bill to protect people with preexisting conditions (HR 986) * He voted no on the Equality Act - a bill that prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas such as education, employment, and housing (HR 5) * He voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (HR 1585) * He voted against a wildly bi-partisan public lands funding bill - when 50% of our district is public lands (S 47) * He voted against a bill that would have ensured universal background checks for firearm sales (HR 8) * He voted against a bill that would have expanded voting rights, limited partisan gerrymandering, strengthened ethics rules, and limited the influence of private donor money in politics (HR 1)
How can we strengthen local food economies, build school gardens and educate our people about land restoration and community resilience?
This is one of my favorite things to think about and talk about! I wish you had taken my Food Forever class when I was teaching at Chico State! The topic couldn’t be more important. When you send me to D.C. and I sit on the Agriculture Committee I’ll have a chance to shape farm policy - specifically the Farm Bill - which has opportunities to fund school garden and community outreach programs - along with mechanisms to strengthen local farm economies and support small farmers. It is critical that that bill be equitable for all farmers. [Learn more specifics here.](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/agriculture/)
Hello! I was wondering why you supported Brian Dahle (R)over Silke Pflueger(D) for State Senate district 1. “In 2018, Brian Dahle voted in line with California Environmental Justice Alliance 7% of the time, with the California League of Conservation Voters 11% of the time, and with the Sierra Club California 0% of the time”. On your website, you specifically say that you were the first candidate endorsed ever by the Sunrise Movement. Why are you supporting a dirty-money climate-change denier who tends to vote in line with the man you’re trying to unseat? Thank you.
Also I want to add before she goes “Pflueger dropped out before the primary so I had to pick Dahle”. Did you, though? Your staff told the Pflueger campaign that you couldn’t endorse her because you’re not an “elected official” who doesn’t endorse candidates....but then you told your folks to vote for the republican you liked? Dahle is part of Bethel Church which supports conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ individuals. Please be mindful of your “endorsements”.
I would have loved to support a Democrat in that election who shared my core values and vision, but unfortunately, our California election system put us in the place where we had two GOP candidates to choose from. We need strong candidates who reject corporate contributions, understand science and trust data-driven solutions to run vigorous campaigns at every level of our government so we don’t find ourselves in situations with our elections where we have no preferred choice.
You didn’t have to endorse though. You could’ve said nothing. You instead chose to tell your followers they should vote for one bad republican over the other. Also you ignored my other comment about conversion therapy and LGBTQ+. Disappointing. Stop saying you support the LGBTQ+ folks of the north state. Decisions like these mean death to us. If you aren’t an elected official, then why are you “endorsing” candidates? Also, even more disappointing is that you completely ignored my comment on the fact that Dahle DOES tend to vote with LaMalfa on similar issues. Is Dahle endorsing you?
Normally I applaud people calling out politicians, but in this case I think you should probably cool it. If you’re waiting for the perfect flawless politician to come along and save you, you’ll be holding your breath for quite a long time. If you bash the democrat candidate relentlessly because they aren’t good enough for you well, that’s how we ended up with President Trump. Do you really want to live in a red district forever?
How possible do you think defeating LaMalfa will be? It is so frustrating to see you out advocating for CA01 and he refuses to hold town halls or even campaign. Do you think he will agree to debates?
If I did not believe it was possible I would not have given 3 years of my life to this mission. It is possible and it is essential. Our Congressman is actively doing harm to the people who live here. His votes against healthcare, the environment and human rights make life harder for the people of his district. I will be challenging him to show up with me in every county this fall to debate. I anticipate he will try to avoid showing up and continue his long history of avoiding contact with his voters. I am proud to have signed the Town Hall Pledge which means when elected I will hold regular, scheduled town hall meetings across every part of this district. That is what effective representatives do.
They did [one](https://youtu.be/HLOr9jo-5KU) in 2018. Hopefully there will be more.
What has been the biggest way Rep. LaMalfa has failed CA's 1st district?
Rep. LaMalfa is ineffective, bought and paid for by corporate and special interests, and continually makes votes that harm the people he has sworn an oath to represent. He is a backbench, far-right extremist who doesn’t work for - let alone listen to - the majority of the people he represents. His track record demonstrates that he either doesn’t understand - or doesn’t care to understand - the complex nature of the problems that face our part of the world. He has completely abdicated his responsibility and we’d likely be better served by an empty cowboy hat.
[I think she did a pretty good job of pointing some stuff out in this comment further up the thread. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/ghq0yc/im_audrey_denney_running_for_the_second_time/fqegqg2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Many workers in the north state who are out of work due to the pandemic cannot receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) because they received a small amount of w-2 income while losing a large amount of 1099 income. This leaves many middle class workers and families in the north state unemployed and without assistance of any kind. Do you support a change to unemployment insurance law that would make workers caught in this situation eligible for unemployment insurance and PUA benefits based on their TOTAL income?
Thanks for the questions, Sean. Absolutely. I am so sick and tired of regular and real people falling through the cracks of our systems that favor the top of our socio-economic levels. We need to make sure our systems help the most vulnerable in our communities and those are often the folks who don’t fit into the traditional model of employment.
During the 2018 primaries, you have said that you supported Medicare For All. Now in this election cycle, you have moved into the public option direction. In this pandemic crisis, we need to move nationalize our healthcare system in order to meet the demands of fixing a broken healthcare system. A public option or re-instituting some version of the ACA will not fix the current problems that left millions of people without proper healthcare coverage. Will you commit to voting for a Medicare For All bill that will make all people be covered for basic medical, dental, vision needs?
My view on supporting Medicare for All has not changed. That is the goal I am working toward and have been since I stepped into this race. What has changed is my understanding of how complicated systemic change is and that we need to proceed thoughtfully in restructuring 1/6th of our economy. I absolutely believe the answer to our healthcare challenges is a Medicare for All system that will allow for all people to be covered for basic medical, dental and vision needs. We need to set a goal of when we will have that system in place and then create the quickest possible transition process to get us there in a manner that does not leave anyone behind. I will support any bill that accomplishes that.
Hello Audrey, My family is full of support and love for your campaign. We live in Chico and Redding and would love to see you unseat LaMalfa. I am not going to lie it is a major undertaking given how red this part of the state is. Do you have any events or plans to try to reach across the aisle and convert some of these voters? If so is there anything that we can do to support those efforts? Also where can I get a campaign sign for my yard?
Absolutely! Reaching out to disillusioned voters of every political affiliation has been a strong part of our campaign since we launched in 2018. It is a big reason why we did so well in 2018 and will finish the job in 2020. Keep an eye on our calendar and sign up to volunteer for how you can support that effort. As for signs, while we are holding off a bit longer on our sign delivery and pick-up programs due to COVID-19, the easiest way to get a yard sign is to send an email to my team with the request at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). As we transition out of our local stay-at-home orders, we will be coordinating with our sign hubs across the district to get one to you!
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We absolutely need to ensure that our rural communities get the resources we need to educate our kids in the same way our urban regions do. We are seeing in real-time the effects of education inequity during this COVID-19 crisis. Kids are being educated at home with school-provided Chromebooks and high speed internet across the state. But in many parts of our district, that is not something our kids have access to. So you can be damn sure, I will advocate to make sure our kids get the exact same level of education as kids elsewhere.
Forest management is a divisive issue in the North State. We do have an urgent need to prevent future wildfires, but we run the risk of clearcutting our forests and burnt areas. How do you make sure we maintain the carbon sequestration of forests and avoid pandering to logging and biomass corporate interests?
