Suzanne Chenault

Suzanne Chenault graduated from Amador Valley High School. Chenault earned a graduate degree from San Jose State University in 1980, a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1985, and a graduate degree from Middlebury College in 2021. Chenault's career experience includes working as an attorney and professor.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Let me tell you about myself and my political priorities, which relate to

Constitutional rights and duties, our environment, our safety, and our quality of life, which includes

employment and work training, housing, affordable food, health care, schooling, including pre-

schooling. I feel in my heart a critical need for wisdom at this challenging moment in American

history – only weeks before the 250 th anniversary of the Adoption of the Declaration of

Independence on the Fourth of July 1776.

As a candidate for the House of Representatives, I am standing as an Independent,

beholden to no party but only to the constituents of the 14 th Congressional District and to the

principle of our US Constitution. As a graduate of Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, I

know the Tri-Valley well and greatly care about the people in this distirct. If elected, I shall

confer with wise, non-partisan, experienced advisors about the issues, local, national, and

international, that influence our daily lives, our democratic institutions, and the environmental

well-being of our country and of our planet.

I have attempted to make a positive difference in the world throughout my life. As a

human rights lawyer, working 17 years in a criminal court for the United Nations –

as a high school educator for 22 years, teaching critical thinking skills –

as a mother, adopting a young child who lost both his biological parents to poverty, disease,

and environmental hazards, I will strive for unity in

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?

The Constitutional rights and and financial well-being of my constituents in the 14th Congressional District and of our nation are of utmost concern to me. Congress must reasonably execute its responsibilites -- including its War Powers, as articulated in Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution. Congress must seriously consider the causes and consequences of entering into or withdrawing from international agreements. The trust of our citizens and of our international community is dependent upon the wise decisions of our House of representatives and Senate, consistent with our American democratic policies. Congress must transcend party politics to represent the interests of its American citizens, whatever race or creed.As of 2024, approximately 293,000 residents in our14th Congressional District are foreign-born. These tax-paying citizens represent 39.7% of our total population.

I oppose the profiling by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department(ICE) of anyone, whether or not she or he is foreign-born. I oppose the indiscriminate deportation of any one. I emphasize with the profound level of fear and human suffering of anyone who has been deported or has a family member who has been deported. Everyone, under our Constitution, is to be afforded fundamental human rights, which, under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, includes the right to an equitable defense – not mass incarceration followed by deportation.I support legislation – yet to be enacted – that requires complete transparency in identifying all sums bestowed to political campaigns, all donors’ names, and all names of corporate affiliations, including members of groups that donate to Super-PACs. Vested interests can significantly compromise the integrity of voting and the election of governmental representatives. As an independent candidate, with no financial support and no funds to pay even for a profile printed next to my name on the ballot, I am particularly curious about the political expectations of the donors. Like most voters, I need to be truthfully informed to able to critically analyze the issues that affect the well-being of our communities, our nation, and world.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about restoring the environment of community, about restoring personal interaction in service and business organizations. I am deeply concerned about our national customer cynicism that has developed because people have been replaced by machines. Like so many others who seek information and assistance, I have been placed "on hold", asked to push button 1 or 2 or 3 for different options, then wait for more than 30 minutes to possibly talk to a human being, who will not divulge her or his identity. Finally a voice suggests that I "go on line." I question the economic rationale at the expense of human relationships.