Restoring California's Quality of Life.
California has everything it needs to lead the nation — incredible people, innovation, natural resources, universities, industries, and communities full of talent and creativity. But for too many working families, the California dream feels further out of reach every year. The cost of living keeps rising while trust in government and quality of life continue to slip. We used to set the standard for public education, environmental leadership, economic opportunity, and innovation. We can lead again, but not by doing politics the same way we always have. It’s time for a new generation of leadership willing to challenge the status quo, think boldly, and build a California that works for everyone again.
Restoring Affordability
Growing up and building his career in Ventura County, Michael has watched too many friends, young families, and working people get priced out of the communities they love. Even with good jobs and strong roots in the community, homeownership and affordable housing feel increasingly out of reach for many residents. Through his work in local government, Michael has seen firsthand how rising housing costs, lengthy approval processes, and outdated regulations impact real people every day. He believes California must embrace practical, forward-thinking solutions that expand housing opportunities, modernize the development process, and ensure the next generation can afford to stay, build their lives, and succeed in the communities they call home.
Michael’s housing priorities include:
• Remove barriers to building: Streamline permitting timelines, expand by-right approvals for compliant projects, and eliminate redundant reviews that add cost without adding value. Projects that meet local standards should move efficiently through the process.
• Lower the cost of construction: Address rising impact fees, support modular and prefabricated construction methods, and invest in workforce development programs that create good-paying jobs while helping reduce construction costs.
• Create certainty in the process: Developers, nonprofits, and local governments need confidence that approved projects can actually move forward. State and local processes should be aligned to ensure compliant housing projects are not stalled by conflicting requirements or unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Support balanced community growth: Housing solutions should include workforce housing, affordable housing, missing-middle housing, and responsible market-rate development that fits within the existing character and infrastructure of local communities.
Michael believes California can increase housing supply, reduce costs, and keep communities strong by focusing on practical, balanced solutions that work for residents, workers, and local governments alike.
Ventura County should be a place where teachers, nurses, service workers, and young families can afford to live.
Controlling Insurance Costs
Michael believes no family should be priced out of protecting their home, their health, or their future. Across California, residents are facing rising insurance costs, shrinking coverage options, and increasing uncertainty, even when they have done everything right. Michael has seen how these challenges affect families, homeowners, and entire communities. He believes California must take a forward-thinking approach that strengthens climate resilience, modernizes the insurance system, and creates a stable, competitive market that keeps coverage accessible and affordable. Every Californian deserves the peace of mind that comes from knowing their home, family, and future are protected.
Michael’s priorities include:
• Rebuild and stabilize the insurance market: Reform the California FAIR Plan so it functions as a true safety net rather than becoming the primary insurance option for homeowners across the state.
• Strengthen consumer protections: Support reasonable non-renewal protections, improve transparency in the rate-setting process, and ensure consumers are protected from excessive or unreasonable premium increases.
• Invest in wildfire prevention and resilience: Expand home-hardening programs, vegetation management, and wildfire mitigation projects that reduce long-term risk and help bring private insurers back into the market.
• Modernize regulations and speed up mitigation efforts: California must modernize outdated regulations where necessary while accelerating infrastructure upgrades and wildfire prevention projects that reduce insurer risk exposure.
• Create long-term market certainty: Insurance companies need predictability to remain in California, but consumers also deserve fairness, accountability, and reliable access to coverage.
Michael believes California can stabilize the insurance market by focusing on practical solutions that reduce risk, strengthen infrastructure, protect homeowners, and restore confidence for both consumers and insurers — because in the greatest state in the country, people shouldn’t have to choose between protecting their home and building their future.
Public Safety
Michael believes public safety is about more than responding to crime — it's about creating communities where people feel safe, supported, and prepared for whatever challenges come next. Families should have confidence that help will be there during a wildfire, flood, medical emergency, mental health crisis, or other emergency. Through his work in local government, Michael has seen the importance of investing in prevention, preparedness, and community resilience before problems become crises. He supports a modern approach to public safety that combines effective law enforcement, strong emergency preparedness, mental health services, homelessness solutions, and community trust. By planning for the future and addressing challenges proactively, California can build safer, stronger, and more resilient communities for everyone.
Michael’s public safety priorities include:
• Support law enforcement and first responders: Ensure police, firefighters, and emergency personnel have the staffing, training, equipment, and resources needed to keep communities safe.
• Expand mental health and crisis services: Increase access to behavioral health care, crisis response programs, and early intervention services that help prevent emergencies before they escalate.
• Address homelessness responsibly: Support practical solutions that combine shelter, treatment, accountability, and long-term pathways to stability while maintaining safe and accessible public spaces.
• Invest in prevention and intervention: Support programs focused on youth services, violence prevention, rehabilitation, and community-based strategies that reduce crime and improve outcomes.
