Daniel Mercuri

Daniel Mercuri was born in Santa Ana, California. Mercuri served in the United States Navy from 1998 to 2003. He earned associate degrees in broadcast and communications from Los Angeles Valley College in 2006. Mercuri's career experience includes co-founding a production company and working as its CEO, as a partner and chief financial officer of a private investment group, an advertising professional, an author, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu professor, and a boxing coach. Mercuri has been affiliated with Veterans in Media and Entertainment (VME).[2][3]

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Video submitted to BallotpediaReleased March 23, 2025

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Daniel Mercuri is a Southern California Native, husband, father, small business owner, Author, and U.S. Naval veteran (former HS-4 Black Knight). He performed his duties as an Aircrew Search and Rescue (SAR) and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He was honorably discharged in 2003.

He is a former Congressional Candidate of CA. 25th District 2019-2020 Special Election, former CA. Gubernatorial Candidate of the 2021 Recall and 2022 CA. Prime, and is now declared for the 2026 gubernatorial election. Over the last 5 years, each race has taught Daniel to become, to what many of his supporters have come to recognize him as a ‘Constitutionalist.’ Because Daniel gained a deep understanding of how the malfeasance moves behind the political spectrum, he authored the book, ' Lucifer Zenith, Corrupting Nature's God Through Government Deception,' which reveals where the corrupt in government hides and operates.

“As a watcher on the wall, I cannot in good conscience do nothing with the knowledge that has been revealed to me. I cannot in good conscience let the people fall prey to the current government defecation. I must, it is my duty to sound the alarm.”

Daniel, like many who are tired of the political vitriol, is now more than prepared to bring the fight to the deplorable's doorstep!

"The people are not interested in new leadership, they demand new servants!"

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Returning California to its Golden State of MindStarve The Government, Feed The PeoplePrison is the Solution for Corrupt Representatives. Nothing Less Will Do.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Child Sex Trafficking - Abortions - Voter ID - Taxes - Illegal Aliens - Education - Homelessness - 2nd Amendment - Fires - Veterans - Police Reform - Water - Healthcare - Chemtrails

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Jesus is at the foundation of all who I am, and everything that I do.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"LUCIFER ZENITH, Corrupting Nature's God through Government Deception." This is the book I authored that is a culmination of my exposure to government depravity first hand that explains why the People's redress of grievances are falling on def ears, where the corrupt in government hide and operate, and how it all ties into the Bible and biblical prophecies.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

1) Honor. 2) Integrity. 3) Self Accountability. 4) Commitment. 5) Morality

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am not campaigning for the seat of governor to 'lead' the People, but to 'serve' the People. I am not set out to do the right thing, but to do the God-given constitutionally right thing already laid out by our forefathers. I aim to never fight for civil rights that are nothing more than immunity and privileges given out by the government, but to maintain unalienable Rights endowed by the Creator.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

1) To maintain Constitutional understanding. 2)To secure the Rights of the people deriving just powers from the consent of the governed. 3) Adhering to the Will of the People. 4) Operate only within the confines to the limitation of powers defined by the constitution, and 5) Stay true to ones oath

What legacy would you like to leave?

Legacy isn't up to me, nor is it a personal priority.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was at the age of 9 when the United States space shuttle "Challenger" exploded after liftoff in January, 1986.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job I ever had was being a Newspaper Boy at the age of 12 and held that job for about 2 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Bible. His words are the only words that can bring my spirit rest.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek, The Next Generation.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Running Up That Hill, by Kate Bush.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Fraudulent, rotten, and unethical government.

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

To investigate, indict, and imprison any government official or agency that would subvert the constitution and the state constitution by trying to change the language to change perception in order to pass repugnant legislation that would falsely operate under the color of law.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

Every state Chief Executor should be directly involved in 'removing' wasteful bureaucracy spending and to prevent the state from profiting or racketeering off of the people's hard earned efforts government had zero involvement in.

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

As the next California Governor come 2026, I will prevent all lobbyist accords that engage in the exploitation of the 'Contract Clause' be tied to any AB SB bill. Those bills are what force the people to maintain or pay on a profit margin that would coerce the state to be run like a business irrelevant if it is made in bad faith. Hence, the 'bullet train to nowhere!'

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

To safeguard vested authorities stay within the purview of their seat and that all actions within their just powers provide more liberties, not less, more prosperity, not infringement, greater equal opportunity, no equity, and an ever expansion to the pursuit of happiness, not regulatory over reach.

What do you love most about your state?

The people, the land, the ocean, the forestry, the weather when our skies are not sprayed, and the boundless amazing communities of unique cultures. If America is the melting of the world, California is the melting pot of the United States.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Government accountability. and removal of systemic career politicians. Under my administration, we will swiftly investigate, indict, and imprison politicians who have engaged in willful criminal misconduct and impropriety, violating their solemn oath of office.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

No branch of government has the right, as it so happens in California, to activate CESA (California Emergency Service Act) that provides broad, ambiguous consolidated vested authorities in the Chief Executor Branch.

Book 16, American Jurisprudence; Am. Jur. 2d, Sec.98 stipulates that, "an emergency cannot and no emergency justifies the violation of any of the provisions of the United States Constitution or States Constitution(s)." ... meaning no emergency has just cause to suppress the U.S. Constitution or state Constitution. Stay-at-home safe orders, health orders, and lock-downs were illegal. It was the job of government representatives to work around the People's Rights while dealing with an "emergency."

As the next California Governor come 2026, upon any new unfortunate crisis that may arise, I will operate within the confines to the limitation of vested authority and never obfuscate the sovereignty of the People.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Open the financial books on state agencies, commissions, and boards for public scrutiny. Eliminating further taxation without representation, and to never incur another future deficit the following generation has to pay off.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

California state constitution and the initiative process has been eroded away by degenerate appointed judges that, as governor, I will remove.

Article 2, sec. 1 is clear when it says, "ALL political POWER is inherent in the People." California has had too many rogue judges redefine this power and remove ballot initiatives that were properly executed by the People. I will use the under utilized "judicial performance committee," outlined in the California state constitution and scrutinize every judge who has engaged in fiduciary delinquency, abuse of vested authority, and criminal misconduct.

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean to you?

To never execute any law that is egregious to the supreme law of the land and to insure that the People's status remains above government at all times. To guarantee Rights are never turned into privilege.

Daniel Mercuri did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Mercuri's campaign website stated the following:

STATE TAXES / FEDERAL TAXES / AB 1253

Starve The Government and Feed The People

State taxes, federal income tax, and the national debt are synonymous. Our national debt, at the time of this writing, stands nearly at a disastrous 27 trillion dollar crisis. It would take close to $70 to $80,000.00 per every man, woman, and child in the United States which is roughly 330 to 375 million Americans, depending on the accuracy of the census, to payout and zero our ridiculous and unsustainable debt. So let’s be honest, this monstrosity is looming over every American who is overworked, underpaid, and a slave to the all mighty IRS, Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and the controversial 16th Amendment.

When we talk about ‘Income Inequality’ and argue about the 10% richest families over the 70% of our countries wealth, we act as though this is a separate issue. It’s not! The rich already pay 50% of their earnings, which is way more than the average and low income earners at 13%. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not how to rebuild the middle class and incentivize communities to get ahead if they know they too will have half their earnings stolen as their income increases. This is an extremely tyrannical approach to solving this problem. Our income inequality is also at the mercy and manipulative hands of the Federal Reserve and private bank shareholders where there is no oversight and they are at the helm of our national debt. Sadly, we have a Congress that lacks the spine to take on these private bank shareholders and eliminate their control over our people. The American people paid off their national debt at one time in 1834 and taxes only revolved around tariffs and excise tax apportioned to the state’s population. When the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 came into play, it infringed on our sovereignty and our freedoms ultimately leading us into our national debt.

California has the highest minimum statewide sales tax rate in the United States, at 7.5%, combined with local sales tax can climb as high as 10.5% and went up by 4.7% percent between 2019 and 2020. California has some of the highest state income tax rates at 13.3% depending on your bracket of earnings. This is another example of the rich paying out more already than lower incomes. AB 1253 (introduced by Assemblyman Miguel Santigo) passed the new law that raised taxes from 13.3% to 14.3% for income over 1 million and to 16.8% to those earning over 5 million. Many of these top earners and many business owners are closing up shop and leaving California. This has added to higher levels of unemployment in a time that California needs to full open up and loosen the taxes and burdens on businesses across the board. Government intervention is never the answer. An unmolested free market has always been the best solution to economic recessions and depressions. This is a prime example of California state fiscal mismanagement and their solution is “higher taxes?”

