A LEADER MAKING OUR SCHOOLS BETTER

Catharine has been leading the way in supporting new ideas to make California’s schools better for all children. She authored legislation to lift the damaging cap on local school reserves and restore local control, to reform tenure to support good teachers and offer them more professional development, and to increase STEM curriculum to better educate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

FINDING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS

Catharine is known for finding creative solutions to challenges facing our community. Her first act as a Legislator was to decline a state car and the extra pay Legislators receive as a perk of the job. The first bill Catharine authored was to prevent future BART strikes. Her idea was a creative solution, it was fair to both BART workers and riders, and simply closed the loophole that allows BART workers to strike even after they continue to receive pay under an expired contract. The Contra Costa Times wrote that her “attempt to end BART strikes deserves high marks for creativity.”

ACTIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY

An active parent leader in local schools, Catharine served on numerous local school improvement committees and on a preschool board. She is a Trustee with the Diablo Regional Arts Association, supporting arts education opportunities for families and school children. She is active in local Scouting with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, serving as an archery instructor and camp volunteer. As small business counsel at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel law firm in Pleasanton, Catharine’s practice is helping local small businesses and non-profit organizations get started and succeed.

Catharine is a native Californian. She earned her BA degree from the University of Chicago, overcoming cancer her senior year to graduate Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her JD degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. Catharine is married to her college sweetheart, Dan, and they have two school-aged children, twins. 

In her first term in the Assembly, Catharine has lived up to her pledge to be a different kind of legislator – one who works across party lines to get things done. She wrote legislation to better prevent child abuse in schools, to make the Bay Bridge oversight authority more transparent and accountable, and to offer veterans support in finding new careers when they return to civilian life. All these bills passed with unanimous, bipartisan support and were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. She has authored legislation to improve California’s transportation system and water infrastructure; modernize California’s schools so all children, regardless of the zip code they live in, can receive a great education; to make higher education accessible and affordable for California residents, and to make the state more accountable and financially disciplined with taxpayer funds. It’s no surprise the Contra Costa Times said, “Baker shows the Legislature there’s room for bipartisanship.”

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan is an accomplished attorney, environmental advocate, community volunteer, law professor and mother. A Bay Area native, she has dedicated her career and personal time to improving our community, solving complex problems, protecting civil rights and fighting to ensure everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

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As an attorney, Rebecca specialized in ensuring major corporations complied with environmental laws and regulations by leading internal investigations to improve their environmental practices, while maintaining profitability. Simultaneously, she worked with government agencies and elected officials to address their concerns. She also worked with major tech companies on intellectual property cases, involving topics including copyright, trademark and trade secret theft.

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Rebecca also oversaw and grew her office’s pro bono program and, under her leadership, the office expanded their efforts to include civil rights, immigration, homelessness and domestic violence. In one case, she successfully represented a wrongfully accused death row inmate in Texas and won him his freedom. She has also served on a number of boards and committees, helping attorneys throughout the Bay Area provide their services to those who desperately need them. Earlier this year, Rebecca coordinated the legal services effort at SFO on behalf of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) to assist refugees and immigrants impacted by the Trump Administration’s travel ban.

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For the last seven years, Rebecca has taught appellate law and legal research and writing at Santa Clara University and Golden Gate University. She is a product of public schools and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center.

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Rebecca and her family are actively involved in the community. Recently, Rebecca advocated for and implemented innovative project-based education programs at her local elementary school, working to create an ongoing curriculum and obtain the space needed for the programs. She is also a leader in a number of local non-profits and organizations, and serves on the board of her local synagogue.

Dear Neighbor,

I’ve always believed if you see a problem, do something about it. Make your community better.

That is why I am running for California State Assembly – to stand up for what’s right and ensure the state legislature is focused on solving our community’s – and our state’s – most pressing issues.

As your Assemblymember, I will bring my passion for solving problems and making our community better to get things done on the issues that matter most to our families.

My top priorities include:

• Ensuring our children get a top-level education from pre-k through college by fully funding our public schools and guaranteeing universal pre-school so that every child has the opportunity to succeed

• Protecting the environment and battling climate change

• Working to improve transportation options, finding traffic solutions and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, including fixing our roads, working to make BART more reliable and building more BART parking

• Protecting a woman’s right to choose

• Increasing access to quality, affordable health care

• Keeping our families and children safe by making California a model for the nation on gun violence prevention

• Assuring balanced budgets, while protecting key state programs

• Helping small businesses thrive and growing our local economy

And these issues matter now more than ever. Today, California is on the front lines in the battle against the Trump Administration and other extremists in Washington who don’t see the difference between neo-Nazis and American values, don’t believe climate change is real and want to take away health care from millions. We need a legislator in Sacramento willing to take a stand and fight for what’s important.

Thank you for taking an interest in our campaign for Assembly, please take a moment to learn a little more about me, sign-up for more information or to get involved or reach out with any questions.

I look forward to working with you to make our community better.

Sincerely,

Rebecca