Veteran Rep. Doris Matsui faces 2 challengers in 7th District primary
Longtime Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, has three challengers in the March 5 primary for California’s 7th Congressional District.
The 7th covers southern Sacramento County — including downtown Sacramento and Elk Grove — and bits of Solano and Yolo counties, including West Sacramento.
The top two vote-getters will advance from the March 5 primary to the Nov. 5 general election.
Doris Matsui
Party: Democratic
Age: 79
Birthplace: Poston Camp, Arizona
Residence: Sacramento, California
Occupation: U.S. Representative
Education: UC Berkeley (BA in Psychology)
Offices held: U.S. Representative, 2005-present
Campaign website address: MatsuiforCongress.com
Q. What steps will you urge to help reduce federal deficits?
The federal government must be able to provide for the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people. That is our fundamental responsibility.
Deficit reduction is critical, but it must be undertaken in a responsible, balanced manner that continues to make the investments necessary to grow our economy, create jobs, strengthen the middle class and move our country forward.
Q. What is your view on abortion rights? What would you want Congress to do now, if anything?
I am strongly pro-choice and am deeply concerned about the recent surge in abortion bans across 21 states. In Congress, I’m proud to contribute to leading efforts to protect and ensure access to reproductive health care.
I have cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, advocating for safe and legal abortion regardless of location or demographics.
The fight to preserve abortion access and reproductive rights nationwide is crucial, and I remain committed to these efforts.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
I support comprehensive immigration reform, such as the U.S. Citizenship Act, providing a path to citizenship, addressing root causes of migration and tackling the green card backlog.
Seeking asylum is not a crime, and I oppose the dehumanization of immigrants. I back legal pathways for immigration, working to support services for refugees while addressing underlying conflicts.
I have supported bills like the Reuniting Families Act and Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, and opposed the Trump administration’s border wall. Additionally, I advocate for humane treatment, oppose Title 42 expulsion overuse and support funding to address overwhelmed facilities.
I am also deeply troubled that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem so eager to scuttle real comprehensive immigration reform because having a problem to campaign on is more politically desirable than coming up with a solution.
Q. What should Congress’ next steps be in dealing with climate issues?
The climate crisis is an existential threat to our way of life — it is the defining challenge of the 21st century. That’s why I support an aggressive, whole-of-government approach to address this crisis. In Sacramento, we are already seeing these consequences. Wildfires and droughts followed by atmospheric rivers. That’s why I have always made it a priority to act on climate.
Sacramento is the core of the innovative policies in the state of California. Every day, we are an example that we can embrace bold climate solutions while creating good-paying jobs and growing our economy.
That is why I am spearheading efforts to put us on that path at the federal level. In Congress, we should prioritize an aggressive, whole-of-government approach to address the climate crisis, building on successful legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act.
Efforts should focus on inclusivity in the clean energy transition, creating jobs and cleaning up pollution. Ongoing support for nationwide regulations on emissions, the reauthorization of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act and advocacy for natural climate solutions, including tree planting initiatives, are crucial steps. We must ensure that the clean energy transition does not leave anyone behind.
David Mandel
Party: Democratic
Age: 72
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Residence: Sacramento, California
Occupation: Human rights attorney
Education: New York University (BA in Political Science and Near East Languages); Hebrew University of Jerusalem (JD-equivalent in Law)
Offices held: Elected delegate, Sacramento County, and California State Democratic central committees
Campaign website address: mandel4congress.org
Q. What steps will you urge to help reduce federal deficits?
First and foremost, I will push back on the conservative scare tactic telling us that deficits in and of themselves are dangerous. The Bee shared an excellent opinion piece from Bloomberg on the topic on Jan. 17, debunking the notion. She wrote that many of the “concerns about the size of the nation’s debt … are misguided and undermine a constructive conversation about the priorities for the country. Debt is neither inherently good or bad. As such, the question is not what’s the right level of borrowing, but rather what’s the economic return on the borrowing or the societal goals it advances.”
With that understanding, my primary mission will be to alter the federal government’s priorities and thus our societal goals. For instance, I will push for a significant reduction in military spending, which happens to be our largest deficit generator by far, eliminating waste (the Pentagon has failed audit after audit); ending support of dictators, human rights violators, occupations and wars of aggression around the world; and closing most foreign bases. This will, by the way, significantly contribute to the battle against global climate catastrophe, to which our military is the largest single contributor.
These resources could be redirected toward what our people actually need: health care, education, housing and infrastructure — and toward the massive global effort needed to reverse climate change.
I will fight for a fair and more progressive tax system that demands more from those who can afford it. This includes reversing the Trump tax cuts that benefited the wealthy, closing tax loopholes for corporations and finding the best ways to levy taxes on wealth — which unlike income, cannot be easily hidden or disguised.
Reversing the steady growth of inequality and ending poverty too would boost the economy and significantly reduce deficits.
Q. What is your view on abortion rights? What would you want Congress to do now, if anything?
Reproductive freedom is a fundamental human right, including free, safe and easy access to abortion for anyone who wants it. Government has no business regulating people’s personal decisions on pregnancy and childbirth.
I am deeply disappointed in the extremist Supreme Court’s rejection of precedent in overturning Roe v. Wade as well as President Joe Biden and many Democrats’ failure to proactively defend abortion rights, which most Americans clearly support.
