Salud Carbajal
| Candidate Name | Salud Carbajal (*incumbent) |
| Position Sought | U.S. Congress, 24th District |
| Website / Social Media | www.saludcarbajal.com Facebook: CarbajalForCongress Instagram: @SaludCarbajal Twitter: @CarbajalSalud |
| Why are you running for office? | Over my past three terms representing the Central Coast in the halls of Congress, it has been my privilege and honor to work on your behalf in Congress. I’ve helped deliver critical economic assistance to the millions of families and businesses that call California home. I’ve secured crucial investments to revitalize our infrastructure, expand high-speed internet access, and create jobs through transitioning to more clean energy sources here at home. I’ve continued fighting to lower costs and increase opportunity for middle-class families and to protect the environment, economy, and unique needs of our region. And in the face of continuing challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and the impacts of climate change, I want to continue working as your representative and voice as we navigate challenges ahead. |
| What makes you qualified for the job? | I have a proven track record of standing up for Central Coast values, working across the aisle, and delivering for our communities. Investments that I’ve secured in Washington over recent years have helped get COVID-19 vaccines distributed quickly to millions of California families, keep businesses afloat, reopen our schools, and support critical industries as we navigate the worldwide disruptions caused by the recent pandemic. I also have a long history of working to build bridges and reach consensus on the Central Coast as a County Supervisor for Santa Barbara–and have taken that experience with me to Washington. More than half of the legislation that I support in Congress is bipartisan, because I know that building stronger communities comes from working together and finding commonsense policy fixes that can make a difference. I immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with my family at the age of five, and worked alongside my father when he was a farmworker in the fields of Oxnard before attending UCSB and served our nation in the U.S. Marine Corps. Every single day, I draw on my own experiences–growing up in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and working my way up to the halls of government–when advocating on behalf of the communities that I have called home for decades. |
| What are your two main priorities if you win? | If re-elected to Congress, I have two important priorities: lowering the cost of living for California families, and ensuring our region is prepared for the new opportunities and challenges in the years and decades to come. Across the globe, we’ve seen the COVID-19 pandemic disrupt supply chains and lead to shortages of goods, which in turn has driven up the costs of everyday essentials on our store shelves and critical materials that build our cars, computers, and community infrastructure. That has been coupled with the rising costs of gas and other fuels, housing, health care (including prescription drugs), food, college tuition, childcare, and more. I’ve backed critical bills to help drive down these costs and lower the overall cost of living on the Central Coast, because I know that this is the central issue for working families here in California. We are over two decades into the 21st century, and visions we heard 20 years ago of new opportunities and challenges have started to become reality for us here in California. What was once a dream of having an energy grid that could rely entirely on renewable energy sources is now within our grasp–and through new opportunities like our first offshore wind farm in Morro Bay, I believe we can make our region a leading source of these 21st century energy solutions. We’ve also seen the Central Coast become a leading player of emerging industries like commercial space while maintaining its role as a leader in tourism and agricultural industries. But with these opportunities comes the real impacts that we’ve seen from climate change. The Thomas Fire, Montecito Debris Flow, and other extreme weather events has shown us what threats are posed to our communities, and how resiliency will be necessary to keep our family, friends, and neighbors safe. My goal in Congress, both through legislation and as an advocate for our area, would be to bring more jobs and opportunities from these 21st century industries to our communities while ensuring we are prepared to deal with the climate crisis and other emerging challenges. |
| How will you collaborate with other governments? | Before coming to Congress, I served for 12 years on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. In my tenure, I worked hard to protect our environment, promote sustainability, strengthen our schools, and enhance the health and safety of our community–in large part by ensuring that our local, state, and federal agencies were all connected and working well with the neighborhoods that I represented. And since my first election to the U.S. House, I have consistently worked as a mediator and liaison for all levels of government with our local communities to ensure everyone has a seat at the table. Last year, I helped get our landmark bipartisan infrastructure law signed with the help of Democrats and Republicans alike in Congress. Now, as we see the first of many investments coming back to California to fix our roads and highways, lower greenhouse gas emissions, expand high-speed internet, and fight drought and wildfires, I will be working with our state and local experts to ensure our communities are poised to benefit in as many ways as possible from the landmark legislation I delivered for our region. |
| What are the next two issues that are most important to you? | Above all, my job is to serve you, my constituents on the Central Coast. And I have made serving those in need a key part of my work in Congress–helping advocate for folks who’ve need help with their federal benefits, tax refunds, stimulus payments, and more. I will never stop fighting to help those who need it in Washington. I have been a tireless advocate for our veterans and military families, those who are living with food insecurity or without a home, those who are struggling with mountains of student debt or high costs of living, and those who rely on Medicare, Social Security, and other vital benefits to make ends meet. Protecting our environment and the natural beauty of the Central Coast is also a top priority of mine in Congress. Through my efforts, I have helped get a new marine sanctuary– the Chumash National Marine Sanctuary – moved from a proposal into the designation stages to protect our famous coastlines and our precious marine life. And I have continued my fight to protect our planet by introducing and passing a bill to ban future offshore oil drilling off of California's coast; working to designate parts of Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as protected wilderness; pushing back against attempts to roll back climate protections; and bringing forward plans to help our coastal communities remain resilient and well-equipped in the face of climate change. |
