Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) is vowing to create change on a larger scale if he is elected to Congress.
The embattled Republican state lawmaker announced his candidacy for Congress last week on Twitter.
“I think that running for Congress is an opportunity to fight for a new direction in Washington, to oppose the radical agenda in Washington and to bring greater attention to what has gone so wrong in California in order to propel forward the movement to bring change here,” Kiley told the Southern California Record.
As an Assemblyman, Kiley is paying the price for having been an outspoken critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Last month, Kiley was removed from the Assembly Education Committee where he has served as vice-chair for five years.
“It would not be surprising if there were those who don't want a change-oriented candidate to succeed but I am fortunate to have a great deal of support from many, many citizens who understand and believe that this is still a government of, for, and by the people,” he said. “I think that that's what we're going to prove in this campaign.”
Kiley’s successes as an Assemblyman include writing a resolution that protected freedom of speech on college campuses. It passed the Legislature unanimously.
“Being an Assemblyman has given me insight into how dysfunctional the California legislature is and how dysfunctional our state government is and that is a perspective I will bring to Washington to make sure that the people of California and of the United States get the kind of government that they deserve, that is truly representative, that allows for debate in deliberation, and that's actually working for the people as opposed o what we have in California,” he said.
Prior to being elected to the California Assembly, Kiley worked as a high school teacher and a prosecutor.
“A lot of the failures in California are now being copied in Washington,” Kiley said. “You have AB 5 that banned independent contracting in California and put countless numbers of people out of work. They now have a version of it that they are trying to pass in Washington. So, I want to try to show people how terribly that has worked for the people of California so that we don't make the same mistakes at the national level.”
Kiley was among the candidates who unsuccessfully campaigned for governor during the 2021 recall election that would have unseated Gov. Newsom.
"There are very entrenched forces in our government that are intent on keeping things the way they are, that are intent on imposing a radical agenda, and that are intent on using government as a way to reward special interest groups," he added. "They've shown that they are willing to use any means at their disposal to try to squelch voices for change. I've seen that in our legislature."