Quick Reference Comparison for the CD-1 Congressional Race

Max Steiner (D) vs. Doug LaMalfa (R)

Elections | Constitutional Rights |Forestry | Fire Suppression |Fire Personnel | National Defense and Law Enforcement  | Water | Agriculture | Immigration

Elections

Max Steiner

  1. Knows that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election
  2. Will protect local election results from political interference
  3. Supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act 
  4. Supports legislation to require National Photo Voter ID, which would be issued for free at every Post Office

Doug LaMalfa

  1. Lied about the 2020 Presidential Election, falsely claiming that “Trump Won” and refusing to certify the election on January 6th, 2021.
  2. Supported political lawsuit to overturn local election results
  3. Opposes the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act 
  4. Claims to want a National Photo Voter ID law, but has done nothing to push the issue in 10 years

Constitutional Rights

Max Steiner

  1. Supports Roe v. Wade and women’s reproductive privacy rights
  2. Supports the Second Amendment. Supports background checks and “Red Flag Laws”. Supports gun-owners rights to purchase semi-automatic weapons. Top-ranked Democrat in California by the CRPA.

Doug LaMalfa

  1. Co-sponsored a nationwide ban on abortion, starting at fertilization. This law would make taking the “day-after pill” punishable as murder. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, the viability of the child, or the health of the mother.
  2. Opposes even common-sense restrictions on gun ownership. Has done nothing to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Californians in his 20 year political career.

Forestry and Fire

Max Steiner

  1. Forestry and Fire Reforms are one of the main focuses of the campaign
  2. Has a detailed plan to address needed reforms to forestry to fix decades of mismanagement through thinning, prescribed fire, and a reinvigorated timber industry.
  3. Supports increased funding for firefighting equipment and a culture of aggressive fire suppression by the USFS on federal lands.
  4. Will push for more funding of fire fighters and a better personnel management structure based on the military (Active and Reserve forces) for greater flexibility.

Doug LaMalfa

  1. Forestry and Fire are not even mentioned on his campaign website’s issue page
  2. Voted against increasing federal firefighter salaries

Water

Max Steiner

  1. Increasing water storage (through dam construction) is THE most important federal intervention on water in California (most water policy is State-led)
  2. There are environmental costs to building dams, but the benefits are worth it: with climate change, more precipitation will fall as rain which increases the risk of flooding; likewise, longer droughts mean that California must increase its ability to store water for longer periods
  3. Max supports building Sites Reservoir and increasing the height of Shasta Dam
  4. As a moderate Democrat and former diplomat, Max can speak productively with State officials, Democratic politicians in Sacramento, and environmentalists while championing the water needs of communities and farmers in the North State.

Doug LaMalfa

  1. LaMalfa talks a lot about water but he has yet to deliver on his promises made over the last ten years
  2. LaMalfa claims credit for pushing for Sites Reservoir, but the real credit goes to Representative Garamendi (D) who built a moderate coalition to push for increased off-stream storage
  3. LaMalfa is self-destructively antagonistic when it comes to water policy: in California, being able to work with Democrats in Sacramento is effectively a requirement for getting things done and Doug prefers to give fiery “made-for-TV” diatribes

Immigration

Max Steiner

  1. Max supports common-sense immigration reforms that will streamline low-skill worker visas and reduce the barriers for high-skill/high-salary applicants
  2. With two years of direct, on-the-ground, experience in visas, Max knows the parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act that need reform
  3. Max supports robust enforcement of immigration law within the United States, focusing on punishing employers of illegally-present immigrants – a wall is ineffective if immigrants know they can stay once they get across (or overstay their tourist visa)
  4. Max opposes amnesty for illegally-present immigrants: it did not work in the 1980’s and it will not work today
  5. Nations need borders, and the United States cannot hope to maintain its robust social safety programs and worker protections if we relax restrictions on the number of immigrants we permanently admit.

Doug LaMalfa

  1. LaMalfa is a hypocrite on immigration: even as he calls for a wall he pushes for policies that would hurt U.S. workers by allowing big farmers like him to employ illegally-present farmworkers
  2. LaMalfa is the co-sponsor of an amnesty bill that would give illegally-present immigrants legal status – like modern-day indentured servants
  3. LaMalfa and his friends in Big Ag benefit from paying lower wages to illegally-present workers: the claim that “Americans aren’t willing to work on farms” is a lie – Americans just demand a higher wage to put up with bad bosses and bad conditions

National Defense

Max Steiner

  1. Max has served in the U.S. Army for over 17 years – 4 on Active Duty as an infantryman and 13 in the Reserves in Civil Affairs: understanding how the military works from the inside is something Washington politicians just do not understand
  2. Max also spent 8 years working abroad as a diplomat, giving him a well-rounded understanding of what the military and diplomacy can – and more importantly CANNOT – accomplish
  3. A rising China and a still-aggressive Russia pose a threat to U.S. interests and U.S. allies around the world; and yet the U.S. Congress has the fewest veterans in office since World War Two
  4. As a veteran who uses the VA, Max will fight to defend the health benefits of those who served

Doug LaMalfa

  1. LaMalfa never served in the military
  2. His website does not even have a section on National Defense though his social media is at least admirably anti-Communist China
  3. LaMalfa voted against the PACT Act, which will expand VA care for servicemembers suffering from Agent Orange and Burn Pit exposure.