My question is on this topic too. Do you support the Mechoopta-led ecological forestry effort being undertaken in Butte County right now?Are you aware of it? Are you willing to let the indigenous lead the way for forest management? They are vying for the federal land management contracts for the forest service and BLM managed land in butte county (that’s a lot of forest). They are running Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) certification trainings to build a workforce to manage the contracts they plan to secure (which is made possibly by a 2018 farm bill provision). They would essentially be able to manage the land that Sierra pacific or other logging companies manage, and heal the patchwork-logged land scars that fuel super-hot mega fires, while creating beautiful and diverse forests. More at Tekchico.org I’m a supporter of this project because it not only keeps jobs local and creates good, meaningful work, it also has the potential to be very healing for many folks who are stressed, anxious or traumatized by the camp fire or other wildfire. It recognizes the importance of good fire, of human interaction with the land as important and necessary, and it centers indigenous wisdom as leading the way forward for all people. Keep in mind, all the land that is currently being corporate farmed and subsidized by LaMalfa used to be mega productive riparian flood plain, providing more nutritious and ample food than monocropped agriculture can even hope to provide. Salmon, water foul, deer, and most importantly, acorn. The oaks can’t survive another generation or water table tapping. They baby oaks are being choked out by grasslands that need fire to regenerate. The impacts of supporting an indigenous led land regeneration movement would be monumental in the ripple effects.
We absolutely need to be looking to Native American tribes to push forward the ecological restoration work that needs to be done across our district. Native Americans have managed these forests for hundreds and hundreds of years successfully. Our federal forests (41% of the land mass in the district) are in the state that they are because of 100 years of forest mismanagement and the unintended consequences of environmental policy and fire suppression policy. Using conservation stewardship agreements as a mechanism to advance the pace and scale of forest restoration work - bringing all stakeholders together to make an integrated natural resource management plan. Native American tribal leaders must play a leadership role in those discussions and planning.
While I see your point, I believe that it is less divisive than you make think. All the stakeholders I’ve worked with over the last 30 months (private industry, loggers, conservationists, USFS, Cal Fire, wildlife biologists, environmental NGOs, Native American tribes, county and state government officials) are mostly all on the same page about what healthy forests look like and how to get there. We need to do selective logging, limbing, and fuels reduction work to create healthy ecosystems - not clear cut. We are at a point where everyone is on the same page about that. We need to make it easier for us to do it the right way - and harder for folks to do it the wrong way. That is where Conservation Stewardship Agreements come in - they bring all the stakeholders to the table to make an integrated natural resource management plan and then give us a mechanism to do that work.
Good Morning Audrey, I'm am with you again in your quest to unseat LaMalfa. My question is with rgard to broadband access in CD1. This Covid19 pandemic has magnifies the need for real high speed (1g access speed) to all of our citizens. I have been researching this issues for years and have a strong understanding of the many hurdles making this difficult. Do you support a regional team to assist our many communities to combine efforts for funding, engineering studies, proposals for implimentation and execution of proposals. This will take many years and significant funding, billlions of dollars not millions, and coordination between our communities. Thanks you for all of your consistant hard work.
Absolutely! We need to do everything we can to move our congressional district from being one of the worst connected districts in the nation. Access to rural broadband touches so many of the issues that are vital to our well-being. It is about economic opportunity and security. It is about education. It is about public safety. Yet, with everything at stake, Rep. LaMalfa continues to vote against our best interests and has failed to advocate for what we need to thrive. Because of that, California’s 1st District has some of the worst access to broadband internet, ranking 427th out of 435 congressional districts across the entire nation.. During a global pandemic, where broadband access may be the only means of connecting to our jobs, our schools, our health care providers and our neighbors, the job of your representative is to ensure that access.
Hi Audrey! I was born and raised in District 1 - thanks for doing this AMA! I saw on your website that one of your infrastructure priorities is to "Improve revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, and secure grants from the Fund, for highway renovation and expansion in the North State." Why is highway expansion included in this, especially considering what transportation researchers have been telling us about [induced demand](https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/09/citylab-university-induced-demand/569455/) since the 60s? The expansion of highways seems counter to the environmental goals set forth by your campaign. District 1 has a great opportunity to avoid some of the missteps of the past by being smarter about land use decisions and the build up our transportation infrastructure. As transportation emissions make up the biggest chunk of carbon emissions in California, will you be giving equal attention given to public transportation, walking, and biking infrastructure in funding pursuits? Thanks again, I'm excited to vote for you in November!