On another front, the argument regarding which U.S. President increased the national debt that pressures every state citizen for more money after their term of office, is something we all fail to realize isn’t where the fault rests, but upon the 117th Congress which is the oldest in history. Many representatives have been sitting in office for over 30 to 40 years. These current elected officials have served through 3 to 5 Presidents. So now ask yourself, who really are the culprits behind the screw up of our economy? The Legislative branch is the strongest branch holding the most power among the three branches of government. You may still argue that the fault rest upon the President, so then let’s look at some of our past U.S. Presidents and the debt they left in their wake that state tax paying citizens get to pay off.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: He increased the national debt by 236 billion dollars. This was an increase of over 1000% from the previous President, President Hoover.

Woodrow Wilson: He increased the national debt by 21 billion dollars, increasing it by over 700% from the previous President, President Taft.

Ronald Reagan: He increased the national debt by 1.86 trillion dollars. This was an increase of over 150% from the previous President, President Carter.

George W. Bush: He increased the national debt by 5.7 trillion dollars. This was an increase of over 100% from the previous President, President Clinton.

Barack H. Obama: He increased the national debt by 9 trillion dollars. This was an increase of over 74% from the previous President, President Bush.

Yet behind all of these President’s, the Congress we have today are the real reasons why we have an unbalanced budget that the next 5 generations have to somehow pay off, default on the debt, go into hyper-inflation, or be slaves to. This has gotten out of hand. States are pressured by this debt along with their own mismanagement of fiscal policy. While current officials both at the state and federal level point the finger at each other, continuously raise the debt ceiling, or increase state taxes to no end, the people are asking, ‘how are we going to safeguard ourselves against the the debt which is the proverbial pink elephant in the room?’

AS GOVERNOR I WOULD PROPOSE A BILL(S) THAT WILL AFFECT STATE AND FEDERAL TAXES

In order to starve the government and feed the people, we need to minimize the sales tax by cutting it by half. This would cut sales tax from 7.5% to 3.25% combined with local taxes that would normally be 10.5%, we could then bring sales tax down to 5.25%.

Roll back and repeal on AB 1253 and cut the wealthy tax by half. This would bring down the 13.3% and 16.8% to 6.65% and 8.4.%. Government does not have the right to punish the wealthy because the state government mismanages its own fiscal policy.

Challenge the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. As a state, California can bring this issue to the forefront and go toe to toe with the Federal Government and the Central Banks who have been at the epicenter of our economic manipulation and they need to be removed and allow the free market to take over.

Align with Federal Representatives to push and expedite bills H.R. 24 and 25 which abolishes the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and repeals the Income Tax Act while allowing for the national sales tax to be administered by the states. This may also bring upon the State of California to perform a nullification of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 since it is NOT in agreement with the supreme laws of the land.

Implement a cap on state government spending that would only allow the incurring of a debt that could be paid off in one generation. If the next generation has to pay for it, then the state doesn’t have the funds to spend it.

Educate Californians on what the people can do to hedge a potential economic collapse by encouraging the investment of precious metals (i.e. gold, silver, and palladium) along with new commodities such as digital crypto-currencies (i.e. Bitcoin, Etherium and Monero). Like gold, Bitcoin is not only scarce in digital nature, but it also has intrinsic cyber value and can be used as a currency in the buying and selling of goods and services that eliminate the need for a central bank and puts banking back into the people’s hands.

Reclassify the state under proper common law jurisdiction and advance an R.O.E. (Revocation Of Election) Apparatus as a state against the Federal Reserve’s uncouth and unhinged taxation over California sovereigns.

CALIFORNIA GUN LAWS / 2ND AMENDMENT

Criminals Don’t Care About State or Federal Gun Laws

California already has some of the most aggressive laws regulating the use, selling, and purchasing of guns that undermine the 2nd Amendment. California has implemented a staggering 15 new gun laws in 2020, 9 in 2021 such as AB 12, AB 1968, and SB 61 to name a few. Most of these are 'Red Flag’ laws that address people who are assumed to be at extreme risk of committing violence towards other people and/or themselves. A major problem with these ‘red flag’ laws is that they induce a ‘pre-crime’ reaction which is unconstitutional. We don’t arrest people or take away their rights for a crime that hasn’t taken place.

Sadly, these gun laws predominately negatively effect the law biding citizen, not the criminal. Our current gun laws do not address the already thousands of guns floating around on the streets, online dark-web purchases, or the lack of compliancy from gun retailers. Most criminals will buy a gun from the black market, steal the gun, drive it in from another state from where gun laws are less stringent or build a ghost gun, which is ordering parts on-line and piecing it together. These actions alone undermine the state’s efforts to positively enforce effective gun laws in place now.

