Russ Warner

Russ Warner is the 2008 Democratic Party Congressional candidate in California's 26th congressional district, running against incumbent David Dreier.

Russ was born in West Virginia. He was influenced by his grandfather, a West Virginia minister, and his stepfather, who supported the family. Russ' father moved the family to Ohio, then Arizona, finally settling in California when Russ was 12 years old. After graduating from high school, Russ worked fulltime while enrolled at Cypress Junior College before taking a position at U.S. News and World Report, where he learned the magazine distribution trade. Russ was laid-off from that company in the 1980s. He took the opportunity and invested the family savings in Warner International Periodical Services, of which he is president and CEO.

Warner lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California with his wife, Kris, and three sons, Greg, Adam and Matt. Greg Warner served for 17 months in Iraq before returning home to attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. Upon his return home from the war, Greg challenged his father to make a difference by running for Congress.

In 2006, in the same district, he received the California Democratic Party endorsement, but lost the primary to Cynthia Matthews (who also ran against Dreier in 2004) by almost 10%. [http://vote.ss.ca.gov/Returns/usrep/2600.htm] . In the 2008 California Congressional Primary, Russ defeated Cynthia Matthews with 67.4% of the vote. Russ will now face David Dreier in the November general election.

Endorsements

Members of Congress Congressman Joe Baca (CA-43), Congressman Howard Berman (CA-28), Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15), Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-16), Congressman George Miller (CA-7), Congressman Harry Mitchell (AZ-5), Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (CA-38), Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (CA-39), Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-29), Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-27), Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Congresswoman Hilda Solis (CA-32), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35), Congresswoman Diane Watson (CA-33), and Henry Waxman (CA-30). Elected Officials and LeadersGeneral Wesley Clark, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Dennis Bertone, San Dimas City Council Member, Lara Blakely, Former Mayor of Monrovia, John Chiang, CA State Controller, Judy Chu, Vice Chair of CA State Equalization Board, John Drayman, Glendale City Council Member, Assemblyman Mike Eng (49th Assembly District), Dario Frommer, Former Assembly Member (43rd Assembly District), Dan Harden, La Verne City Council Member, Assemblyman Ed Hernandez (57th Assembly District), Carol Liu, Former Assembly Member (44th Assembly District), Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (44th Assembly District), John Van De Kamp, Former California Attorney General, Frank Quintero, Glendale City Council Member, California Senator Jack Scott (21st Senate District),

Labor UnionsCalifornia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, California Teachers Association, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 42, National Education Association, Painters and Allied Trade District Council 36, SEIU Local 721, Teamsters Local Union 96, United Auto Workers Region 5 Western States CAP Council,

Clubs and Organizations California Democratic Party,ACT - Arroyo Democrats Club,Burbank Democratic Club,Democrats of the Claremont Colleges,Democratic Club of Claremont, Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley,Democrats of the Pasadena Foothills, Inland Valley Democratic Club,La Canada Flintridge Democratic Club, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Mexican American Bar Association,Pasadena Democracy for America,San Bernardino County Democratic Luncheon Club,Stonewall Democratic Club, Valley Grassroots for Democracy,
Los Osos High School Young Democrats

Issues

Economy

Russ supports tax cuts for middle-class families and creating tax incentives for businesses to hire locally instead of outsourcing jobs overseas. He wants to invest in job training and job creation programs domestically. War in Iraq

Russ is against the War in Iraq. Russ wants to work to end the Iraq war safely and responsibly, focus on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and make sure our troops and veterans get the medical care and benefits they were promised. Health Care

Russ wants to make quality health care available to everyone. Russ will stand up to the big insurance and drug companies to help make affordable and quality health care available to everyone.

Energy

Russ supports a new energy policy that increases domestic sources of energy, including investments in alternative energy like wind and solar power.

Government Spending

A fiscal conservative, he supports pay-as-you-go spending and opposes wasteful pork barrel projects.

External links

* [http://www.warnerforcongress.com Warner for Congress]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russ_Warner SourceWatch Congresspedia — Russ Warner] profile