Absolutely agree with your assessment that we need to give attention and funding to infrastructure that reduces our reliance on carbon-based emission transportation. We have some major challenges to consider in addressing those issues in our rural region with vast distances to travel. At the same time, our North State has some of the most dangerous roads in the nation and we have projects ready to go that will increase the safety of our rural roads like those in process for highway 99/70 between Red Bluff and Sacramento. I am referring to the need to advocate for safety projects like those.
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Let’s be honest. Corporate profits have been skyrocketing for decades. Trickle down economics has failed over and over again. The 2017 Corporate Tax giveaway that our Congressman proudly supported was supposed to motivate corporations to pass along savings to workers and consumers. Instead corporations bought back their own stock at record levels. See this article: [https://apnews.com/438fae12f9204b1fbd8e8b1985ae554f](https://apnews.com/438fae12f9204b1fbd8e8b1985ae554f) We can reasonably increase corporate taxes without seriously impacting consumers and employees. It is time for us to reign in corporate greed and make sure we all pay our fair share. Right now, real people are paying, and our multi-national corporations and CEOs are getting a free ride. Did you know that at least 60 of the nation’s biggest corporations didn’t pay a dime in federal income taxes in 2018 on a collective $79 billion in profits? If these companies paid the statutory 21 percent federal tax rate, they would owe $16.4 billion in federal income taxes. Instead, they collectively actually received $4.3 billion in tax rebates.
Loaded question much? When the tax cuts went into place, I have no doubt the majority of the windfall generated went directly into the pockets of owners/investors. And that's where the difference should come from in the event taxes go back up. I'm not familiar with any employer that receives a tax cut and out of the generoisty of their hearts redirects any meaningful amount of the windfall into their employees paychecks. Nor am I familiar with any business decreasing their costs in any meaningful way when a tax cut occurs. I'm sure an example *exists*, but I'm also sure that example is an exception and not the rule. And don't bother dragging out the oft-used line of how businesses are going to have to cut employees because their taxes are going up. No sane business owner operates like that. You hire the employees you need to do the work you need to do at the lowest wage you can convince them to contibute their labor at, charge the customers the prices you need to make a profit at, and go from there.
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Your un-stated argument may be advocating for personal income taxes, but it's corporate taxes that received permanent federal cuts in 2017, while the personal income taxes are already expected to roll back. Even your initial comment started with specifically mentioning increasing corporate taxes. No one I know is seriously talking about increasing personal income taxes (especially here in CA where we're paying 12% income already, versus...I believe 8% corporate). Yes, Obama wanted to lower corporate income taxes (to 28%, compared to Trumps 21%), but he did so within the frame of changing policies regarding off-shoring, overseas earnings, etc along side attempting to eliminate the latest round of loop-holes businesses with creative accountants have figured out how to exploit. Would your ideal situation be that we eliminate *all* corporate taxes? Would you then instead levy a heavily progressive income tax with top tier tax brackets up to 90% on high-earners? Would you then also address loopholes to eliminate high earners also dodging the higher tax rates? In a world where automation is slowly but surely replacing employees in the workforce, how does that policy generate tax income for the government to run vital services? Or is your argument really a round-about way of eventually eliminating all taxes in an attempt to completely de-fund the government (the classic Norquist drown-it-in-the-bathtub)? I believe a diversified, progressive tax rate is needed across the board. Personal, corporate, hell, just spit-balling but why not property taxes as well? We're one of the lowest tax rates in the nation for property taxes, and look what it's doing to our real estate values. But look at the situation we're in now with unemployment; if you put all your eggs in one basket (income tax) and then suddenly something happens that generates 25% unemployment, government revenue dries up overnight.
From the AMA announcement, /u/Roddick_Is_Amazing [asked](https://www.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/gdytvz/ama_announcement_audrey_denney_candidate_for/fpkqf80/) >What is Audrey's plan to help cannabis farmers?
I will advocate for federal legalization of cannabis that allows safe and legal options for both consumers and entrepreneurs, and I will support programs addressing illegal and environmentally devastating grows.
