Jordan Cunningham | |
---|---|
Member of the California State Assembly from the 35th district | |
In office December 5, 2016 –December 5, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Katcho Achadjian |
Personal details | |
Born | San Luis Obispo County,California | December 6,1977
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Shauna Roitenberg |
Children | 4 |
Residence(s) | Templeton,California,U.S. |
Alma mater | Point Loma Nazarene University (BS) UC Berkeley School of Law (JD) |
Occupation | Politician,Lawyer,Business Owner |
Website | https://ad35.asmrc.org https://jordancunningham.org |
Jordan Cunningham (born December 6,1977) is an American attorney and politician who represented the 35th district in the California State Assembly. He is a Republican who was elected in November 2016. Cunningham's district encompassed San Luis Obispo County and portions of Santa Barbara County. Prior to being elected to the state assembly,he was a school board trustee for the Templeton Unified School District and a Deputy District Attorney for San Luis Obispo County.
Cunningham was born in San Luis Obispo,California,and grew up on the Central Coast. Cunningham graduated from Atascadero High School. [1]
In 2000,Cunningham earned a bachelor of art degree in Physics and Economics from Point Loma Nazarene University. In 2004,Cunningham earned a JD degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. [1]
Cunningham's career started as a prosecutor with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office. After leaving the county,Cunningham started his own firm,Cunningham Law Group which focuses on representing families and small businesses.
Cunningham first entered politics as a member of the Templeton Unified School District Board of Trustees before successfully running for the California State Assembly in 2016.
Prior to serving in elected office,Cunningham was President of the Central Coast Taxpayers Association.
On January 13,2022,Cunningham announced that he would not be a candidate for reelection. Redistricting divided San Luis Obispo County made his Assembly district much more Democratic-voting. [2]
Cunningham introduced AB (Assembly Bill) 2385,which urges publishers to provide a detailed description of how newer versions of their materials differ from older ones, [3] and AB 2580,which requires hearing officers to grant requests for hearing extensions by applying a specified standard of "good cause”in due process cases pertaining to special education matters. [4] He co-introduced AB 1743,permanently funding the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG) which aims to equip students with necessary skills for the future economy. [5]
Cunningham introduced legislation that would improve background checks of law enforcement agencies (AB 1339) and strengthen the safety of passengers while using ride-sharing services (AB 2986). [6]
Cunningham wrote legislation to increase protection orders for victims of human trafficking (AB 1735), [7] and he gave trafficking victims more rights when it came time to testify in court (AB 1736). [8] Cunningham also passed legislation which provided schools with the choice to teach their students about the dangers of trafficking and the possible consequences of "creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones,social networking Internet Web sites,computer networks,or other digital media" (AB 1868). [9]
AB 653,introduced by Cunningham and signed into law authorizes a Santa Barbara County nonprofit hospital to enter into a joint powers agreement with a public agency. Additionally,this bill "prohibit[s] nonprofit hospitals and public agencies participating in the agreement from reducing or eliminating any emergency services following the creation of the joint powers authority without a public hearing." [10]
In 2017 and 2018,Cunningham introduced three bills regarding small businesses on the Central Coast:AB 657 created a state liaison to advocate for employers, [11] and AB 522 &AB 1986 allows winemakers and distillers to donate wine and spirits to nonprofits to use in fundraisers. [12] [13] Previously,California's Business and Professions Code prohibited nonprofits from selling donated alcoholic beverages.
Cunningham has been a vocal proponent of legislation aimed at reducing air pollution in California. In 2018,Cunningham introduced a resolution criticizing EPA rollbacks by the Trump Administration. [14]
Cunningham,along with other Central Coast Legislators worked to lessen the impact from the closure of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Cunningham and State Senator Bill Monning authored legislation that would address unemployment after the closure of the plant by providing job assistance programs to former employees. Cunningham also worked on legislation that provided an $85 million settlement for San Luis Obispo County to address impacts from the closure. [15]
Cunningham was elected to the California State Assembly in 2016 [16] winning 55% of the vote over solar energy consultant Dawn Ortiz-Legg. [17] After being elected,Cunningham detailed his priorities for office as increasing water infrastructure on the Central Coast by using Prop 1 funds. He is focused on improving access to Career Technical Education,and improving small business climate in California and on the Central Coast. [18]
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Dawn Ortiz-Legg | 55,577 | 45.0 | |
Republican | Jordan Cunningham | 45,750 | 37.0 | |
Republican | Steve Lebard | 18,170 | 14.7 | |
Libertarian | Dominic Robert Rubini | 4,142 | 3.4 | |
Total votes | 123,639 | 100.0 | ||
General election | ||||
Republican | Jordan Cunningham | 105,247 | 54.7 | |
Democratic | Dawn Ortiz-Legg | 87,168 | 45.3 | |
Total votes | 192,415 | 100.0 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
In the 2018 election,Cunningham won re-election to the State Assembly,defeating Democratic farmer Bill Ostrander with 56% of the vote. In San Luis Obispo County,he won with 55% of the vote. In Santa Barbara County,he won with 59% of the vote. On December 3,2018,he was sworn in for his second term representing the Central Coast and the 35th Assembly District. [19]
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Jordan Cunningham (incumbent) | 62,348 | 55.5 | |
Democratic | Bill Ostrander | 49,967 | 44.5 | |
Total votes | 112,315 | 100.0 | ||
General election | ||||
Republican | Jordan Cunningham (incumbent) | 97,749 | 55.9 | |
Democratic | Bill Ostrander | 76,994 | 44.1 | |
Total votes | 174,743 | 100.0 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
In the 2020 election,Cunningham overcame the Democratic challenger,Morro Bay City Councilwoman Dawn Addis. [20]
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Jordan Cunningham (incumbent) | 85,029 | 56.8% | |
Democratic | Dawn Addis | 64,548 | 43.2% | |
Total votes | 149,577 | 100.0% | ||
General election | ||||
Republican | Jordan Cunningham (incumbent) | 126,579 | 55.1% | |
Democratic | Dawn Addis | 103,206 | 44.9% | |
Total votes | 229,785 | 100.0% | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Cunningham's wife is Shauna Cunningham. They have four children. [1]
Phillip Chen is an American politician and member of the California State Assembly. He is a Republican representing the 59th Assembly District,encompassing parts of North Orange County,and small parts of San Bernardino County. The district includes the cities of Brea,Yorba Linda,Placentia,Villa Park,Orange,North Tustin,Anaheim Hills,Chino,and Chino Hills. Prior to being elected to the state assembly,he was a school board trustee for the Walnut Valley Unified School District.
