Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 1

Karen Brooks is third generation Californian who grew up in Southern California and eventually moved to Bayside, where she has worked and raised a family for the past 30 years. Her husband of 24 years, Mark is a small business owner, and is currently serving as President of the Rotary Club of the Southwest Eureka. Her oldest son Evan is currently away at college in Oregon and her youngest son Trent, is a freshman at McKinleyville High School.

Karen is known as someone who is always visible in her community and is a tireless advocate of community involvement and government accountability. Her commitment to children, including her two sons, is evident with her continual involvement with the Waterfront Run in Eureka, where all proceeds of the run benefit children through a youth running school scholarship. She has also volunteered to help the Boy Scouts of America of which Mark and Trent are also involved.

An outdoor person at heart, she is highly committed to her community with her involvement in the local Trails Trust of Humboldt Bay and her horse riding club. Her love of horses also includes her 25-mile and 50-mile endurance horse competitions throughout the region. She is a constant steward of her environment and understands the need to preserve the land and to be mindful of the footprint we leave on nature. She exemplifies a sustainable lifestyle of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Karen's interest in politics stems from the fact that voting is just not enough. Getting involved by making the phone calls, attending meetings, and writing letters were just not enough. As a champion for independent leadership and an advocate for common sense ideas in government reform, it is these underlying principles that motivated her run for State Assembly. Not afraid of the political machine, she has charged head-on into the issues. As the former spokesperson for the Humboldt County Tea Party Patriots, she ensured the groups message reflected their voice of reason and she now echos the call for new, independent leadership, in Washington D.C. and Sacramento.

Karen is looking to make a difference, not for herself, but for her children and for future generations. She understands that our current political system supports incumbents bent on being reelected rather than doing what is in the best for the people of the 1st Assembly District and the State of California. She has always been an independent person, since her childhood and through her life experiences, and will carry this leadership and philosophy to Sacramento to truly be an advocate for the people.