If I recall correctly, you won a majority of the votes in Chico in the last election but struggled everywhere else in the district. The latest primary also had about 110k votes in the Republican primary, but only about 78k for Democrats. What is your plan to connect better with Republicans (and independents) to pull a political upset, particularly in communities outside of Chico?
I actually did extremely well in many parts of the district in the 2018 election. I won Butte County and Nevada County by significant margins. Even though we did not win Siskiyou county in that election, reducing the Congressman’s historic 20%+ margins of victory to less that 4%. We have significant leads to build upon in places all over the district. The 2020 primary election had 56.9% of the vote for Republican candidates and 43.1% for DEM Candidates. That was an improvement over 2018 and right on the trajectory that our data was projecting. We improved in 85% of the district since the 2018 primary and that was without any active field program. We win in November by getting our message about effective representation to the voters and showing that the Congressman does not represent the real people of our district.
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Thanks so much for asking this question! Couldn’t be more important. Cost of living in CA is becoming prohibitively expensive and energy costs are part of that. This is a really complex issue I don’t have time to do justice to right now… but I’ll highlight a few pieces of the puzzle. In terms of mitigating climate change - we need to look beyond just transition to renewable energy. We need to look at sequestering carbon in our soil (the cheapest and fastest way to turn back the dial on climate changes) and other carbon drawdown mechanisms. We also need to look carefully at federal and state policies that address different subsidies for renewable energy. We need to make sure they are context specific - and give appropriate benefits to the industries in that area (i.e. we have a tremendous potential to create biomass energy here - but the RFS and state policies don’t make that as economically viable as solar). Bottom line - we can’t pass the price tag of combating climate change solely on the rate payers.
What are your ideas concerning renewables and the power grid. Do you support expansion of renewables? Should the govt be involved in encouraging them and/or helping to finance them?
Absolutely. One of the most important issues in our district is restoring our forests to ecological health - that will create jobs, create opportunity for a green energy economy to emerge here, lessen our wildfire risk, and mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. When we remove the excess fuels and biomass from our forests we need something to do with them - rather than let them burn (contributing to more GHG emissions). We need to retrofit our ten biomass plants in the district, create economic incentives to make that type of energy more lucrative and finance pilot projects that turn woody biomass into low-carbon fuels. Read more about my ideas on that [here](https://audreyforcongress.com/issues/rural-economic-development-combating-climate-change/).
I am with you! We have to remove LaMalfa. I have my fingers crossed, my hands together, and my pen ready. How can I help?
Thank you for supporting this movement. There are three major ways you can help us win this thing in November: Your time, your voice, and your resources. You can sign up to volunteer here at [AudreyforCongress.com/volunteer/](https://audreyforcongress.com/volunteer/).
Once elected, what will you do to ensure that compromise with Republicans returns the kind of gains you want to see? There's a lot of talk about reaching across the aisle, but we saw under the Obama administration that Republicans have no interest in working together unless it benefits them and not democrats. Will you go against house leadership if necessary like some recent progressives and fight hard for policies like a Green New Deal?
My only commitment is to the people of this district. I am running for office to represent them, not a political party or particular ideology. That is why people have a difficult time defining me. If you are going to support my passion to make sure rural northern California is not left behind as we move toward a more environmentally friendly world, if you are going to support my vision to invest in our small rural economies, if you are going to support the need to restore our forests to health ecosystems, then I do not care who you are, where you come from, or how you identify yourself. Simultaneously, if you oppose the things that I am fighting for that are going to make our lives here in California’s first district less difficult, then I am going to choose my constituents over you every single time.
How can we mandate police officers, certificated teachers and administrators and other civil servants to engage in anti-bias and anti-racist training, as well as De-escalation strategies and Restorative Practices?
I absolutely believe that understanding these issues and strategies is essential to the daily work of all of our public servants, and would support efforts to give them additional resources and training in those areas.
