Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 41; Democratic Party

As our next Assembly Member, Shawn Casey O'Brien will . . .

Protect the Social Safety Net

Many critical social programs, that not only protect the most vulnerable among us, but also build and sustain the middle class, are threatened by the Governor. The Governor's budget proposes suspending a $200 million cost of living increase in benefits to seniors and the disabled. As our population ages, more and more people will need these programs, and Shawn will lead the fight to preserve, strengthen and expand these vital programs and services.

Provide Universal Health Care

Shawn will fight to give Californians universal health care so that everyone can get the treatment they need. Our nation's health care system is a disgrace. If Shawn is elected, he will do everything he can to provide universal health coverage for Californians. This is critical so that no one is denied proper health care, and no parent has to decide between a doctor visit for their child or paying the rent.

Ensure Tax Fairness

Shawn wants to stop Sacramento from mortgaging the future of our children with endless borrowing and to ensure a more progressive tax structure. Our current tax policies have caused too much of the tax burden to fall disproportionately on the backs of middle class taxpayers. Shawn believes that a more progressive tax structure will ensure that the most fortunate among us carry their fair share of the burden.

Fight for Clean Campaigns

Shawn wants to ensure that people of modest means, like him, are not kept out of the political process just because they do not have a large bank account. An early proponent of the California Clean Money Initiative to bring about public financing of campaigns, Shawn will fight for comprehensive campaign finance reform that provides public funding. He wants to see public campaign financing so that the voters have more influence than the lobbyists.

Secure our Elections

As a member of the Secretary of State's Task Force on Touch Screen Voting, Shawn fought for and got an Accessible Voter Verified Paper Trail on every electronic voting machine placed into state law. This law guarantees that every Californian's vote is cast, recorded and counted the way the voter intended. In order to further strengthen the security and accuracy of electronic voting machines, Shawn Casey O'Brien believes in "open code" to bring more transparency into the process.

Care for Our Environment

With Shawn, protecting our environment is a family tradition. As a Michigan State Senator, Shawn's father wrote Michigan's first environmental protection and conservation laws in 1964. Over the years, these laws became the template for many other such state laws across the nation. Shawn has lived near the ocean for the past 30 years because he respects, appreciates and enjoys our environment. As a long-time disabled activist, Shawn also recognizes that pollution in our air, water and soil causes significant health problems, primarily to children, seniors and those with disabilities. We must protect the health of every Californian, and one important step is to reduce diesel and other ozone-forming emissions and promote alternative fuels. Shawn has every intention of following in his father's footsteps to protect our environment, for the sake of our environment and future generations.

Alleviate Traffic

Shawn is a strong advocate for improving public transportation choices throughout Southern California. He will work to help Mayor Villaraigosa extend the Red Line along Wilshire Boulevard to the sea. Shawn is also committed to ensuring that we continually maintain the long life of our transportation infrastructure, and do not redirect highway taxes away from freeway maintenance resulting in more deterioration and increased repair costs. Shawn is also committed to finding solutions to the traffic congestion on our freeways and poor traffic flow on many surface streets.

Strengthen our State's Infrastructure

Shawn supports rebuilding the physical infrastructure of our state, such as our roads, bridges, freeways. But unlike the Governor, Shawn does not want to do it with senseless borrowing that would indebt our children and grandchildren for generations. Passing an oil severance tax, and addressing other inequities in our tax system will free up funds to strengthen our state's infrastructure before it crumbles around us.

Promote Quality Education

As the only industrialized democracy that doesn't provide free higher education for all its citizens I am dedicated to fulfilling Gov. Pat Brown's dream of making sure that every student has a full and fair shot at getting an academic or trade school education. If we our current tax system, we could do exactly that and still maintain a healthy budget surplus. Shawn knows that the return on such an investment in our young people would be felt for decades, as California's best and brightest spur economic growth through their brains, imagination and creativity. Without such an investment, our state and our nation will be the big loser in the global economy of the 21st Century.

Address Homelessness and a Lack of Affordable Housing.

To address the state's lack of affordable housing, Shawn knows that we need to reconsider the way we distribute our sales tax. Right now California returns it to the county from which it is collected. If, however, we distributed the sales tax according to population we would see local governments and developers put a premium on affordable housing in order to increase population. This along with "one stop" 24-hour centers to handle the many homeless individuals with mental health concerns will do much to mitigate homelessness.

VOTE FOR SHAWN CASEY O'BRIEN IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ON JUNE 6TH