We need to also be very careful about the words we use in trying to bring measures towards ‘assault weapons’ or ‘assault rifles.’ Please name any assault weapon or assault rifle that wasn’t designed to assault? Ambiguity is the enemy in that phrase. We need to do a better job at preserving our ‘right to bear arms’ and stop the dilution of our 2nd Amendment.

So what protective measures do we take to stop the ‘criminal’ and positively empower the law-abiding citizen?

AS GOVERNOR I WOULD PROPOSE A BILL(S) THAT WILL AFFECT THE CRIMINAL

1. Any gun used in a crime, should be charged and held under similar restriction as cyber crimes, 18 U.S.C s 1030(e)(1). They must subject themselves upon release to probational computer monitoring, be registered like sex offenders are, and be held to the same type of scrutiny.

2. Increase fines, longer community service laboring, and longer sentences for both adults and juveniles.

AS GOVERNOR I WOULD PROPOSE A BILL(S) THAT WILL PROTECT LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS

3. Become a more ‘Stand Your Ground State.’ Loosen and expand the ‘Castle Law’ to tie into the ‘Good Samaritan Law’ for law-abiding citizens when a self-defense gun action has taken place in their home or on their property, but also to a neighboring home that may be in distress, which should then be handled on a case by case basis.

4. Nullify all unconstitutional pre-crime red flag laws.

SB 145 / SEX OFFENDERS REGISTRATION ACT & CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING

Who Will Our Children Run To When Our Laws Don’t Protect Them

I’ve read the State Senate floor notes on SB 145 and it is extremely misleading. This bill was spearheaded by State Senator Scott Wiener who I am regularly disgusted by. He consistently shows bizarre patterns of behavior by always trying to lower the age of a minor towards engagement(s) with adult activities. The reason why I say the bill is misleading is simple. You have to look at the language political officials use to confuse the masses.

Senator Scott Wiener, in his own words recently tweeted:

Senator Wiener used the phrase and words, “young people (ppl) who have ‘consensual’ sex w/ a person age 15-17 must register, whereas similarly situated straight young people (ppl) don’t have to.” The word “young people (ppl”) is subjective! He also combines that phrase with “consensual” sex w/ a person age 15-17. Notice he doesn’t say the word ‘minor’ or ‘child’ or ‘children’ because there is no such thing as a consenting minor with an adult because they are minors. Last time I checked, teenagers 15-17 are still minors and are still children who are not yet legal adults. The phrasing is designed to make you think the bill is about two consenting minors, hidden in the guise of discrimination with the LGBTQ+ community “young people.” See what he did there?

The debate is between adult homosexual anal / oral minor intercourse vs. heterosexual vaginal intercourse that are not judged the same. This bill does not equalize criminal behavior on both for wrongful engagement with a minor. Instead, the bill lightens the judicial punishment and now permits a 10 year age gap not to go beyond 14 years of age, between adult and minor sexual criminality so long as the minor is “consensual” or “voluntary” which is left to a judge’s discretion. This is sick! What’s next? A 15 years gap? How about 20 years? This is another boiling frog syndrome to warm the people up to the idea that this has nothing to do with pedophile tendencies or turning our children into adults before they are adults. This needs to stop!

The line in the sand has already been drawn for what is considered an adult beginning at 18 years of age in the State of California. The law does not recognize a minor’s intent as legal consent because the responsibility falls on the legal adult. Too many exceptions throughout America have been made, such as the ‘Romeo and Juliet Law’ which allows for some leeway (i.e. high school sweethearts). These watered down laws protecting our children have now led California down a very slippery slope. This dilution of the registry act opens up the door of opportunity to be exploited. How? The dismissive behavior of the increase and intensity of child sex trafficking.

Our children have almost nowhere to run to when the governments of the world, much like Scott Wiener, have allowed their perversions to steal the innocents of those who should be protected at the highest cost.

AS GOVERNOR I WOULD VETO / REMOVE THIS BILL AND PROPOSE A NEW BILL(S) TO AFFECT SEXUAL CRIMINALITY AGAINST MINORS AND OF CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING

1. In the State of California, the age 18 needs to be reaffirmed with harsher punishment that once you are 18, a ‘Hands Off No Exceptions Act’ should be established when an adult and minor sexual engagement has transpired irrelevant of sexual orientation to mitigate argumentative discrimination attempts to undermine it.

