Jim Garrity

Jim Garrity earned a bachelor's degree in business management and a master's degree in public administration from San Francisco State University. Garrity's career experience includes working as a police officer and a police detective.[1]sentence[2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I spent thirty-three years as a Police Officer, retiring as a San Francisco Police Department Inspector (Detective) in the Major Crimes Unit. For my final fifteen years with SFPD, I worked (as an Inspector) Major Crimes on the graveyard shift, plainclothes, citywide.

I have lived in San Carlos over thirty years. I am married and the father of three. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Master’s in Public Administration, both from San Francisco State University.

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?

Cost of Living and Housing:Families in CA-15 are being squeezed by rising costs—housing, groceries, healthcare, gas—while paychecks fall behind. Good-paying jobs are too scarce, and people just want prices that make sense. I’ll fight reckless federal spending that fuels inflation and hits families hardest at the grocery store, gas pump, and pharmacy.Housing is at the center of this crisis. Decades of red tape and policy failure have driven costs up and pushed families out. I support cutting permitting delays, protecting local zoning control, and expanding public-private partnerships to build housing that families can affordPublic Safety and Immigration: It is the main job of our elected officials is to keep the public safe. We all deserve to feel safe in our homes and neighborhoods. I will support fully funding law enforcement while opposing policies that allow repeat offenders back on the streets. The fentanyl crisis has devastated San Mateo County and San Francisco, with record deaths—this demands immediate action.On immigration, we must be clear and practical. If you are here illegally and committing crimes here, you should be deported—no debate. But if you are working hard, staying out of trouble, trying to better yourself and your family, you should be left alone. The priority is simple: keep our communities safe by going after criminals.Healthcare and Protecting Our Seniors:Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits, and I will never vote to cut them—no reductions to benefits, eligibility, or coverage. But we must address long-term funding challenges now, not later. I’ll work across the aisle to protect every dollar seniors earned and ensure these programs remain strong for future generations.Healthcare must be affordable and accessible. No one should go broke because they got sick or have to choose between care and bills. I will fight to lower costs on healthcare—especially prescription drugs, which are far higher here than anywhere else—and support more choice in coverage, with greater state flexibility to meet the needs of local communities.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Bipartisan action in Congress is a cornerstone of public policy. But today Congress is fractured. Elected representatives too often vote strictly along party lines, putting party interests ahead of the needs of their district and their country. That must change. As your Congressional Representative, I will work across the aisle. When good legislation emerges that benefits this district and the nation, I will support it, regardless of which party it comes from. Cooperation, not division, is how we move forward.

Jim Garrity did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Garrity's campaign website stated the following:

CURRENT ECONOMY

I will fight to see that the health of our current economy improves. Gas prices, food prices, and skyrocketing inflation are creating major hardships for residents of our district, state, and country. I believe the United States should be energy independent. I also believe that supply chain issues need to be addressed immediately.

CRIME

Crime across our country is out of control. Over the past few years, crime rates have increased dramatically in the Bay Area, including in District 15. As a former police officer, I believe that the police need to be provided the tools, support, and full funding to successfully serve their communities. For San Francisco voters in District 15, I support the Recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. He is terrible for the city, and his policies are dangerous for the residents and visitors of San Francisco.

OPIOID FENTANYL EPIDEMIC

The Opioid Fentanyl overdose death rate in the United States is appalling and is hitting our communities hard. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people in San Francisco have died of an opioid overdose than of COVID-19. During the same time in San Mateo County, more people under the age of fifty have died of an opioid overdose than have died of COVID-19. These preventable deaths can no longer be ignored, and I am prepared to deal with this epidemic immediately.

HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness is a problem in District 15 and has been for many years. Our federal, state, and city officials have spent an absurd amount of taxpayer dollars on programs designed to reduce the homeless rates in our district but have nothing but a worsening crisis to show for it. The mentally ill and drug-addicted individuals who currently suffer from homelessness in our communities need to be assisted by the government-funded agencies that were created to help. These agencies and the people who work for them need to do their jobs without delay. Then there is enforcement; I believe humane enforcement should be used when necessary. We cannot allow or incentivize individuals to set up residency on our sidewalks, streets, parks, etc. I do not believe it is ethical to allow a person to do this, nor do I think it is fair to our residents and business owners who use these spaces legitimately.[3]

—Jim Garrity's campaign website (2022)[4]