Election 2022: Jones, Kiley meet for seat in California's new 3rd Congressional District

In less than two weeks on Election Day, Auburn-area voters will decide upon new representation in Congress. Thanks to the census and redrawing of political districts, Placer County now sits in California's 3rd Congressional District, which does not have an incumbent. More than half of the voters in this district live in Placer County. The new district also represents areas of Sacramento, Nevada, El Dorado, Plumas, Inyo, Mono, Yuba, Sierra and Alpine. While a federal congressional seat typically focuses on national-level politics, the Auburn Journal reached out to the two candidates to ask them questions that would be of interest to Auburn voters specifically. These are their answers: Kermit Jones Occupation: Internal Medicine Physician Experience: Navy veteran who deployed to Iraq twice as a combat surgeon; physician for 17 years, practicing for over 5 years in Northern California What are your main priorities for representing California's 3rd Congressional District? For me, it's never been about politics, it's about keeping the oaths I made to my patients and our country. But I have watched the rising cost of living and devastating forest fires make life unaffordable and uncertain for too many Californians, all while career politicians in Washington and Sacramento play politics and put themselves and extreme out of touch policies first. In Congress, I will take a new oath – to bring service-oriented leadership to Washington. It will be my priority to tackle inflation, the rising cost of living and the threat of wildfires. As a veteran who deployed to Iraq with a Marine helicopter squadron to protect our freedom, and a doctor who has treated over 20,000 patients, I will work every day to bring leadership and integrity to public service, protect every woman's right to her own medical decisions, work every day to lower the cost of healthcare, and protect Medicare and social security for all Americans. What will you do to ensure the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will continue to maintain the Auburn Shaded Fuel Break? Our federal and assembly representatives have not taken the threat of wildfires seriously for too long and because of that they have risked our vital highway 80 corridor, the Union Pacific Railway, Colfax Water Treatment System, Kinder Morgan petroleum pipeline and over $2.3 billion in assets in the area. In Congress I will work to get more federal grants fast tracked to the area to complete this 17 mile fuel break, continue to remove ladder fuels, and keep our communities safe. The recent Mosquito Fire was a harmful warning of how quickly our communities can be overtaken by wildfire. I will make sure the federal government is doing its part to keep us safe. How will you work to protect communities, and Auburn specifically, from the threat of wildfire? First, I will work alongside other Western states to add a federal tax rebate for people to harden homes and create defensible space, helping communities lower fire insurance premiums and creating a federal fire insurance plan. Second, I will hold the federal government and President Biden accountable on funding and reducing red tape for forest fuel reduction–the kind that could have helped stop Grizzly Flats from burning. My goal will be for them to fast track fuel reduction projects to approvable within 18 months. Third, I will fight to ensure the federal government adopts a policy of taking responsibility for federal lands, and when it can't, that it leases those lands to states and local governments to manage and lower risk. If elected, how do you plan to remain accessible to your constituents? I will hold monthly virtual and in person town halls like the one we just held last week on our federal fire insurance plan. I will keep these open for all constituents, regardless of your political party. If you live in California's 3rd District, my job will be to represent you and I will ask you your opinion on legislation before Congress before I vote on it. I will make myself readily available to constituents directly – unlike so many before me. Kevin Kiley Occupation: California State Legislator, 2016-2022 Experience: Former California Deputy Attorney General, high school English teacher What are your main priorities for representing California's 3rd Congressional District? Congress and the Biden Administration have failed the American people. Their reckless spending and policies have caused record inflation, skyrocketing gas and grocery prices, and harmed our economy. I'm running for Congress to stop the wasteful spending, defend our Constitution, protect our freedoms and make our government accountable to the people. As your Representative I will work to cut debt; secure the border; reduce taxes; hold criminals accountable, put parents in charge of their child's education, and protect our way of life. What will you do to ensure the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will continue to maintain the Auburn Shaded Fuel Break? The Auburn Shaded Fuel Break is a critical mitigation measure that I will work tirelessly to ensure is maintained to protect Auburn from wildfires. As your Representative, I will be in constant communication with state partners, including CAL Fire and California State Parks, local government, including the Auburn City Fire Department, and local organizations like the Placer County Resource Conservation District regarding their needs from the Bureau of Reclamation and how our Congressional Office can be leveraged at the federal level to meet those needs. How will you work to protect communities, and Auburn specifically, from the threat of wildfire? In the State Legislature, I have consistently voted to increase funding for active forest management practices, including clearing fuel, thinning forests, and prescribed burns, that would reduce the number and severity of California's catastrophic wildfires. In Congress, I will continue to be an advocate for responsibly managing our forests. That includes working with local stakeholders to identify projects such as the Auburn Shaded Fuel Break that mitigate the risk of wildfires and then ensuring those projects are prioritized at the federal level and completed expediently. If elected, how do you plan to remain accessible to your constituents? I will continue the track record I have built in the State Assembly of taking daily meetings, phone calls, and zooms with constituents, working closely with local leaders to forge consensus to preserve our quality of life, and attending every community event I can to speak with Californians of all political persuasions to determine how we can ensure the federal government is accountable to and working for our community.