• Strengthen community trust: Promote transparency, accountability, and collaboration between public safety agencies and the communities they serve.
Michael believes Ventura County deserves leadership that shows up, listens, prepares for the future, and fights every day to build communities where every person feels safe, supported, and proud to call home.
Strengthening California's Economy
California is standing at the edge of one of the biggest economic transformations in generations. AI, automation, and emerging technologies are going to change nearly every industry — and pretending otherwise will only leave working people behind. The question is not whether change is coming. It’s whether California will lead it in a way that creates opportunity or allows entire communities and workers to be left behind.
Michael believes we need forward-thinking leadership that embraces innovation while investing in workforce training, protecting workers through economic transition, supporting small businesses, and preparing the next generation for the jobs of the future. California has always shaped what comes next — and we should be leading the future economy, not reacting to it.
Michael’s economic priorities include:
• Support small businesses and entrepreneurs: Reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, modernize permitting processes, and improve access to resources that help small businesses grow, hire workers, and remain competitive.
• Invest in workforce development: Strengthen partnerships between schools, community colleges, trade programs, and employers to prepare workers for high-demand careers in healthcare, skilled trades, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, technology, and public service.
• Encourage innovation and economic diversification: Ventura County must position itself to attract and grow emerging industries while continuing to support the agricultural, tourism, healthcare, and energy sectors that remain critical to the regional economy.
• Build infrastructure that supports growth: Invest in transportation, water reliability, broadband access, and energy infrastructure that allows businesses and communities to grow responsibly and remain competitive.
• Support smart environmental and energy policies: California can protect the environment while also creating good-paying jobs through clean technology, sustainable infrastructure investment, and practical climate solutions.
• Keep Ventura County affordable: Rising costs for housing, insurance, utilities, fuel, childcare, and groceries continue to place pressure on families and businesses. Economic policy should focus on lowering costs and expanding opportunity so people can afford to live and work in the communities they serve.
Michael believes California can grow its economy, embrace innovation, and prepare for the future without losing the communities, values, and quality of life that make people proud to call this state home.
Fixing Our Broken Immigration System
Immigrants are essential to California’s identity, economy, and future. Across Ventura County, immigrant families power our agriculture industry, small businesses, healthcare system, construction workforce, and local economy. They are our neighbors, coworkers, students, and community leaders. No family should have to live in fear of being targeted, separated, or intimidated while simply trying to build a better life.
Michael believes California must take a firm stand to protect immigrant communities, defend due process and civil rights, and push back against harmful federal overreach that undermines trust and public safety. Safe communities are communities where people feel safe going to work, taking their children to school, reporting crimes, and participating in civic life.
Michael supports:
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Protecting California’s immigrant rights
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Expanding access to legal support and community resources
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Opposing unlawful and aggressive immigration enforcement tactics
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Strengthening pathways to economic opportunity and workforce development
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Supporting industries and local economies that rely on immigrant workers
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Keeping families together and protecting due process rights
California is stronger because of its immigrant communities — and leadership means standing up for the people who help keep this state moving forward every day.
Ensuring a Transparent and Accountable Government
Michael has spent his career working inside government systems and seeing firsthand where they succeed — and where they are falling behind. As Ventura’s City Clerk, he works on the front lines of implementing state laws at the local level, managing public records, elections, meetings, and the systems residents rely on to access their government. He understands that too much of California’s government still operates with outdated processes that frustrate residents, slow down services, and reduce public trust.
Michael believes government should be transparent, modern, accessible, and built around the people it serves. That means embracing technology, improving digital access, modernizing public systems, and creating a government that is easier to engage with, more accountable, and prepared for the future.
Michael’s priorities include:
• Strengthen transparency and accountability: Expand public access to government information, modernize outdated systems, and ensure residents can easily participate in the democratic process.
• Reform campaign finance laws: California’s political system is increasingly dominated by large donors, independent expenditures, and special interest money that make it harder for everyday residents to have their voices heard. Michael supports stronger transparency requirements, increased disclosure, and reforms that reduce the influence of big money in politics while creating a more accessible and equitable system for candidates and communities.
• Improve government responsiveness: Advocate for policies that make government more efficient, accessible, and focused on delivering results for residents and local communities.
• Support ethical and responsible governance: Strengthen accountability standards, ethical oversight, and public trust in government institutions.
• Modernize public services: Invest in technology and innovation that improve government operations, accessibility, and communication with the public.
• Being present and accessible: Michael is committed to being visible, engaged, and responsive to the communities he represents. He believes Ventura County deserves a representative who shows up, listens to residents, and fights every day for the region’s future.
Michael is committed to bringing practical leadership, transparency, accountability, and responsive government to Sacramento while always putting Ventura County first.