Voter's Edge California Voter Guide
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Tuesday November 3, 2020 — California General Election
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California State SenateCandidate for District 1

Photo of Pamela Dawn Swartz

Pamela Dawn Swartz

Small Business Owner
220,563 votes (40.3%)
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My Top 3 Priorities

  • HEALTHCARE - I will lead efforts to keep rural hospitals funded and fight for single-payer healthcare in California
  • EDUCATION AND JOBS - I will fight for technical education, apprenticeship and vocational programs to prepare our students for good-paying jobs.
  • FIRE RESILIENCY - I will bring a comprehensive approach to managing our forests to reduce fire danger, improve watershed health and wildlife habitat while increasing job opportunities.

Experience

Experience

Profession:Small Business Owner
Small Business Owner, Ninja Skincare, Incorporated (1989–current)
Farrier - Barefoot Horse Trimming, Self (2000–current)

Education

University of California, Berkeley Bachelor of Science, Forestry with an Emphasis in Wildlife Management (1986)

Biography

My name is Pamela Swartz and I am a California native and small business owner.   

I was lucky to grow up with parents who were educators. They encouraged us to speak our truth, question authority and be independent thinkers. After attending Sequoia Middle School and Shasta High School in Redding, I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelor’s of Science in Forestry with an emphasis in Wildlife Management. Among many lessons, my university education taught me the fragility of native habitats and the intertwined relationship between these habitats and human influence. Wisely managing our natural resources is essential for a healthy and safe future and I believe, this is best accomplished by developing private-public partnerships. This creates local jobs and improves our rural economy. 

As true with many entrepreneurs, my business venture started from a personal need . . . for a safe, effective and long-term treatment for my persistent skin blemishes. I possess the true entrepreneurial spirit of having a strong work ethic, perseverance and a desire to help others. Owning a successful business for over 30 years has taught me that authenticity and honesty count just as much as understanding smart finances and adhering to budgets. Our District needs an advocate who insists that state policies and budgets don't forget us in the North State. Our tax dollars need to return to our communities. We need increased rural infrastructure, expanded funding for education and affordable housing to create more opportunity and well paying, local jobs. With these in place, our region will be able to attract new, and much needed medical facilities, colleges and trade schools as well as support online businesses that are a perfect fit for our rural area. 

Striking a balance between growing our economy and maintaining our region's natural beauty is important to me. I have a strong love of our land and natural resources. I am an avid equestrian, riding and training for long distance events with my 2 horses. I also enjoy hiking and mountain biking in our beautiful wild lands. 

I am truly a fresh voice in North State politics. I am running for State Senate because I believe our District has been under-served and not strongly represented for too long. I believe the only purpose of forming a government is to serve the needs of the people. As your elected official, I will make decisions and policies that are solely based on the interests of my constituents, not on outside or special interests.

Questions & Answers

Questions from The Sacramento Bee (3)

1 Prescription Drug Question

Should California enter the prescription drug business to help drive down prices? Why or why not?

No answer provided.
Should California make changes to the property tax system set up in Proposition 13? Why?
Answer from Pamela Dawn Swartz:

Yes, I support 2020's Prop 15, aka "Schools and COmmunities FIrst" because I believe we need to close teh loophole that allows large commercial property owners to avoid paying their fair share. The money they should rightfully pay in property tax will provide desperately needed funding for education in California.

To lower rent costs, should California build more or focus on rent caps and tenants’ rights? Why?
Answer from Pamela Dawn Swartz:
Both. Converting existing buildings, vacant hotels, SRO and now vacant commercial buildings to affordable housing units has higher favorable polling than ground-up building. Re-purposing entails less environmental impact and is less expensive.   Tenants' rights need to be addressed and upheld. I support restricting real estate investment portfolios (REIT's) from purchasing suppressed priced homes and then pricing out the lower affordable housing market. We must be especially vigilant now because COVID has led to so much job loss and potential inability to pay rent. We will most likely also see an increase in foreclosures.

Who gave money to this candidate?

Contributions

Total money raised: $118,641

Top contributors that gave money to support the candidate, by organization:

1
California Labor Federation
$9,300
2
California Democratic Party
$7,105
3
United Domestic Workers of America
$5,000
4
AFSCME Local 2620
$4,700
5
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
$3,000
5
California Nurses Association
$3,000

More information about contributions

By State:

California 99.56%
Washington 0.33%
Nevada 0.12%
99.56%

By Size:

Large contributions (90.59%)
Small contributions (9.41%)
90.59%9.41%

By Type:

From organizations (50.42%)
From individuals (49.58%)
50.42%49.58%
Source: MapLight analysis of data from the California Secretary of State.

Political Beliefs

Political Philosophy

A government that works for everyone means:

  • Provide single payer healthcare to all Californians
  • Increase the number of healthcare facilities in our District 
  • Support programs to reduce fire danger and improve public safety and awareness
  • Assist our farming and tourism economies as they implement new strategies to adapt to the changing climate  
  • Provide affordable housing; no one should be homeless
  • Fully fund education to include free college, trade schools, apprenticeship programs, invest in teachers and schools 
  • Build crucial infrastructure projects including Internet access and improve dangerous rural roads and highways

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