Meet The Candidate: Eric Swalwell

LIVERMORE, CA — Ballots for the March 5 primary are being mailed out, and voters may be confronted with many names or offices they don't know about. Patch reached out to all the candidates running for major legislative seats that represent the Tri-Valley. Below, read about Eric Swalwell, the incumbent Democratic candidate running for re-election to represent California's 14th Congressional District, which includes Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward, Union City, Castro Valley, and parts of Dublin and Fremont.

If you would like to submit a candidate profile, see here, or email michael.wittner@patch.com. Answers are not edited.

Eric Swalwell

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

https://www.ericswalwell.com

What city or town do you live in?

Livermore

What office are you seeking?

Congress, District 14

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Now let's work on your biography, beginning with your education.

University of Maryland School of Law

What is your occupation?

Member of Congress

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

wife Brittany, children Nelson, Cricket and Hank

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Dublin City Council

How old will you be as of Election Day?

43

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I would like to continue my work to prioritize the health, safety, and financial well-being of my constituents. I will also continue to prioritize funding for local infrastructure, including Valley Link.

What do you think are the top three issues for voters in this election, and how do you plan to address them?

Public safety: I’ve been pretty open about my thoughts on the state of crime and prosecutions in our community. I believe in restorative justice, but I’m not blind to the fact that violent crime has risen sharply throughout the East Bay. One specific piece of that puzzle is organized retail theft. I’m working on bipartisan legislation called the Organized Retail Crime Task Force Act, that would create a federal government task force to work with local law enforcement and prosecutors to bring cases against perpetrators to trial.

Safeguarding Democracy: Our country was brought to the brink of crisis in January 2021. We continue to face forces that literally question the wisdom of our system of democracy and accept that a leading candidate for president states that they will be a dictator on day one of their term. Democracy takes work. Through my work on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees in Congress, I am working to ensure that Americans continue to have access to the ballot box and that their government remains accountable to the people.

Cost of Living: Living in the heart of the Bay Area is expensive. One of the groups hit hardest are our teachers. They are already underpaid and providing services that are so essential to the future of our kids, community and country. I plan to reintroduce my Educator Down Payment Assistance Act, which would require the Department of Education to award grants for assisting elementary and secondary school educators with the purchase of their first home. Over 43 million Americans have federal student loan debt. This debt continues to hold back our economy. That’s why I’d like to see student loan interest be brought to zero. This Congress, I’m planning to reintroduce legislation that will refinance the interest rate of all federal student loans to zero percent and cap interest rates for future borrowers.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My experience as a former prosecutor, local city council member and now almost a dozen years as a Member of Congress.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I want the community to know that Valley Link is still one of my top local priorities. So much of our quality of life is impacted by the time we spend on the roads and away from our families. When it comes to fruition, Valley Link could take 30,000 commuters off of our roads each day. That would relieve congestion in our communities, improve air quality, and create 22,000 jobs during construction. I am also utilizing my position as a co-lead of the Homeland Security subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection to inform my constituent business owners of steps they can take to protect themselves from cyber threats and hardening the utilities and infrastructure we rely on every day to protect it from bad actors at home and abroad.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Last Congress, I passed the Homicide Victims Families Rights Act. It allows families to request that a loved-one’s murder case be reopened after it has gone cold for a period of three years. While that law covers federal cases, I’m happy to see legislation emerging on the state-level that mirrors that access to more victims’ families. Helped secure over $32 billion in grant funding for the State of California through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $28 billion for road and bridge repair, $1.5 billion for infrastructure at airports, and $220 million for EV charging stations. Funds have already started to reach the East Bay to help modernize bus and bus facilities, improve highway safety, and to support and accelerate transit projects. I’m also very proud of the funding we’ve been able to secure for the district. In FY22 and FY23, I worked to secure a combined $26,525,000 in funding for local community projects. Those projects include youth centers, water infrastructure improvements, and emergency call center improvements, among others.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

God gave you two ears and one mouth. Listen more than you speak -- my mom