Nicolas Carjuzaa

Nicolas Carjuzaa earned a high school diploma from Alhambra High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Sonoma State University in 2013, a graduate degree from the Université Paris Nanterre in 2013, and a graduate degree from the University of Bristol in 2017. His career experience includes working as a principal analyst of international affairs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a first generation French-American citizen born and raised in the East Bay and a former international financial regulatory analyst for FINRA, a federally authorized regulatory organization. After graduating high school in Martinez, I finished my undergrad at Sonoma State University, traveled to France to complete a Master 1 in Business Management, and to the U.K. to complete my Masters in International Relations. I took my international education and experience in the private sector to build a career in public service at FINRA in New York City, and help regulate finance to benefit and protect working Americans, promote our markets, and hold bad actors accountable.

I am running for Congress because the United States is growing less affordable and more corrupt every passing year, in large part, because of national and global issues. I'm determined to help working people in our region succeed against these significant pressures. For us, that means fighting corruption in D.C., building affordable housing, developing universal healthcare, transitioning our economy from carbon fuels, reforming our immigration system, regulating AI and crypto, investing in our comparative advantages, protecting our farmers, and developing a wealth tax for the ultra-wealthy to help pay for our country's needs. To succeed, we will need a political agenda that prioritizes the working people who give the Bay its character and greatness, not the rich and powerful who think they built it.

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?

Most Americans now believe our government is corrupt. Unfortunately, this is based on a strong degree of truth. Elections are bought through SuperPACs while our representatives are insider trading. Lobbying and revolving doors allow industry to regulate our government, not the other way around. Our financial system concentrates wealth by extracting value from the working class. As a result, our political economy serves the wealthy, large corporations, and private interests rather than on behalf of the vast, vast majority of Americans. I will work to overturn Citizens United, ban stock trading in Congress, end all gerrymandering, and close revolving doors between industry and regulators.The state of housing in California is past the breaking point. The overwhelming cost of housing also means intransigent homelessness, young people cannot afford to start families, our elders are at risk of poverty in their retirement, and other unbearable cost of living conditions. Meanwhile, developers tend to only build either distant single-family housing that deepens sprawl, or dense, short-term apartment projects optimized for profit rather than long-term family life. I will work to phase out unfair deductions and loopholes that reward vacancy, rent extraction, and speculative investment incentives that prioritize quick returns over livable communities. We will restore housing’s true purpose: shelter, community, and stability.The state of healthcare in America is indefensible. Millions remain uninsured or underinsured, costs continue to skyrocket, and families face bankruptcy for simply getting sick. We are the only developed country with a system like ours and we shouldn't tolerate it. Employers and workers alike shoulder crushing premiums, while pharmaceutical and insurance companies extract billions in profit. Healthcare should not be a privilege, but a public guarantee. I will work to establish a universal, single-payer system, like "Medicare for All", reduce the price inefficiencies of middlemen and private insurers, negotiate fair drug prices, and tax billionaires to fund direct care, prevention, and medical innovation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My passion for anti-corruption is rooted in fixing the incentives of money that are shaping every problem in our country. I want to ban stock trading in Congress and reduce the influence of wealth in elections so that politicians stay focused on the public good, not private interests.

Our financial and tax systems aren't designed for working people and both need significant reforms. For example, consider housing as a public infrastructure problem that's been warped for speculative investments and financial gains.

Lastly, I am passionate about tying economic development to climate and infrastructure needs. I want to invest trillions of dollars into clean energy, electrified transportation, and opportunities for innovation.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Citizens' Impeachment: a nonpartisan movement with a unifying mission: to uphold the Constitution of the United States and impeach, convict, and remove officials who violate their oath of office, including Donald Trump and his enablers. https://citizensimpeachment.com/

Our Revolution East Bay: based out of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is a progressive political organization that emerged from the historic Bernie Sanders campaign. https://www.ourrevolutioneastbay.org/

Track AIPAC: a grassroots effort to reveal and counter the influence of AIPAC and the Israel lobby by systematically documenting their financial contributions to our federal officials. https://www.trackaipac.com/