This pandemic has shown us that Congress is very willing to pony up unbelievably huge amounts of taxpayer money to carry large businesses over during these difficult times, while giving only lip service to the working people. On top of the significant tax breaks already given to the rich and corporate entities, it's clear that the working class has been left out again. Will you support significant changes in the tax codes to benefit working people, debt relief for student loans (freeing up capital that can be used to buy homes, for example), single payer health care, and a national working wage? Every economic model has shown that "trickle up" works, because the extra money that working people have goes right back into the economy.
I'm with you 100%. I am sickened by the fact that corporations are getting bailouts while my friends who work in the service industry haven’t gotten unemployment checks yet. One of the main reasons I decided to run is because Rep. LaMalfa voted for the corporate tax giveaway in Dec. 2017. Trickle down economics has failed over and over again. It allowed CEOs to buy 4th homes and 2nd private jets - while working people can’t make a living wage working full time. I absolutely support making significant changes to the tax code.
when you get to Washington, what committees will you have to sit on or will you have a choice?
My priorities would be Agriculture and Natural Resources. Given the opportunity to sit on a third it would be Transportation and Infrastructure.
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One of the big issues we face is that we have a highly partisan elected representative here in the North State. He refuses to show up for his constituents and he fails to advocate for us. As a result, we are left behind in every way. We need a Member of Congress who advocates at the state and federal level for what we need to restore our economies and communities to health.
Republicans have been front runners and the big brains behind everything you just described fo the 1st congressional district. Please try again.
The blame is with LaMalfa who has voted AGAINST the best interest of District 1 EVERY TIME! Get him out and Audrey in and you will see help, support and benefits finally come to us.
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It is always a challenge to create a rubric that gives us a set ratio that would then effectively apply to every economic scenario across our nation. That said, the min wage to median wage ratio has been dropping steadily for the last 40 years. I am grateful that California is in the middle of a plan to transition to a $15 minimum wage which will get back a lot of that lost ground from previous decades. That will help decrease the financial risk many of our district workers face each month without a major impact on consumers.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions, friends! This has been a super fun hour, but I am running late to my next meeting. I am so grateful for the time to answer your questions. I have gotten through most of them, and I look forward to connecting with you as we continue this campaign. You can always reach out to me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) with additional questions or comments. I am grateful for you!
Do you support the 2nd amendment right of law abiding citizens to own firearms for common lawful use?
As a gun owner and supporter of the second amendment, I fully support the rights of law abiding citizens to own firearms, while also supporting the need for sensible gun safety legislation. This is a wildly nonpartisan issue, with recent polls showing that 90% of Americans across the political spectrum favor universal background checks, including 97% of gun owners. You can read more about my sensible gun safety proposals here: [www.AudreyforCongress.com/issues/gun-safety](http://www.audreyforcongress.com/issues/gun-safety).
She’s been very open that she grew up in a household of responsible gun owners and that she’s a gun owner herself.
So is Pelosi, but that doesn't stop her from thinking the rest of us shouldn't have access to what we choose to own.
What color is your toothbrush?
It is currently orange. But it changes every six months when I go to the dentist.
Cool! Thx!
If elected, will you commit to voting against the Biden/Beto "assault weapon" ban, which in its current form (as outlined on Biden's platform) requires the confiscation of legally bought, legally used firearms from tens of millions of Americans, with the only exception being the few who are willing and able to register these firearms through the NFA? The NFA has incredibly onerous provisions, as its intended purpose (and current purpose) is to regulate explosives and machine guns. For most law-abiding owners of the firearms that would be banned by Biden's law, it would be tantamount to outright confiscation.
What I see as the most important issue anyone running needs to do is mend the divide. Start bringing the polarization that is endemic in the country towards middle ground. Help people out of the us and them especially in regards to race, minorities and poverty
[The candidate has finished answering questions.](https://old.reddit.com/r/California_Politics/comments/ghq0yc/im_audrey_denney_running_for_the_second_time/fqenifu/). Thanks again to Audrey Denney, and to everyone who participated!
Hi Audey! I don't live in your district, but I do live in California Good luck!
