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Infrastructure & Rural Broadband

Dangerous roads, unreliable cell service, limited public transportation, unsafe pedestrian and bike infrastructure, and inadequate internet access are daily realities for too many people across the North State. Our communities are being left behind by aging infrastructure that no longer meets the needs of working families, seniors, students, and rural communities.

We need a 21st-century approach to infrastructure that prioritizes safety, accessibility, affordability, and climate resilience. That means investing not only in roads and bridges, but also in reliable public transportation, walkable downtowns, safer bike and pedestrian routes, modern water systems, and universal high-speed broadband access.

I will fight to secure major federal investment in rural and regional infrastructure, including expanded transit options that connect people to jobs, healthcare, schools, and essential services. I’ll champion rural-specific programs and innovative partnerships that strengthen local economies, reduce isolation, improve public safety, and ensure every community in our district has the infrastructure needed to thrive.

Building Better North State Infrastructure

Priorities

  • Secure major federal investment to repair and modernize roads, bridges, and critical infrastructure across the North State, while improving safety and reliability for rural communities, commuters, and local economies.
  • Promote direct public investment and innovative public-private partnerships to expand broadband and cell service in underserved communities, including fiber, fixed wireless, and next-generation connectivity solutions.
  • Strengthen and expand rural broadband funding through national infrastructure legislation, USDA Rural Development programs, and future Farm Bills to ensure every community has access to affordable high-speed internet.
  • Partner directly with county governments, tribal communities, transit agencies, municipal utility districts, and local stakeholders to ensure infrastructure investments reflect the real needs of North State residents.
  • Expand reliable public transportation, regional transit connections, and safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure so people can more easily access jobs, schools, healthcare, and downtown business districts.
  • Advocate for climate-resilient water infrastructure upgrades, including drinking water systems, stormwater management, drought preparedness, levee improvements, and emergency spillway modernization.
  • Support infrastructure projects that reduce traffic fatalities, improve emergency evacuation routes, strengthen wildfire resilience, and make communities safer and more connected.

Why it Matters

When infrastructure fails, rural communities are the first to feel it and the last to get help.

Too many people across the North State are dealing with unsafe roads, unreliable internet and cell service, limited public transportation, aging water systems, and infrastructure that no longer meets the realities of modern life.

California continues to rank among the worst states for roadway safety and road conditions, while entire communities across our district still lack reliable broadband and cellular coverage.

The Oroville Dam spillway crisis showed just how fragile our aging infrastructure can be, and how devastating the consequences are when leaders wait too long to act.

When roads are unsafe, internet service is unreliable, or emergency communications fail, it affects everything:

  • whether small businesses can compete
  • whether students can learn
  • whether seniors can access healthcare
  • whether workers can get to jobs
  • whether families can safely evacuate during emergencies

Infrastructure is not just about concrete and asphalt. It’s about safety, opportunity, economic mobility, climate resilience, and whether rural communities are fully connected to the future.

What I Believe

Modern infrastructure is about more than roads and pipes. It’s about whether people can fully participate in modern life, no matter where they live.

Rural communities deserve the same access to safe transportation, reliable internet, clean water, and economic opportunity as anywhere else in the country. That means investing not just in roads and bridges, but also in public transit, walkable and bike-friendly communities, broadband access, resilient water systems, and infrastructure that can withstand the realities of climate change and wildfire.

When we invest in infrastructure, we create good-paying jobs, strengthen local economies, improve public safety, connect people to opportunity, and make everyday life more affordable and reliable for working families.

For too long, rural communities have been treated as an afterthought in national infrastructure planning. I believe the North State should be leading the future of resilient, connected, and community-centered infrastructure, not struggling to catch up to it.

How I'll Lead

As your Representative, I will:

  • Fight for major federal investment in roads, bridges, public transportation, broadband, water systems, wildfire resilience, and other critical infrastructure across the North State.
  • Advocate for rural carve-outs in federal infrastructure programs so small towns and rural communities are not left behind in funding decisions designed around urban areas.
  • Treat broadband and reliable cell service as essential infrastructure by expanding investment through infrastructure legislation, USDA Rural Development programs, and future Farm Bills.
  • Support safer, more connected communities through investments in public transit, walkable downtowns, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and evacuation-ready transportation systems.
  • Work directly with local governments, tribal communities, transit agencies, utility districts, and regional leaders to identify shovel-ready projects and remove barriers preventing communities from accessing federal funding.
  • Promote smarter, more efficient infrastructure planning by supporting multi-use projects, including broadband installation alongside road, transit, and water system upgrades.
  • Push for infrastructure investments that strengthen climate resilience, reduce wildfire risk, modernize aging water systems, and improve emergency preparedness.
  • Increase transparency and accountability so residents can clearly see where infrastructure dollars are going and how projects are improving safety, connectivity, and quality of life.
  • Support expanded regional rail and public transit investments that improve mobility, reduce transportation costs, connect rural communities to economic opportunity, and give residents safer, more reliable ways to travel throughout the North State and beyond.

Every community, no matter how rural, deserves safe transportation, clean water, reliable internet, and infrastructure that supports a strong local economy and a high quality of life. Investing in infrastructure is about building opportunity, resilience, and a future where no community is left behind.

Proven Leadership in Times of Crisis