Candidate for
United States Representative; District 3

John Garamendi was raised on his family's ranch in Mokelumne Hill, California. He received hisB.A. in business from UC Berkeley where he was a Wheeler Scholar, second team All America offensive guard and a two time all Pacific Coast Conference team, and the 1964 West Coast heavy weight wrestling champion. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife Patti served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia before returning to the U.S and settling down in Walnut Grove, where they raised six children. They now have 10 grandchildren and continue to raise Angus cattle on their family ranch.

Elected to the state legislature in 1974, Garamendi's first legislation was the Rural Health Act of California, to ensure that underserved residents in rural communities had access to quality health care. As a legislator, he established a work-oriented welfare program, developed a state agenda for economic competitiveness and scientific advancement, and authored legislation to fund the construction of research facilities across the UC system.

Beginning his service as California's Insurance Commissioner in 1991, Garamendi earned a reputation among state and national consumer organizations as the most effective protector of consumer interests in the nation. He successfully forced insurance companies to pay claims to policyholders and reduced homeowner, auto, and worker's compensation rates, and significantly curtailed insurance fraud.

Appointed Deputy Secretary of the Interior in 1995 by President Clinton, Garamendi led the U.S. CALFED negotiating team in a process to restore the environment in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins and the Delta, while meeting the improved water availability for farmers and the region's rapidly growing cities. In what came to be known as the "Garamendi Process," city leaders, farmers, fishing interests and environmentalists systematically worked to resolve their differences and adopt mutually acceptable plans and policies to implement the Central Valley Improvement Act.

Elected California Lieutenant Governor in 2007, he served as a UC and CSU Regent, where he fought for higher education funding and voted against every proposal to raise undergraduate tuition. As Chairman of the California Commission for Economic Development, he led successful efforts to expand workforce development and vocational education.

Elected to Congress in 2009, he seeks to address the fundamental issues that face all Americans: job creation, fixing a broken economy, access to affordable health care, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and cleaning up Wall Street.

Promoting policies that create jobs in Northern California., Garamendi has become a lead advocate for the Make It In America program, to strengthen manufacturing. He is the author of four Make It In America bills that require that our tax money be spent on American made equipment and jobs. His goal is to create a pathway to the middle class for thousands of hardworking Americans. Garamendi regularly hosts local job fairs to bring employers and job seekers together.

Garamendi serves on the House Resources Committee he fights to protect Northern California water and seeks funds to upgrade flood protection and conservation programs to protect farmland and wildlife habitat.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Garamendi continues to protect and expand Travis and Beale Air Force bases which provide critical logistics and military intelligence programs that serve our nation in times of war and peace. A strong advocate for veterans, Garamendi has supported every bill in the House designed to help veterans and their families, including tax credits for employers who hire veterans and VA funding.