Los Osos is an unincorporated town in San Luis Obispo County,California,United States. Located on the Central Coast of California,Los Osos had a population estimated to be 16,533 in 2019. For statistical purposes,the United States Census Bureau has defined Los Osos as a census-designated place (CDP).
Mark Leno is an American politician who served in the California State Senate until November 2016. A Democrat,he represented the 11th Senate district,which includes San Francisco and portions of San Mateo County. Before the 2010 redistricting,he represented the 3rd Senate district.
Leroy F. Greene was a Democratic politician in the State of California. He represented Sacramento County in the State Assembly from 1962 until 1982 and was a California state senator from 1982 to 1998. His thirty-six years of service between the two houses made him the seventh-longest serving member in the history of the California State Legislature.
The California Health and Safety Code is the codification of general statutory law covering the subject areas of health and safety in the state of California. It is one of the 29 California Codes and was originally signed into law by the Governor of California on April 7,1939.
California is seen as one of the most liberal states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) rights,which have received nationwide recognition since the 1970s. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1976. Discrimination protections regarding sexual orientation and gender identity or expression were adopted statewide in 2003. Transgender people are also permitted to change their legal gender on official documents without any medical interventions,and mental health providers are prohibited from engaging in conversion therapy on minors.
Scott Wiener is an American politician and a member of the California State Senate. A Democrat,he represents the 11th Senatorial District,encompassing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County.
Brian Maienschein is an American attorney and politician currently serving in the California State Assembly,representing the 76th district,encompassing parts of northeastern San Diego since 2012. Prior to serving in the state assembly,he was a member of the San Diego City Council,and the city's first Commissioner on Homelessness.
Human trafficking in California is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery,commercial sexual exploitation,and forced labor as it occurs in the state of California. Human trafficking,widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery,includes
"the recruitment,transportation,transfer,harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion,of abduction,of fraud,of deception,of the abuse of power,or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person,for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include,at a minimum,the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation,forced labor services,slavery or practices similar to slavery,servitude or the removal of organs."
Marc Levine is an American politician,who served in the California State Assembly representing the 10th district between 2012 and 2022. A member of the Democratic Party,Levine is the former Chairman of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. A former member of the San Rafael City Council,Levine previously worked as a technology entrepreneur.
Edwin “Ed”Chau is an American jurist and politician who served in the California State Assembly as a Democrat representing the 49th state assembly District from 2012 to 2021. On November 29,2021,California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Chau to be a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Travis Ethan Allen is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly. Allen was first elected in November 2012 to represent California's 72nd State Assembly district,which includes the cities of Fountain Valley,Los Alamitos,Seal Beach,and Westminster,most of Garden Grove,portions of Huntington Beach and of Santa Ana,and the unincorporated communities of Midway and Rossmoor.
Lorena Sofia Gonzalez Fletcher is an American union leader and former politician. A Democrat,she served in the California State Assembly from 2013 to 2022,representing the 80th Assembly District,which encompasses southern San Diego. She was first elected to the Assembly in a 2013 special election to succeed Ben Hueso,who was elected to the State Senate in a special election.
The School Success and Opportunity Act,is a California state law which extends gender identity and gender expression discrimination protection to transgender and gender-nonconforming K-12 students in public schools.
Jim Wood is an American politician currently serving as Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly since November 2023. He is a Democrat representing the 2nd Assembly District,which encompasses all of Del Norte,Humboldt,Mendocino,and Trinity counties,plus northern and coastal Sonoma County,including the northern half of Santa Rosa.
Marc Berman is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2016. He is a Democrat representing the 23rd Assembly District,encompassing parts of the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley,including Campbell,Mountain View,and Saratoga. Before being elected to the Assembly,he was a member of the Palo Alto City Council.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was an early opponent of same-sex marriage in the United States,including during his Governorship of California. As an elected official he opposed legal recognition of same-sex marriage but otherwise he supported LGBT rights legislation,including civil unions.
California's Assembly Bill 1066,Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act of 2016,was authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 12,2016. This bill allows farmworkers in California to qualify for overtime pay after working 8 hours in a single day or 40 hours in a workweek. Prior to the passage of AB 1066,farmworkers were only eligible for overtime pay after working 10 hours.
Jesse Samuel Gabriel is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly. Gabriel represents the California's 46th State Assembly district,which includes much of the eastern San Fernando Valley,including Encino,Tarzana,Reseda,and Van Nuys.
Dawn Addis is an American educator,activist,and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly for the 30th district. Elected in November 2022,she assumed office on December 5,2022.