Congress must act now to pass legislation such as the Women’s Health Protection Act to safeguard the right to abortion for future generations, ending the ability of states to restrict it, whether directly or by limiting access. It must also repeal the Hyde Amendment, which disproportionately impacts low-income individuals by restricting federal funding for abortion services, thereby ensuring that all people have unrestricted access to the health care they need.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
Immigrants who want to come to the U.S. should be welcomed, not stigmatized. The demagogues who preach xenophobia and manufacture “crises” must be exposed for their dangerous, opportunistic incitement.
When integrated successfully, immigrants enrich our society with their diversity — as was true for previous generations, when most of our ancestors arrived. They also play an invaluable role in filling the growing gap in America’s aging workforce.
I will advocate for comprehensive reform that addresses systemic issues in our immigration system: providing a clear and consistent pathway to citizenship for all immigrants, ensuring the swift and humane reunification of families that have been separated at the border and ending the criminalization of immigration violations, which ought to be a civil matter. I also support asylum law reform to create a more compassionate and efficient process. This includes ending backlogs, ensuring fair hearings and providing support services for those fleeing violence and persecution. I support the closure and dismantling of inhumane detention facilities, and advocate for alternatives to detention that prioritize human dignity and due process.
Finally, we must accept responsibility for creating conditions in many countries around the world that lead people to flee their homes not because they want to but for fear of tyrants, violence and dire poverty. It’s no accident that many of those arriving are from countries we have invaded, where we have supported wars, occupations, violent coups and corrupt rulers. If we end those policies and help repair damaged societies, far fewer desperate people will be clamoring to enter the U.S. — and some will be able to choose to return home safely.
Q. What should Congress’ next steps be in dealing with climate issues?
Congress must take radical action on climate change. I will fight for an immediate and full-scale Green New Deal not only as a “concept,” but transitioning to 100% renewable energy as quickly as possible and challenging the notion that we need perpetually growing economies. Market-based tools like a robust carbon pricing system can help reduce emissions in the short term, but without global regulation, national governments and corporations will stall as they continue to compete for profit from “their” fossil fuels. We see the results now: global failure to reduce emissions anywhere near as fast as scientists tell us is necessary to avoid climate breakdown.
We must aggressively regulate emissions, hold polluters accountable and invest massively in renewables, electrification and public transportation. We must also scale up conservation, focusing on reforestation and ecosystem protection. There must be a serious recommitment to meeting and exceeding our international climate obligations and environmental justice must be at the forefront of our policies to ensure a just transition for affected communities and workers. We need risk-informed and comprehensive resilience and adaptation measures, redirecting funds from bloated military budgets toward vulnerable communities at home and toward large-scale international aid for developing nations that have contributed little to the crisis and need to leapfrog past the era of fossil fuels.
We must be highly skeptical of technological miracles like “carbon capture” and “safe nuclear” that some polluters are pushing as they hope to delay the necessary fast phase-out of dangerous energy systems.
It’s time for a radical transformation of our global society, dismantling the systems that we know perpetuate climate change and prioritizing an attainable, sustainable and equitable future. Anything less is a betrayal of our planet and future generations.
Tom Silva
Party: Republican
Age: 63
Birthplace: Tracy, California
Residence: Galt, California
Occupation: Military & Veterans Program Coordinator at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California (March 2022-Jan. 2024); U.S. Army, retired
Education: San Joaquin Delta College (AS in Business Administration, AS in Accounting, AA in Interdisciplinary Studies); University of the Pacific (BS in Business Administration)
Offices held: Galt Joint Union Elementary School District Board Trustee, 2018-2022
Campaign website address: silvaforcongress.com
Q. What steps will you urge to help reduce federal deficits?
The federal government hasn’t had a balanced budget since 2001. Every year since then we have run a deficit to the point where the national debt is now over $34 trillion. And the trend continues: In fiscal year 2023, the federal government spent $1.7 trillion more than it brought in. We are creating a multi-generational debt that will saddle our grandchildren with problems they did not create. It needs to stop.
As a trustee on the Galt Elementary School Board, we had to balance our budgets annually. That meant prioritizing what was essential and eliminating what was not. I will do the same with the federal budget.
Q. What is your view on abortion rights? What would you want Congress to do now if anything?
The people of California passed Proposition 1 in 2022 enshrining in the state Constitution the right to legal and safe abortions. I have pledged to support and defend the constitutions of both the U.S. and the state of California and will do so even when my personal religious beliefs are challenged by that.
As the rest of the states are debating legislation post Roe v. Wade, abortion rights will continue to be part of a broader national discussion but, until the states have all had that opportunity to act, Congress should not be considering action.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
I support policy that promotes safe and secure borders. The current situation at the southern border has become a humanitarian crisis as well as a challenge to our national security. Current policy has created an environment where the most vulnerable are not protected from drug cartels and human traffickers. The influx of illicit drugs like fentanyl are a danger to the American public and have exacerbated the opioid epidemic.
We need to secure the borders and make the process of immigration safe for all.
Q. What should Congress’ next steps be in dealing with climate issues?
America continues to reduce carbon emissions while China and India steadily increase their carbon emissions. In 2023, China increased carbon emissions at twice the rate that the U.S. had decreased its emissions. Congress needs to hold our partners accountable when it comes to climate issues.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The answers to these questionnaires were originally edited to conform to Associated Press style guidelines on abortion. The language has been restored to the candidates’ unedited words.
