Jaron Brandon

Jaron Brandon earned a high school diploma from Sonora Union High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Merced in 2015. His career experience includes working as a public servant.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am not a status quo candidate. I was born and raised in a rural trailer park in Tuolumne County, and I was the first in my family to graduate college, earning my BA in Political Science from UC Merced. After several years working in technology, I came home and realized not just how much I loved being back, but the seriousness of the issues we faced and how out-of-touch our leaders had been idly watching it grow worse.

I ran against an incumbent and beat him by 19% in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1 — and I won with bipartisan support. I am now in my second term as a Tuolumne County Supervisor and previously served as Chair of the Board of Supervisors, the candidate here to have been a local official.

From collapsing systems and infrastructure, I have championed historic local investments in wildfire resilience, fire services, dispatch and law enforcement, broadband, roads housing, and homelessness response that have greatly improved these areas all while cutting overhead, consolidating administration, and putting money into a rainy day fund.

My record is one of working across party lines to deliver results for my community that are too often left out. Now, I am running for State Senate because all of rural California deserves a leader who will fight for our future, who doesn't come with just the right last name or rich friends but rather a real commitment to do the hard work for the right reasons. I am here to get it done.

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?

Rural California is being left behind, and our communities deserve a leader who will deliver real results in Sacramento. As a two-term Tuolumne County Supervisor, I have brought home historic investments in public safety, broadband, wildfire resilience, and housing. I know what it takes to deliver for small towns and working families. While my towns are now growing stronger, our young people across the larger region are leaving, our main streets are closing, and every year feels like just keeping our heads above water. I am running so rural California can have a history and a future.Working families are getting priced out of California, and that has to change. I am running on the Square Deal, a platform to make life cheaper, better, and more for the people who keep our state running. That means tackling the cost of housing, gas, childcare, fire insurance, and healthcare head-on. It means investing in our main streets, our roads, and our schools. It means raising wages, building all kinds of housing at scale, and putting working families ahead of speculators and Sacramento bureaucracy.Sacramento needs more practical problem-solvers, but it also needs more consideration and honesty and lived experience. Unlike my opponents, I know what it's like to rent and work retail and grow up low income in this district. I know the bitter disappointment many have in our divisive politics and do-nothing incumbents. I also know how to bring people together. Whether collaborating with labor and business on economic development, working with the Sheriff to rebuild a fully staffed department, or partnering environmental groups with industry on forest health, I focus on what works and what unites people. In me, you will always have an honest, accessinle representative fighting for us that doesn't put on pomp and pretense.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Rural California gets left behind in nearly every state policy conversation, and changing that is my driving passion. I am focused on wildfire resilience and the insurance crisis driving families from their homes. I care about housing affordability across the income spectrum, from supportive housing to affordable housing for regular working people. I am passionate about career technical education that gives young people career pathways without four-year debt, and about forest management and rural energy projects that create good jobs. Healthcare access in rural counties, where hospitals are closing and providers are scarce, is also a top priority.

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

Theodore Roosevelt, whose original Square Deal inspired the platform I am running on. Roosevelt believed government should be a fair referee for working families, not a tool for the powerful. He took on monopolies, protected workers, conserved our natural treasures, and built the kind of public infrastructure that defined American prosperity for a century. That practical, fair-minded, courageous vision is what California needs right now.

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

Integrity, humility, accessibility, honesty, and a willingness to do the hard work of governing. It is easy to make a headline or a photo op. It is hard to acheive real reofrm. Good officials listen well, show up consistently, treat every constituent with respect, and tell the truth even when it is uncomfortable. They read the actual bills and understand the consequences of their votes. They think and act strategically, and never forget the office isn't about them — it's about the people we represent.

I bring an uncommon track record of getting serious results in a politically diverse community. Policy is complex. My approach is always to dive in the weeds, ask all questions, learn all the ways to address something, break it down for everyday people, and then do what's needed to get results. A leader must also have the backbone to stand up to take heat for unpopular but needed decisions and push back against purely political pressures. I am willing to talk with anyone, find common ground, and build coalitions that deliver, and in this race, I not only bring the lived experience as a former retail employee, who rented and who grew up low income and struggles with these costs myself, but also the professional record that shows exactly what you're gonna get — more of the same dedicated, pragmatic, coalition-building work that fights for folks of the reasonable middle.

