When a lot of people think about what an elected official does, they might think the job is just about passing laws.
I see things a little differently. Fundamentally, I think that representing people is a teaching and learning job.
You can't be an effective representative without understanding the actual problems people are facing and prioritizing the right solutions. You have to learn from families, experts, and stakeholders.
Touring local businesses, hosting town halls, and bringing all groups together in roundtables—all of this is about teaching and learning.
When I first got to Congress after over a decade in the classroom, people asked me if it was an adjustment. While the 19 hour weekly commute was not fun, to say the least, I found the work familiar, and I loved it.
When politicians don't value teaching and learning, we get elected officials who are out of touch. They focus on giving tax breaks to billionaires, instead of delivering lower costs on families' essentials, like housing, health care, and child care. And they skip town halls, because they don't think they have to explain themselves to their constituents.
That's not the kind of governor I'll be. Californians can count on me to learn from them and to share their experiences at the highest levels of our government.
Will you chip in $5 today, so I can take my passion for and track record of teaching and learning to make our politics better?
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—Katie
