Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the District 19 — California State Assembly
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
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About this office
State assembly members introduce and vote on new laws, hold hearings, and draft the state budget. They are elected to two-year terms.
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AFSCME PEOPLEService Employees International UnionCalifornia Professional FirefightersCalifornia League of Conservation VotersCalifornia Democratic PartyCalifornia Labor FederationCalifornia Federation of TeachersSierra Club CaliforniaCalifornia Teachers Association
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My Top 3 Priorities
Reversing the disastrous decline of K-12 education quality in our impoverished urban communities
Developing medical treatment options to reduce the homeless crisis
Promoting better policies to protect the public from crime
Experience
Community Activities
Board Member, Volunteer, Rotary AIDS Project (2004–current)
Biography
John P. McDonnell was born and raised in the Outer Mission district of San Francisco. He grew up in a working-class environment, the son of a cook and a telephone operator. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School, the University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley Law School and New York University Law School. He has been a business and tax lawyer in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for over 35 years, with a broad range of clients and cases for companies and individuals. He has been married to Joanne Domecus McDonnell for 40 years, and they have raised four children in their home in Daly City.
Source: MapLight analysis of data from the California Secretary of State.
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
I am firmly planted in the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. I believe in Thomas Jefferson's view that government should be limited, in order to promote and protect freedom. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, the purpose of government is to secure and promote the rights of individuals. There is a constant power struggle between government and individuals, and as government power increases, individual freedoms decline. Our Democrat friends are infatuated with the notion that Big and Bigger Government programs will solve all human problems. They are wrong, as our failing public schools demonstrate. We should promote individual freedom and opportunity, and let the people develop new and creative solutions for the problems.