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

Listen to constituents, advocate for the district in Sacramento, fight like hell, vote thoughtfully on legislation, oversee and hold accountable state agencies and programs, celebrate and be present at our community events, get local priorities funded, and steward public resources with a watchful eye. A State Senator must be a connector, helping local governments, nonprofits, businesses, and residents navigate state systems and access resources. Ultimately, it means picking up, showing up, fighting for us, and doing the right and real work even when no one is watching. I want to be a leader that earns your respect and helps you whether you vote for me or not.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want rural California to have a future — homes we can afford, fire insurnace fixed to normal levels, and vibrancy on our main streets from new businesses and investments. I want us to have confidence we are on the upswing with new opportunities, not slowly declining. Rural communities deserve to reclaim our place in the California story, to not just have a history but a future too.

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

Working at a local laundromat as a teenager where I tamped dryers, swamped floors, and washed out machines each night and sold musical accessories next door on weekends. The guy's name was Woody and he had a very particular method to follow — I learned what it means to earn a dollar there, to have a boss, and how to help people selling guitars at our local family independent music shop next door. It shaped how I think about the working families I represent today.

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

Losing my mother to cancer was one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through. I was about 20, just having gone to college and though it has been over a decade now, it makes you think about life differently. She was sick for 6 years, and I try to remind myself of the many people who helped, who cleaned and cooked and spent time with her, who attended her "living wake" to say how much they loved her, the State Park insurance that covered most of her medical, her husband that stood by her to the end. For as tragic as it was, I am grateful for the time with her and those people being there for us.

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

Collaborative and rooted in mutual respect. The Governor serves a different role at a birds eye view. Whoever is elected Governor, my job is to represent my district and be our voice in Sacramento and their ear on the ground in our home. I will happily work with them towards that end. I am all for healthy disagreement, and I know we will find some, but the best outcomes come when both branches focus on solving problems and practical implementation rather than on political positioning. I'm not a fan of posturing. I am here to get things done.

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

Wildfire and the resulting fire insurance crisis is literally driving Californians bankrupt and fleeing to other states while our public forests and communities burn down. Bold, fundamental reforms for fire insurance and wildfire mitigation will be my top priority, and no other candidate running has stronger credentials to get this done.

Second, people need affordable homes. I know that struggle firsthand. Housing affordability and the cost of living is pushing working families out of the state, so I will work to hold utilities accountable, reduce red tape, speed up projects, identify waste, make government easier to deal with, and keep costs lower on Californians.

Third, safe healthcare and school access especially in rural areas is facing huge financial cliffs and resources are often scarce, be it Inyo County Mark Twain, or Patterson. We need maternity wards, good schools, cheap clinics, and flexibility on the unfunded mandates while fighting back against efforts to slash MediCal and the Department of Education. And we need resources that right now are being denied.

Fourth, adapting our water systems, broadband, roads, and energy grid to be reliable, resilient, and realistic. These systems face decades of deferred maintenace and long overdue delivery dates. We need to get projects flowing that fix things, not just create more paperwork.

Fifth, restoring public trust in state government and government as a whole. Slippery politicians, powerful rich elites, unfunded mandates that crush local governments, layers of process paperwork, language that dismisses the entire interior of the State — we have to earn back the People's confidence that we are doing their work with courage, fairness, efficiency, and honor.

One honorable mention is AI, potentially one of the most profound changes humanity has ever seen. I bring a generational perspective to what will be a thousand decisions to balance implementing it's help and value while protecting everyday people from mass disruption.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. I believe in trying to find consensus even when not strictly required, and supporting compromise in all things except in matters of principle. That is what actually moves the needle for us — not just shaking angry fists.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Statewide officials: Fiona Ma (California's 34th State Treasurer), Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, State Senator Bob Archuleta, Assemblymembers Patrick Ahrens, Pilar Schiavo, Blanca Rubio, and Tina McKinnor, and former CA Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

Labor endorsements: California Federation of Labor, UA Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 442 and 447, Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, AFSCME Council 1, AFSCME Council 57, IBEW Local 1245, LiUNA, Communication Workers, Boilermakers, CA Teachers, UAW, CA Faculty, CSEA, and Operating Engineers Local 3.