John Garamendi received his B.A. in business from UC Berkeley where he was a Wheeler Scholar, second team All America offensive guard, two-time all Pacific Coast Conference team, and the 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.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, 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.
Garamendi sits on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee as a senior member, working to ensure needed transportation and infrastructure investments to create American jobs and enhance domestic manufacturing. As a member of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) Conference Committee, Garamendi is part of a bipartisan bicameral delegation responsible for shaping the nation's water infrastructure policies.
As a senior 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.
Garamendi also serves as the Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. In that capacity, he oversees over one-third of the Department of Defense's authorization--the largest of any Armed Services Subcommittee. He’s taken full advantage of his time as Chairman to empower our military to respond to the effects of climate change, passed legislation to provide stronger health care services to service members, and enacted a “tenants’ bill of rights” into law to provide greater legal recourse for service members who have been harmed by unhealthy conditions in privatized military housing.  

With 30 years of experience in California water issues, Garamendi has become the leading advocate for a comprehenisve water plan for all California. As part of the water plan, Garamendi has developed bipartisan legislation to build Sites Reservoir, an off stream reservoir. He is a leader in the fight to stop the twin tunnels that would destroy the Delta. Instead of an expensive plumbing system that won't create a drop of new water for the state, Garamendi has called for more cost-effective investments in water recycling, conservation, and storage to help meet our water needs.

As the former Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Garamendi became a leading Democrat shaping America's port policy, a very important role for promoting exports in manufacturing and agriculture.

Promoting policies that create jobs in Northern California, Garamendi has become the leading 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.

When Garamendi served as a member of the House Agricultural Committee, Garamendi helped shape a Farm Bill that gives Northern California farmers a fairer shake. He worked across the aisle to make flood insurance more affordable and has worked closely with UC Davis to bring more agricultural research to our region.

CHERYL SUDDUTH

“A Forward-Thinking Independent Voice”

Juntos por un mejor comunidad. |ToGETher for a better community. 

Mamí. Activist. Mentor. Community Leader. Organizer. disAbilities Rights Advocate. Justice Guerrera/ Justice Warrior. 

Director Sudduth is a Sr. Government Contracts & Compliance Director, International Negotiator, Mediator, and Compliance Officer, with nearly 30 years of business and legal experience, serving in a broad array of senior management roles in the commercial, private & public sectors.

A University of Illinois alum (Cellular & Molecular Biology and Biochemistry), she is a committed environmental scientist. Dir. Sudduth was elected to the West County Wastewater District Board in November 2018 and currently serves as Board Vice-President and Parliamentarian for the second time (immediate past President), as well as Chair of the affiliated West County Agency (City of Richmond joint partnership).

 “I’m very proud to be Black, to be Brown, to be a Woman, a person with disAbilities, but that is not all I am. That’s my culture, my ethnicity, my historical background, my genetic makeup, my physical disposition, but it’s not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I see every aspect of life or answer every question. I use all of my lived experiences – as a Mom, as a Woman, as a Person with disAbilities, as a scientist and intellect, as one who has experienced traumas of rape and sexual assault, as a thriver of other unspeakable torture… I stand resilient, showing up in my power, determined to be Someone strong and powerful who happens to have disAbilities who fights to amplify voices of others to let the world know…We. Are. Here.” -Dir. Cheryl Sudduth

Dir. Sudduth started as a graduate intern at a vocational rehabilitation firm before leading international negotiation and contracting teams at Sony, Siebel, Goodwill, and Mattson Technology, travelling and living in approx. dozen countries negotiating multinational, billion-dollar, multilingual agreements earning her numerous awards and recognitions. As Sr. Director, Contracts & Compliance for Goodwill’s AbilityOne program, she oversaw the building of thousands of fair, inclusive housing units in Alameda County and created programs which employed and trained thousands of individuals previously left out of traditional job markets - unseen, unheard and uncounted - People with significant disAbilities, Veterans, Wounded Warriors, reentry persons, those returning to the workforce, and others with barriers to employment or other disadvantaging conditions. These jobs with the AbilityOne Program, Dept. of Justice, Dept. of Defense, GSA, Dept. of the Army, Dept. of the Navy, and Coast Guard held families together with good prevailing wages, paid benefits and medical leave, employee assistance, and, worked to instill the Power of Work in each worker. The current AC Transit Contracts Services Manager, Dir. Sudduth uses her extensive contracting experience and leadership expertise to direct procurement and project staff through highly complex, time sensitive projects, producing quality results.

Dir. Sudduth knows the importance of community voice and representation at decision-making tables, especially at the highest levels of government.

“Si no estás sentado a la mesa, no puede establacer las prioridades ni la agenda. Además, si no estás sentado a la mesa, o estás en el menú o alguien está ordenando para usted." 

[If you’re not sitting at the table, you cannot set the priorities or the agenda. Or if you’re not sitting at the table, you’re either on the menu or someone’s ordering for you.]

So, she applies an equity lens to the social justice work in which she has engaged for 25+ years - PTA President, Citizen Bond Oversight Commissions, NAACP, ACLU, Racial Justice, Criminal Legal, Food Justice, Budget, Environmental Justice, Youth…

Whether through fights to prevent the jail expansion in Richmond to protecting our immigrant families and neighbors, organizing SB-54 Truth Act Forums, forcing closure of Immigrant Detention Centers, District Attorney accountability meetings, succeeding in our fight to end county juvenile fines and fees leading to a statewide moratorium, tenant protections, increased worker wages, adopting environmental/climate plans, increasing investments for infrastructure projects to ensure sustainability, equity & access, to fighting for federal monies for community projects and climate resilience funding – Dir. Sudduth has written and supported legislation, travelling regularly to Sacramento & DC to advocate passage of related bills.

