Senator Bob Wieckowski was elected in 2014, and represents the 10th Senate District in the California State Legislature. The District stretches from Southern Alameda County into Santa Clara County. Bob's passion lies in protecting working families and consumers. First as a Fremont City Councilmember and in the California State Legislature, Bob is fighting to reduce income inequality, put people back to work in California, protect our environment, and make college more affordable.

 

A strong voice in the Legislature for consumers and low-income earners, he received the "Champion of Justice" Award from the East Bay Community Law Center for fighting against abusive debt collectors and oppressive wage garnishments. Statewide organizations have selected him Legislator of he Year and the California Judges Association have him its "Scales of Justice Award" for his steadfast support for increased court funding to promote access to justice for all Californians.

 

As chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Bob is a state leader in advocating for climate adaptation programs and has participated on state, regional, and international panels examining green infrastructure investments. In 2015 and 2017, Bob was a member of the California delegation to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, to create a general path to climate action. He was also appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon to serve on the Energy and Environment Committee of the Council of State Governments West, where in 2017 he became the first Californian to chair the committee.

 

In 2016, Bob authored legislation to help alleviate our state's housing crisis, by providing for the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADU's). Motivated by the need to provide more housing, more jobs, and shorter commutes, Bob's bill helps to ease regulatory burdens and reign in enormous fees and requirements levied by local agencies, to restore more power to homeowners.

 

As a passionate advocate for his community, he has served on numerous boards and commissions, and previously served as Vice Mayor of the City of Fremont. Bob is a small business owner and a bankruptcy attorney. He has helped hundreds of families and seniors persevere through economic hardship, keep their homes, and live with dignity. He received his B.A. from the University of California Berkeley, and his J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School. Bob lives in Fremont with his wife, Sue.

Reducing Income Inequality and Enforcing Strong Consumer Protections 

Today, our country has more wealth and income inequality compared to any other time in our history. As a bankruptcy attorney, Bob is intimately aware of this, and has worked to help families and seniors persevere through economic hardship, by keeping their homes and living with dignity. During his time in the Legislature, Bob has tackled this issue by focusing on easing the debt burden for struggling Californians and introducing a host of consumer protection bills to level the playing field and help those who need a hand up. Senator Wieckowski has been recognized by many organizations including the East Bay Community Law Center and the California Judges Association for:

• Supporting the California Fair Pay Act to help ensure women are paid equally to their male colleagues
• Supporting the Earned Income Tax Credit to assist California's Lowest income workers
• Introducing legislation combating abusive debt collectors and oppressive wage garnishments
• Fighting for an additional $20 million for Legal Aid to represent the poor who cannot afford legal representation
• Launching the Economic Equity and Financial Stability Initiative to help families in desperate situations stabilize their finances

Creating a Livable and Workable California

As the 6th Largest Economy, California is flexing its muscles at an incredible pace. However, with this growth comes serious responsibilities. In the absence of any significant federal action on America's infrastructure, we have much work to do to fix our roads, bridges and highways. Even more, with the average cost of a home in the Bay Area well over $700,000 and the highest rates of homelessness of any state in the nation California's need for affordable housing solutions remains a serious challenge to our future growth. Bob Wieckowski has proven to be an effective legislator who brings innovative solutions to the table to advance California's progressive agenda in housing and transportation. Bob is leading the charge by:

• Authoring bipartisan backed legislation returning power to a homeowner by eliminating burdensome regulations to increase the building of accessory dwelling units (ADU's)
• Authoring legislation expanding the creation of transit oriented development near BART stations, bringing an estimated 20,000 additional units to the Bay Area
• Bringing billions of dollars to alleviate traffic and improve local roads, public transportation, and highways, while promoting walking and bicycling
• Advocating for the expansion of BART to Milpitas and San Jose, and the study of a transfer station of BART and ACE systems in Fremont

 

Leading the Nation on the Environment

With more instances of extreme weather -- rising sea levels, extended fire seasons and flooding we can count on Bob to be our voice in the fight against climate change. As the Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Bob is putting California on the fast-track to be a global leader on climate action. With the passage of an extended Cap and Trade Program and significant investments in clean/green technologies, California is making milestones in creating a decarbonized and sustainable future. Under Bob's Leadership, our state is pioneering a clean energy economy that is:

• On track to be 50% renewable energy by 2030
• On track to have a 50% increase in energy efficiency for existing buildings
• Prepared to address Climate Adaptation and implement mitigation strategies
• Advanced in its approach to ensure every Californian benefits
• Invested responsibly to meet goals of AB 32 and maximize greenhouse gas reductions

Making College More Affordable

During Bob's time in Sacramento, the Legislature has passed on-time budgets which have included historic investments to increase General Fund spending to our state's education system. But we must not stop there. Bob is a firm believer that education should be a pathway out of poverty, not a pathway into poverty. That's why Bob is fighting to:

• Increase funding of Cal Grant Awards to college-bound students
• Protect Dreamers by continuing the promises of the Dream Act
• Continue to provide funding for world-leading climate research and development
• Assist Californians with private student loan debt facing outrageous wage garnishments