2. Incorporate into California’s educational curriculum, mandated classes on laws against sex crimes to better educate our children to empower their understanding and safeguard their future against potential predators.

3. I will create a task force that will lead public investigations, to the fullest extent, that will look into ALL of our state’s representatives in EVERY branch that have turned a blind eye, passed laws, or protected the criminal instead of the child when it comes to the sex trafficking of children and excusal of pedophiles hiding within our government. Arrests, trials, and the harshest of punishments will be made under my administration beginning on day one!

4. Every shipping container will be inspected before the containers can be off loaded with the help of public volunteers comprised of human and child sex trafficking preventative committees and organizations. These groups will be granted full access to mitigate shore dock personnel having ties to underground cartels engaging in trafficking.

DEFUNDING THE POLICE / POLICE REFORM

I Do Not Support Defunding The Police. Period!

I am fortunate to have family who serve on The Thin Blue Line. I’ve gone on a few ride-alongs and watched them perform their duties admirably. They risk their lives everyday and I couldn’t be more proud. But you don’t hear about how well they performed their jobs because it wasn’t sensational enough to be on the 7 o’clock news. The majority of everyday folk don’t hear about, see, or experience the dangers these brave men and women endure. That’s because the media paints our police officers in the worst kind of light.

The last thing we want to do is defund our law enforcement. They, like many Americans, are overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. Most people don’t realize the lack of funding police officers get. They end up using their own money to get the job done and never ask for that money to be paid back. It just comes with the territory.

I hear the argument that defunding the police is really about funding other social community programs that can better help our neighborhoods filled with crime. I’m not opposed to that. I’m opposed to using money that would have otherwise gone to the police departments and shift resources over to potentially untested city programs that might otherwise be wasted. The problem is, people are never going to call a social worker to stop a crazed man shooting up a fast food restaurant, or two armed suspects that are strung-out on flakka. I can go on all day with scenarios, I’ve seen it, but the point is the police are the first on the scene and they are the ones picking up the pieces left behind after a shooting spree.

I do however, support reform. But, what in the hell does that look like? Keep in mind, police officers are the ones who have to be a social child psychologist when they have to pick up a child crying over their parent who just got randomly shot by some thug. They have to be stunt drivers in order to catch a kidnapper racing down a highway at disastrous speeds with someone else’s child in that getaway car. They have to pull on their Wyatt Earp skills in the middle of a high school shootout where other teenagers hunker down in hopes they don’t get killed in the crossfire. They have to be EMT’s when someone’s grandparent is having a heart attack and the ambulance is 20 minutes out. They have to magically pull out their suicide hot-line capabilities and talk someone down from jumping off a bridge. They have to be crowd control and street lawyers, party poopers and babysitters. And sadly, we expect our officers to become Bruce Lee or Ip Man when they are challenged with people so high on drugs it would almost appear that those nut jobs have super human strength, but don’t worry, your police officer has it all under control. They have to perform under such duress, we the people expect them to do it all with a smile. Nonsense!

AS GOVERNOR I WOULD PROPOSE LAW ENFORCEMENT REFORM THAT WILL PROTECT OUR PEACE OFFICERS

Ensure better funding to be allocated out to programs that would increase law enforcement departments’ ability to handle multiple types of scenarios during their watch. Not all precincts can match major metropolitan cities that have greater funding to create departments that officers can specialize in.

Peace officers are executors of the law, not private security. Only a reasonable amount of law enforcement units should be allocated out as security detail to local, state, or federal representatives. If more is needed, representatives can hire private bodyguards and as Governor, I will ensure this.

A more balanced initiative for the needs every city and county requires to maintain their area of civility should be standardized.

Police academies are only 6 months long. If a medical student has to attend 4 to 10 years of training before they can become an official doctor, a lawyer has to attend up to 7 years before they can practice law, then why not a police officer? We need required extended training for at least another 6 to 9 months before being granted a badge, a gun, and the power to arrest or perform investigations.

Extended training should require on the job training in respective fields they have to deal with for a minimum of 1 to 2 month each (i.e. EMT, fire department, social work, dispatch, homeless, Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/ hand-to-hand combat, suicide hotline, drug addiction programs, reformed gang member training, etc.).

As Governor, I will not allow for disciplinary police officers to transfer from precinct to precinct, whether in state or from out of state. Repeat disciplinary police off