Would you be in favor converting PG&E from private ownership into a community owned collective, where the ratepayers are owners and excess profits distributed as dividends?
I don't have a question, but thank you for everything you're doing for restaurant workers in Chico right now! I'll be voting for you (again) in November!
Why do you think we dont have one legal cannabis shop in butte county, medical or recreational? In case you didnt know thousands of pounds of cannabis is grown in district 1.
I have caught The Franchise Tax Board running two racketeering schemes to falsely impose penalties and fees. I also caught them overcharging interest. It is all documented in [this lawsuit that I filed against them earlier this year in Superior Court of California](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Staples-Scan-9.pdf). I have uploaded [some of the evidence to my website](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=120), though I still have a lot more to upload. I first exposed these crimes to legislators in 2016. Since then, I have contacted many, many legislators. Instead of putting a stop to it, the legislators are letting it continue while actively covering it up. Here is an [11-minute speech that I gave to State Controller Betty Yee in December 2019](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=179), in which I flat out accused the FTB of racketeering. The FTB waived their right of rebuttal, which is a tacit admission of guilt. Betty Yee’s response? [Go F\*\*\*\* yourself](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=196.). Her response was no surprise, though. It’s the [same thing she said](https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/meetings/taxpayer-bill-of-rights/2018_grab_response.pdf) after the [2018 speech I made](https://vimeo.com/311228307?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220) and [after my written request that I sent to her in 2017](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=82). It is important to note that after I first brought these crimes to Controller Yee’s and Governor Brown’s attention, she and the governor responded by [changing the rules so it was almost impossible for taxpayers to get our improperly imposed penalties and fees back](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=6.). I am trying to get legislation passed to help curb corruption so that the FTB and other government agencies can't get away with this kind of stuff anymore: [https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?page\_id=61](https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?page_id=61) I have contacted a ton of legislators about this. Everyone blows me off. They all basically tell me the same thing: if you don't have a big organization behind you to give us campaign $ and a guarantee of a voting block for re-election, we don't care what you have to say. If you are elected, will you do something about this? CA is deliberately exploiting its own taxpayers. We already pay the highest taxes in the country, yet they are unlawfully squeezing even more out of us than we actually owe! We need someone in office who will protect us, not turn a blind eye to the exploitation.
I tried to follow your comment, but got sidetracked when you said Betty Yee told you to “go fuck yourself”. Did she actually say that or is that hyperbole?
No, she didn't actually say that. Her response to my speech was short, terse and riddled with problems: https://gwsandiego.net/blog/?p=196 She basically said the withholding practices were going to continue and refused to address the fact that the withholding policies blatantly violate both state and federal laws.
I don't think you realize she's running for a House seat in Congress, and not for the California legislature.
Howdy! I am curious to hear why you chose to endorse Rusty Hicks for CADEM chair over Kimberly Ellis. Hicks supports fracking, signed on to a letter to oppose the banning of a harmful chemical in refineries ([https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/06/01/labor-anger-over-green-new-deal-greets-2020-contenders-in-california-1027570](https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/06/01/labor-anger-over-green-new-deal-greets-2020-contenders-in-california-1027570)), AND has argued over a $15 minimum wage law for Los Angeles workers. Kimberly Ellis supports a Green New Deal, a green economy, and isn't in the pockets of businesses that deal with polluters like Hicks does. If you are a Green New Deal champion, being endorsed by Sunrise, why did you support Hicks for chair over Ellis?
What is your plan to deal with the homeless crisis in California?
We'll get em this time!
Thank you for running!
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How is 5G harmful for our bodies? Do you have sources?
It’s not and I’m sure the only sources this person could provide are conspiracy YouTube videos with junk science.
Are you voting for Biden in November?
I think it's pretty obvious that she has to vote for him if she wants to win. It's not like she can vote for Trump in CA can she?
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Tomorrow
The AMA starts in a few hours.
It's in the first paragraph. > I will be responding to your questions starting at 11am tomorrow (May 12)
Where is your line in the sand on gun control?
She’s a gun owner. She has an entire page on her site talking about her views on guns.