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VOTE411 Voter Guide

United States Representative, District 1, Short Term

🏛️ This office is one of the 435 voting positions in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing a specific geographic district for a two-year term. Their primary duties include drafting, debating, and voting on federal legislation, serving on committees to analyze bills, overseeing the executive branch, and providing constituent services, such as helping residents navigate federal agencies.

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  • Candidate picture

    Audrey Denney
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    James Gallagher
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    Mike McGuire
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Richard Montgomery
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Jot Thiara
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?

What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this office? (You may use your candidate statement here if desired.)

Should immigration laws be changed? What changes would you support? Please explain why.

As a member of Congress, what policies or legislation would you support to require complete transparency for all donors to political campaigns, including members of groups who donate to Super-PACs?

The Federal Government plays a part in California water allocation and uses through a variety of projects and laws. What new programs or projects or reforms to existing programs and projects would you support to handle water shortages and water quality issues?

Ballot Designation Educator/Nonprofit Consultant
Candidate's Political Party Democratic
Campaign YouTube URL
contact email info@audreyforcongress.com
Getting money out of politics and restoring trust in government. I support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and I will fight to ban corporate PAC money, require full transparency for political spending, and pass a stock trading ban for members of Congress so public office is about serving people, not profiting off power. I will also work to make sure billionaires and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes so our government works for working people, not the wealthy and well-connected.

Lowering costs and protecting working families. People in Northern California are being squeezed by the cost of groceries, healthcare, and basic necessities. I will take on corporate price gouging, lower prescription drug costs, and make sure healthcare is a guarantee for everyone, not just those who can afford it. I will also protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefits because people who have worked hard and served our country should be able to live with dignity.

Standing up for our democracy and our values. I will stand up to authoritarian threats, defend our civil rights, and push back against harmful immigration enforcement tactics that tear families apart. We need leaders who are willing to speak the truth and fight for our communities, not just go along to get along.
I grew up on a family farm and ranch, where I learned early what it means to work hard, take responsibility, and depend on your community. I bartended and waited tables to pay for college, earned my BS and MS in Agriculture Education, and went on to teach agriculture at Chico State and prepare students for careers in farming, natural resources, and rural economies.

My professional work as a national strategy consultant has focused on food systems, agriculture, and community resilience. I’ve worked with food banks across the country and partnered with farmers, local organizations, and communities to strengthen food access and support working families. That experience has given me a deep understanding of the challenges facing rural communities, from rising costs and supply chain disruptions to water, land use, and economic sustainability.

I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of agriculture, education, and community development. I know how federal policy decisions impact our farms, small businesses, and families here in Northern California because I’ve seen it firsthand.

I’m not a career politician. I don’t take corporate PAC money. And I’m not interested in climbing a political ladder. I’m running because we need leaders who will actually stand up to powerful interests and deliver for the people they represent.
Yes. Our immigration laws should be changed because the current system creates chaos instead of order.

We’ve built an enforcement-first approach that relies on fear and militarized tactics. That tears families apart, makes workers afraid to report abuse, and undermines trust in local communities. It doesn’t make us safer. It makes us more unstable.

I support a system grounded in dignity, due process, and real functionality. That means protecting the legal right to seek asylum, fully resourcing immigration courts to eliminate backlogs, and expanding work authorization so people can contribute instead of being pushed into exploitation.

We also need a path to legal status for people already living and working here, and updated visa programs that reflect the needs of our economy, especially in agriculture and caregiving. And we need to address the root causes driving migration — violence, corruption, economic instability, and climate impacts — so people aren’t forced to leave their homes in the first place.

We can have an immigration system that is orderly, humane, and works, but we have to choose to build it that way.
Voters have a right to know who is trying to buy influence in our elections.

I support requiring full public disclosure of all political spending, including dark money groups and Super PAC donors, and closing the loopholes that allow anonymous shell organizations to hide where money is coming from.

But transparency alone isn’t enough. We need to overturn Citizens United and end the idea that unlimited money in politics is protected speech. I will fight for a constitutional amendment to get big money out of our elections once and for all.

We also need to ban corporate PAC contributions, create public financing options for campaigns, and crack down on the revolving door between government and lobbying.

Our democracy should be shaped by voters, not by the highest bidder, and until we can achieve these critical reforms, we have to lead by example. That’s why I refuse every cent of corporate PAC money and always will.
We need to treat water like the essential resource it is rather than a political bargaining chip, and that starts at the source.

In Northern California, our water begins in our forests. I will push for major federal investment in forest management, restoration, and wildfire prevention, because healthy forests protect our watersheds, improve water quality, and make our water supply more reliable over time.

I also support investment in modern water infrastructure, including storage, recycling, and groundwater recharge, to help communities adapt to drought and climate change. At the same time, we need to update outdated federal water policies so they reflect current climate realities and give local and rural communities a stronger voice in decision-making.

Protecting water quality is just as critical. I support holding polluters accountable, investing in safe drinking water systems, and ensuring every community, no matter how small or rural, has access to clean, affordable water.

For our region, this is about whether farms can survive, families can afford their water bills, and our communities have a future. We need solutions that are practical, science-based, and grounded in how our ecosystems actually work.
Ballot Designation Farmer/State Assemblyman
Candidate's Political Party Republican
Endorsement List URL http://electjamesgallagher.com
Campaign Twitter Handle @J_Gallagher4CA
contact email james.gallagher@electjamesgallagher.com
Make life more affordable for North State families through lower taxes, lower fees and fewer regulations. Enact tougher laws protect our communities, neighborhoods and homes from crime. Protect our Farms and Businesses from excessive government regulation.
James Gallagher is the descendant of Irish immigrants who settled in northern California in the early 1800s. James was born in Yuba City in 1981 and attended local schools. He earned his BA degree at UC Berkeley and a JD degree at the University of California, Davis, where he graduated at the top of his class.

James Gallagher has represented California’s Third Assembly District since 2014 and served as Assembly Minority Leader from 2022-2025. Before joining the Assembly, he served on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors for six years. James advocates for small businesses and farmers in his law practice and is a partner in his family’s farming operation. James is married to his high school sweetheart, Janna; the two live in Sutter County where they are raising their five wonderful children.
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Ballot Designation California State Senator
contact email info@votemikemcguire.com
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Ballot Designation Retired Nurse Practitioner
Candidate's Political Party Independent. No party preference
contact email rmontgomeryisnowretired@gmail.com
Healthcare reform--Medicare for all. Congressional reform Homeless housing
45 years in HealthCare, 35 of which caring for my fellow citizens throughout the North State. NOT being affiliated with a particular party so as to DO my job, by representing the constituents, rather than just Keep my job, by representing the Party. I keep current as to the politics of the country and the world. Extensive study/reading books on the struggle between the working class and the Uberwealthy, on world politics, I am a 30 year member of the oldest chartered Masonic Lodge in California, and Past Master, whose major tenets are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth--through which filter I make my decisions. I am a Christian, and a Minister in the Universal Life Church whose tenets are respect for all religions and Do the Right Thing. I have been married for 45 years to my wife Loretta, who born and raised here in Redding. And I have 2 children and 2 grandchildren, whose future I'm trying to preserve and protect.
Return to Guest worker status to support needs of ranchers and farmers. Due diligence in following up with those who emigrate to the U.S.
100% in favor of full disclosure. Including PACs and who is behind them. Laws against insider trading. Provide avenues for public funding of campaigning, providing equal access to more citizens. Consider banning any and all donations greater than a predetermined amount.
I am for the Sites reservoir. Make decisions that favorably impact our food sources
Ballot Designation Rancher/Businessman/Caregiver
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