Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 75; Democratic Party

A native San Diegan, Paul Garver attended Dana Jr. High and Point Loma High School. Growing up in a Navy family gave him broad perspective on what works and what doesn't at schools in different parts of the country. As a scholar-athlete, he earned varsity letters in three sports before going on to Yale where he graduated at age 20, cum laude, with a degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.

He spent the next four years at UCLA School of Medicine earning an MD and then returned to San Diego for five years of specialty training in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at UCSD. Upon passing his boards, UCSD appointed him as their youngest ever Assistant Professor of Radiology.

While at UCSD, Dr. Garver met his wife, Loretto. Yielding to a spirit of adventure, they moved to Honolulu in 1982 where Dr. Garver served as Chief of Radiology for the Kaiser System of Hawaii and played a key role in bringing the first MRI scanner to the islands. During this time, the mid 1980's, the Cold War burned as hot as ever. Since he came from a family with a strong military tradition that included service in every major conflict dating back to the Civil War, Dr. Garver felt the call of duty. He answered that call by joining the Air National Guard where he served as a flight surgeon, flying in F-4's and C-130's.

In 1989 Dr. Garver returned to San Diego to take a position at Scripps Clinic. By this time, he and Loretto had two children, Christine and Nicholas (their third child, a rescued shelter dog, came soon after). Both non-canine kids enrolled in the San Diego public school system and went on to Yale. Christine is beginning an acting career in LA and Nick is about to graduate this year.

While at Scripps Clinic, Dr. Garver continued the track record of innovation he established in Hawaii. As Head of Mammography, he helped revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis by being among the first physicians in the nation to employ image-guided needle biopsy to replace surgical excisions. Then, as Chief of Nuclear Medicine, he introduced the first PET scanner to San Diego. Finally, as Director of Quality Assurance, Dr. Garver learned to identify flaws in organizations that design them to fail--a skill he intends to utilize in diagnosing and prescribing a cure for the structural sickness paralyzing Sacramento.

Over the past few years we have witnessed our dysfunctional state government grind to a standstill in the face of an unprecedented financial crisis. Fixing this broken system requires electing a new breed of independent minded leaders committed to a fundamental restructuring of our government and not beholden to special interests, whether corporate or union. As a political outsider, Dr. Garver owes no debt to any special interest. And as a physician-legislator, he will apply the ideals of the Hippocratic Oath to public life, placing the interests of the people first as he leads the way in overhauling our broken system of government.