Jimmy Panetta

My History

Having grown up on the central coast of California, Jimmy Panetta has long been instilled with an appreciation for public service and the importance of giving back to our community and country.

Jimmy is the U.S. Representative for the 20th Congressional District and serves on the House Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, and Budget.

Jimmy began his legal career in 1996 as a deputy district attorney in Oakland, California. Based on his experience pursuing justice for victims, protecting families, and making communities safer, Jimmy was appointed to the California Councils on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, which provided guidance to the Governor’s Office on criminal justice programs. Jimmy also served as a deputy district attorney in Monterey County, where he was assigned to the Gang Team in Salinas, responsible for prosecuting violent gang members.

In 2003, Jimmy was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer with the United States Navy, Reserve Component. In 2007, Jimmy was mobilized to active duty and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom where he was assigned to a special operations task force. Based on his meritorious service in a combat zone, Jimmy was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. After returning home, Jimmy served as a board member of the Veterans Transition Center where he worked to address veterans’ homelessness and pushed for the opening of Monterey County’s first Veterans Treatment Court, and along with local leaders and fellow veterans, worked to establish the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery. Jimmy was named a Monterey County Veteran of the Year in 2015.

Jimmy received his law degree from Santa Clara University and his undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of California at Davis. Prior to attending UC Davis, Jimmy attended Monterey Peninsula College.

Jimmy is married to Carrie McIntyre Panetta, and they have two daughters.

My Plans

As your U.S. Representative, I continue to lean in and lead on issues affecting our lives by ensuring that our government, now more than ever, works for the people of the Central Coast.

I continue to work for more federal funding for resources to fight the pandemic. I helped pass the CARES Act, which provided millions of dollars to Central Coast cities, health facilities, businesses, workers, schools, and agriculture. I also introduced legislation to help small businesses offset the expenses of reopening safely, provide more testing and contract tracing, and ensure that nursing homes protect their residents. I am helping constituents navigate Small Business Administration assistance, get job loss and mortgage relief, and obtain protection for essential workers, including farmworkers, and hospitality employees.

I am fighting to ensure federal resources are brought to the district to help us fight and recover from the wildfires. I authored legislation to reduce the risk of wildfires in federal forests, prevent fracking on federal lands, and fight climate change by reducing carbon outputs and investing in green technology, job training, and environmental justice for communities of color.

I worked to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to help fight inequality. That bold legislation would reform policing by banning chokeholds and certain no-knock warrants, ending racial profiling, and increasing transparency. Furthermore, we passed legislation to better ensure access to voting in person or by mail.

I supported the Dream and Promise Act to protect Dreamers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status, and provide them with an earned path to legal status. I worked with farmers and farmworkers to author and pass a bipartisan bill to provide citizenship for farmworkers, funding for farmworker housing, and improved safety standards.

Why Vote For Me?

As your U.S. Representative, it is my responsibility to ensure that the federal government works for the people of the Central Coast by providing them with opportunities to fulfill their dreams in our democracy. This includes working hard to assist constituents with the federal government and fighting to uphold our Central Coast values through the creation of legislative policies to combat the pandemic, shore up our economy, protect our environment, fight for affordable and accessible housing and healthcare, ensure racial justice, secure adequate infrastructure investment, support our bountiful agriculture, and pass comprehensive immigration reform. By bringing new ideas and civility to Congress and working collaboratively towards meaningful solutions to our issues, I will continue to fulfill my obligation to you. I humbly ask for your support so that I can continue to serve you and fight for our values and the future of our home on the Central Coast.

Meet the Candidates

Jimmy Panetta

My History

My Plans

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