Knock LA

California’s 30th Congressional District covers most of the Valley and has been solidly Democratic for the last several election cycles. Hillary won the district in 2016 with 69.1% of the vote. Brad Sherman has represented the district since 2013 when he was redistricted from the 27th. Before that he was first elected in the 24th district, before that was also redistricted. All told he has served in the House since 1997, and has comfortably won every election save his freshman election. But Sherman has been buffeted by scandals this year, first emanating from this former staffer Matt Debabneh and then from allegations of his own toxic office culture. To wit: Sherman was voted the meanest member of Congress in 2012. Despite being in a solidly Democratic district Sherman is vulnerable, and Jon Pelzer has stepped up to bring a progressive voice to Congress.

Jon is a former small business owner and has lived in Sherman Oaks for 35 years. He has strong roots to the community and like many candidates this year was spurred on by Senator Sanders. This progressive zeal is evident when he really digs into the issues and connects progressive policies as a larger overall framework to restore justice to governance.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his campaign is that he refuses to take any money from political organizations: PACs, Super PACs, and unions. His refusal to take union money is a break from many progressives running today, but it is born out a strong ethical obligation to his platform. While many candidates express their support of labor by taking contributions Jon goes further in actually looking to improve the lives of workers and not just the operation of unions.

On the energy he’ll bring to the fight for universal healthcare:

On reforming our campaign finance system:

On how he really enjoys campaigning and meeting his voters:

On eschewing the left/right divide:

You can listen to the full interview here: