Derek Warriner

Derek Warriner earned a bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University. His career experience includes working as a healthcare executive.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a father, a community leader, and for the last 15 years an executive in the healthcare industry. While I’ve demonstrated consistent and sustained success in the business world over that time, I also know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck. Before my opportunity in the healthcare industry came along, I worked an array of jobs that span an idiosyncratic spectrum of professional experience: server, bartender, actor, reality TV show contestant, fundraiser, and newspaper ad salesman.

I take great pride in my role as the provider for my family and I understand the urgent drive of a parent to ensure a good life for their children. I also know what it’s like to work for tips. I’ve experienced the stress and anxiety of daily life without any health insurance. I know firsthand the soul-crushing indignity of filing for unemployment.

Representing constituents in a democracy necessarily involves representing the interests of a wide range of citizens and their interests. Rich and poor. Healthy and sick. Young and old. Republican and Democrat. And I believe the range and diversity of my own lived experiences has endowed me with the qualities we should all expect from our public servants: understanding, empathy, and integrity.

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?

We need high-integrity leaders who will show up in their communities, listen to the concerns of their constituents, and build substantive solutions that directly address those concerns. I am that kind of leader. I believe deeply that the role of a public servant is simple: do the most good for the most number of people possible, regardless of who they are or what they believe.Our founders knew that the only way to ensure the long-term survival of democratic self-government was to build a robust culture of informed and engaged citizens. The concept of citizen engagement as a guiding principle has lost the power and influence it once held in American society. This lack of engagement is both a symptom and a cause of our current crisis.

In response to this crisis, I feel called to do my part as an American citizen and work to ensure my daughters grow up with the same rights and opportunities I did. Political engagement for me will be running for public office and along the way I hope to encourage and inspire others to find their own form of citizen engagement.I believe in the America envisioned by our founding fathers: a country by the people, for the people, where everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Right now, we have leaders that aren't concerned with the needs of the people. They continue to advocate exclusively for massive corporations and the ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else. And they are manipulating election maps to stay in power. As your Representative, I will fight for the general welfare of our entire community and work to build a fair and transparent government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public school education, broadening access to affordable healthcare, the affordability crisis in our community, and the preservation of our Constitutional Republic and democratic norms and traditions.