Dir. Sudduth collaborates with local community groups, unions, and legislators to make transformative changes in our economic, environmental, criminal legal, healthcare, educational, transit and housing systems that reflect our collective values including winning health services for re-entry persons and undocumented adults (Health Right 360, Contra Costa Cares), establish AB 988 (Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act), A3 (Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime) Community Crisis Response, the Miles Hall Community Crisis Hub. 

She has received numerous awards and honors for her community work including her unwavering commitment to environmental justice and empowerment of our communities to take proactive command of our own narratives and futures. She is an appointed commissioner to the County Racial Justice Oversight Body, Racial Justice Steering Committee, ACLU Chapter Board, Budget Justice Coalition Steering Committee, Immigration Rights Alliance, NAACP Legal Redress Committee, Interfaith Alliance, and SF Muslim Community Center Advisory Board. She regularly volunteers with many community organizations incl. CAIR, Black Women Organized for Political Action Political Education Committee co-chair, Indigenous Women Warriors, Black Women in Science, Women in Water, CCC Climate Leaders, 350 Contra Costa, Society of Hispanic Engineers, Women in STEM, Black Elected Officials, National Association of Latino Elected Officials, American Muslims Elected & Appointed Officials, National Society of Black Engineers, Sierra Club, Water Education for Latino Leaders, Latinos in Transit, Girl Scouts, Alliance 4 Girls, and several others.  She volunteers regularly for ‘Women in STEM’, Girls in Science, fundraising activities benefiting Sickle Cell Anemia research, and meets regularly with State and Federal Legislators as a community advisor to discuss regional, state and national issues and provide viable frontline solutions from the voices of our community. 

Dir. Sudduth works to empower our young people through mentoring +2200 youth. She believes her most important role continues to be as Mom of three amazing young people and wife of a veteran union longshoreman (~30y).

Cheryl Sudduth: https://www.CherylSudduth.nationbuilder.com

“Concéntrese en la gente – el nosotros, no el yo. Focus on the People, the WE not the me.”

I learned a long time ago from the lessons of great civil rights, social justice, and union leaders that came before us that the fight is always more than just the current injustices we face - in housing or food, water, air quality or transit, education or healthcare, or the criminal punishment system - it is always about the People.

I have always believed that the toughest fights are always worth taking on and that government only works when people, everyday people like you and me, raise our voices and we demand change. It’s a pretty simple premise that doesn’t happen nearly enough. Why? Because it is intimidating to raise your voice amongst a chorus of nos and impossibles; against can’ts and shouldn’ts; against the despite the qualifications, experiences, skills you may… And with our government so overrun by lobbyists and special interests who trade money for access & laws or inaction, everyday people stepping up and stepping in just doesn’t happen enough.

Yet I know, personally, as someone who has had to fight through personal physical and psychological adversity, I know how important it is to focus on not giving in, not giving up, and not just fighting yet finding resolutions and resources to fix issues.

Growing up in in a working-class family as number four of six, I learned the power of community and built a work ethic that taught me that no matter what obstacles or barriers or roadblocks that come, and there would be some, obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, you don't turn around and give up. You figure out how to climb it, go over it, through it, work around it. But you don’t give up. So, even as a former elite athlete who lost her voice for nearly 3 years then diagnosed with this mobility disAbility which changed my life nearly overnight and taught me to value life and people and fortified my sense of strength and resilience to overcome any hurdle – whether my own or the commUNITY’s - I’ve done just that, focused on the fix and not just the fight…

Every position I have held from Sony to Siebel/Oracle, Goodwill and AbilityOne, Mattson Technology and now AC Transit, my elected office & appointed commissions – I have fought for and delivered award winning solutions and community resources.

“A single man cannot build a house, a single tree cannot make a forest, two footsteps do not make a path, two raindrops do not make a pool.”

No one person can achieve change on their own or in a vacuum. As an organizer and human rights activist, I’ve worked tirelessly in coalition with grassroots groups domestically and internationally to organize for social change (environmental justice, food justice, human rights) using my +25 years of international business & legal experience to support the development of campaigns led by grassroots leaders on the frontlines of the struggle for equity and social justice. My work centers intersectional movement building, transformative organizing, institution building, advocacy, & campaign development.  I am /have been committed to lifting the leadership of our historically marginalized communities across the country to build power and capacity for grassroots community groups to organize effectively, developing strategic partnerships & strategies and community power rooted in their collective wisdom.  

To achieve true people-centered governance, I follow the wisdom of mi Mom y her Mom (mi Abuela):

“Mija, tienes dos de estos, dos de estos, y uno de esos... siempre tratar de utilizar las cosas que tiene dos de más a menudo que el que sólo tiene uno... en otras palabras, escuchen y observen el doble de lo que habla.” (Mija, you have two of these, two of these, and one of those… always try to use the things you have two of more often than the one you only have one of… in other words, listen and observe twice as much as you speak.)

Listening to the People is the only way to Know the People and to Know the People is the best way to know how to provide strong leadership, directed leadership, leadership that works with and for everyone.

“Listen with Curiosity, Speak with Honesty, and Act with Integrity.”

This is the kind of leadership I strive to provide - as a representative of the People who lives among the People, who leads by example on the frontlines of our community, who understands and champions policies that benefits our communities because this is my home and my neighbors and decisions made affect me and my family too…

Never forgetting that the People are always the focus, so though we may negotiate and compromise on some things, we must never compromise our values or our ethics, and never sell out our communities.

We May Bend but We Do Not Break. We Are Our Power and This is Who We Are.

No Comprada. No Devuelta. Irrompible. | Unbought. Unbeholden. Unbreakable.