Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, Mimi Walters represented Orange County in the California State Senate and State Assembly. She possesses a background in business, finance and local government having first been elected office to the Laguna Niguel City Council in 1996. Her professional career has included serving as an investment executive for seven years at a major investment banking firm.

I am a scientist and an engineer by education, a small business owner for the last 30+ years, a 35+ years resident of Orange County, and a long-time activist for causes pertaining to improved quality of life for all citizens of our great country. I believe in an effective and efficient Government, focused on issues of the “common good” that can only be addressed through an honest democratic process by citizen legislators, representing WE the People – not by career politicians representing narrow special interests. I believe in the free market system, but not in crony capitalism which privatizes profits and socializes losses. I believe in a free market system with adequate safeguards for consumers and protection of our environment. I believe in a free market system with a level playing field between capital and labor, one that provides safe working conditions and living wages not subject to threats of “outsourcing”.

Is it acceptable in America that the top 0.1% now owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%? Is it acceptable that 99% of new income is going to the top 1%? Is it acceptable that Wall Street and billionaires are spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to buy elections? This is why we must overturn Citizens United and move to public funding of elections!

Is it right that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, most of our young people either can't afford to go to college or leave school deeply in debt? If we stand up, fight back, we can do a lot better!

We must make a fundamental decision. Do we continue the 40-year decline of our middle class and the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else, or do we fight for a progressive economic agenda that creates jobs, increases income, protects the environment, addresses climate change, failed trade policies, and immigration reform, makes public college education attainable, provides healthcare for all, strengthens Social Security, Medicare, Tricare, and ADA, and promotes diplomacy over war?

Are we prepared to take on the enormous economic and political power of the billionaire class, or do we continue to slide into economic and political oligarchy? These are the most important questions of our time, and how we answer them will determine the future of our country.

I'M THE ONLY CANDIDATE ENDORSED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

I'm also the only Democratic candidate in this race that has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party (CADEM), Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC), Orange County Young Democrats (OCYD), and Progressive Democrats of America (PDA).

Colonel Greg Raths USMC (RET)

Born in 1953 in Phoenix, AZ the young boy with an adventurous spirit would grow up to become Colonel Greg Raths, USMC, who wouldn't just fly jet fighters in combat, but also go on to work at the White House for our Commander-in-Chief.  After graduating high school in 1971, Greg went to Arizona State University, where he would earn his Bachelor Degree in Business/Finance in 1975, the same year he entered the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant.

Sticking to his plan, Greg would fulfill his lifelong dream to become a fighter pilot. He earned his Navy wings in 1977 and began his overseas tour in Japan and on the aircraft carrier USS Midway in 1979 flying the RF-4B Phantom II for Carrier Air Wing 5. In 1980, Greg was awarded “Top Carrier Pilot” for the 3^rd Marine Aircraft Wing for his precision landings on several aircraft carriers that year.

In 1986 he was promoted to Major, commanded the Recruiting Station in Detroit, and in 1991 he would deploy to Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm, flying 45 combat missions in the F/A-18D Hornet. He showed his abilities as a leader and in 1993 was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. From there, Greg commanded a Marine Corps Fighter Squadron (VMFA-314) and took the squadron to sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (1993-1994) with Carrier Air Wing Eleven. His squadron participated in Operation Southern Watch over Iraq and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia where Greg flew 30 combat missions.

He was awarded “Tactical Pilot of the Year” in 1993 by the Association of Naval Aviation (ANA) and then “Pilot of Year” by the Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) for Marine Forces Pacific for 1994. In 1996 he earned a Master’s Degree from National Defense University. He was then assigned by the Pentagon to The White House, as Assistant Chief of Staff and Chief Financial Officer of the White House Military Office, for three years.

From 1999 until 2001, Greg was a Marine Aircraft Group Commander for MAG-46 at MCAS Miramar, San Diego, CA. From 2003 to 2004 he was the Chief of Staff, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing in New Orleans, LA and in 2004 he took on the role as the Marine Aircraft Wing Commander for the 4^th Marine Aircraft Wing before retiring from active duty in November 2004.

After his career in the military, Colonel Greg Raths retired to live a more peaceful life with his wife Luci, his son Michael (Major USMC) and twin daughters, Kristen & Kathy. He flew as a commercial airline pilot for a short time with Jet Blue Airways before he took on the job of President of an automobile parts distribution firm in Anaheim. He wrote the best seller autobiography, 9 Lives of a Fighter Pilot and is currently completing his second book, Havoc Going Down, the amazing story of his father’s combat missions over Germany as pilot of the A-20 Havoc.

In 2013 Greg earned a third college degree, this time from California State University, Fullerton in History and Political Science. Greg entered politics in 2014 and ran for a seat on City Council for the City of Mission Viejo winning the election easily with the most votes of eight candidates.  He served as Mayor Pro Tem for Mission Viejo in 2015 and is currently a councilman. In January 2016, Greg entered the Congressional race for California’s 45^th Congressional District. The Primary is June 7, 2016.

Fiscal and social conservative.

Dr. Gouron is a graduate of Rice University in Houston TX.  He received his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio where he received top honors from the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.  He completed his residency training in anesthesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, following which he moved to Southern California for private practice where he successfully completed both his written and Oral Board Examinations to become Board Certified in Anesthesiology.  Dr. Gouron has lived in Tustin since 1999 and has been in private practice in Orange County since then.  He is happily married and has a 15 year old son.