Brandon Ross, MD – Brandon Ross, MD

Brandon M. Ross

Democratic Candidate for Gubernatorial Recall Election

Candidate Statement

California needs a viable, moderate Democrat who understands comebacks to lead the way. As the pandemic persists, we need someone who knows the medical science and the law. Mine is a comeback story. I built myself into a success, got hooked on drugs and lost everything. Then I conquered addiction and rose from the ashes to rebuild everything and more. I am a native Californian born and raised in San Diego. I went to UC Davis and graduated with Highest Honors with a degree in Genetics. I attended medical school to become a doctor, while simultaneously attaining my Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration. Next, I established a successful cosmetic surgery center. I had it all, including a family and three kids. Then I lost everything after I got hooked on drugs, which started with an opiate addiction after taking narcotics for a back injury. My career, marriage, finances, friends, and custody of my children- GONE! I entered a recovery program seven years ago and turned my life around. I graduated law school and rebuilt my medical practice better than before. I regained custody of my kids, have a wonderful family and a fulfilling life. I run a charity that offers free cosmetic surgery to children following trauma and radiation treatments for brain tumors. I live a sober life and will make an excellent governor. If nothing else, I hope to at least be an inspiration to addicts and their families that addiction can be overcome

Agenda

COVID-19

We do not need lockdowns at this point in time. I believe in vaccinations and more money should be spent on education and outreach programs to try to get every Californian vaccinated. Vaccines are available to anyone over 11 years of age. That being said, people who do not want to be vaccinated should not have to be. They are choosing to take their chances with getting Covid and the associated morbidity and mortality. Lockdowns should not be required unless we get to a point where the healthcare system becomes overwhelmed or a new variant of Covid arises that breaks through and begins killing children or the vaccinated population at a substantial rate. That being said, everyone should be wearing a mask right now to prevent the spread of the delta variant and the formation of additional mutated strains. At this time, I am in favor of a mask mandate for every Californian who is outdoors or at businesses.

Opioid Crisis

Over 3,000 Californians die every year in opiate-related overdoses. Likely 100 times as many have their lives ruined from the social impacts of opiate addiction. California has over $70 billion in surplus this year and many more billions coming soon as part of big pharma opiate lawsuit settlements. California needs to step up efforts to fight the opioid epidemic by spending money on education and outreach, and making free rehabilitative services available to everyone suffering from the scourge of addiction.

Housing Prices

There are simply not enough homes in California to meet demand. This has caused home prices to soar and price out many who could otherwise afford to own a home. The bureaucratic red tape needs to be slashed to enable development of new homes to proceed at a faster rate. In addition, California needs to drastically increase public housing. In doing so, it will increase the number of homes available and decrease the homeless population by moving them into safe, modest homes owned by the government so they can get back on their feet and turn their lives around. Public housing can be developed on state-owned land or with inexpensive private purchases. It can be developed by private contractors through a competitive bidding process, further pumping up the economy.

Homeless Population

Every human being should be entitled to food, shelter and healthcare. In addition to drastically increasing development of public houses, as mentioned above, California should develop more state-funded homeless shelters. Homeless people should have a safe place to go to stay off the streets. They should be well-fed and cared for. Though downtrodden, many will ultimately turn their lives around and contribute in a positive way towards society. Let’s get them off of the streets and into safe shelter.

Shrinking Middle Class/Taxes

California’s taxes are ridiculous. We have a huge surplus due to state income taxes, which are the highest in the country. The state coffers also benefit greatly from the record housing prices. Housing prices have doubled and caused county-level property tax revenues to be a bonanza for local municipalities. This, in turn, has lessened the burden at the state level to direct revenue downstream. Since this should continue for the foreseeable future, I propose elimination of state tax on anyone making less than $150,000 per year. This will help both the lower and middle classes get a leg up. In addition, gasoline taxes should be cut significantly, which would help all Californians across the board.

Minimum Wage

Every Californian is entitled to earn a fair wage to support themselves and their family. I am in favor of increasing the minimum wage from the current $14 per hour up to $16 per hour. Some employers will balk at the increased payroll expenses, but most of this increase will be pumped back into the economy to help businesses thrive.

Climate Change

California is already one of the best states in the country at tackling climate change. We should continue and even enhance the rebate system directed at encouraging homeowners to install solar systems and purchase electric cars. We should also continue building additional public transit systems and protect our water sources.

Wildfires

California is in the midst of a drought, causing an increased number of wildfires. We need to have state-funded, dedicated teams to go to homes and advise homeowners what can be done to lessen the risk of fires on an individual property basis. The state must fund building of firebreaks to lessen the number of fires and their magnitude. More firefighters should be hired and increased funding should be secured to improve aerial support, including the night-vision helicopters capable of fighting fires in the dark. As of now, California only possesses a handful of these vehicles and essentially shuts down firefighting efforts during the night.

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