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John Laird

D

Senate Democrat

District 17, Santa Cruz

Time in office

Assembly: 2002-2008

Senate: 2020—Present

Background

Natural Resources Secretary

This legislator leads on...

K-12 education Issues

Higher education Issues

Campaign contributions

Senator John Laird has taken at least $1.1 million from the Labor sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 27% of his total campaign contributions.

Contact or follow this legislator

Website
Email
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Capitol office

1021 O Street, Suite 8720, Sacramento, CA 95814-4900; (916) 651-4017

District office(s)

1026 Palm Street, Suite 201, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401; (805) 549-3784

99 Pacific Street, Suite 575F, Monterey, CA 93940; (831) 657-6315

701 Ocean Street, Suite 318A, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; (831) 425-0401

Biographical information

Birth Place

Vallejo, CA

Race/Ethnicity

White

Residence

Santa Cruz, CA

Gender

Male

Born

March 29, 1950

Identifies as

LGBQ/Other

See our data sources →

How this legislator voted in 2021-2022

Campaign contributions received by sector

OpenSecrets and CalMatters have categorized campaign contributions to legislators based on the economic sector that the donor represents. Methodology →

This is how much money John Laird has taken from the various sectors since he was elected to the legislature.

Broad sector Amount Percent
Labor
$1,068,974 $1.1 M 27%
Health
$336,846 $336k 8%
Government Agencies/Education/Other
$296,246 $296k 7%
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
$266,905 $266k 7%
Lawyers & Lobbyists
$210,050 $210k 5%
General Business
$194,759 $194k 5%
Communications & Electronics
$148,662 $148k 4%
Energy & Natural Resources
$126,286 $126k 3%
Unitemized Contributions
$91,481 $91k 2%
Ideology/Single Issue
$75,639 $75k 2%
Agriculture
$71,609 $71k 2%
Candidate Contributions
$68,427 $68k 2%
Transportation
$64,600 $64k 2%
Construction
$55,034 $55k 1%
Party
$10,194 $10k <1%
Defense
$1,250 $1k <1%
Note: The above percentages might not add up to exactly 100% because we are not displaying any contributions that have not yet been classified.

Committees this legislator serves on

Being on a policy committee means the legislator works on these issues by considering bills relevant to the policy topic. The committee “chair” , chosen by the chamber leader, oversees the discussions of these bills. Members also serve on additional special, select, joint and sub committees, which can be found here.

Budget and Fiscal Review
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Oversees Senate consideration of the annual state budget including oversight of several budget subcommittees
Judiciary
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Bills relating to courts, judges, and court personnel. Bills relating to liens, claims, and unclaimed property. Bills relating to privacy and consumer protection.
Labor, Public Employment and Retirement
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Bills relating to labor, industrial safety, unemployment, workers’ compensation and insurance, state and local public agency collective bargaining, state and local nonschool public employees, noncertificated and classified public school employees, public retirement systems, public employees’ compensation and employment benefits, including retirement and health care, and state social security administration.
Natural Resources and Water
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Bills relating to conservation and management of public resources, fish and wildlife, regulation of oil, mining, geothermal development, acid deposition, wetlands and lakes, global atmospheric effects, ocean and bay pollution, forestry practices, recreation, parks and historical resources.
Rules
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Responsible for matters relating to the business of the Legislature; assigning bills to committees

How special interest groups rate this legislator

Special interest groups are organizations that advocate on behalf of shared interests, such as protecting the environment. Many interest groups rate politicians on how well their voting records agree with each group's goals. See a selection of these ratings for this legislator. Methodology →

95%
2022
American Civil Liberties Union
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The ACLU has major chapters in Northern California and Southern California and advocates on criminal justice, free speech and other issues.
8%
2022
California Chamber of Commerce
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The California Chamber of Commerce includes an advocacy arm for employers. It says it has more than 14,000 members representing a quarter of the state’s private sector workforce, and it issues an annual “job killer” list of bills.
100%
2022
California Environmental Voters
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California Environmental Voters advocates for environmental protection and climate change mitigation. It was started in 1972.
95%
2022
California Labor Federation
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The California Labor Federation is an umbrella organization for more than 1,200 labor unions representing 2.1 million workers in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries.
93%
2022
California Teachers Association
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The California Teachers Association is a labor organization representing teachers and other employees at K-12 schools and community colleges. With 310,000 members, it is the largest affiliate of the National Education Association.
100%
2021
Courage California
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Courage California is a progressive advocacy organization seeking policy change on issues including equity, representative democracy and institutional corruption.
100%
2022
Equality California
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Equality California says it has more than 900,000 members and is the largest statewide organization of its kind. It advocates for equal rights and other issues of concern to the LGBTQ community.
D-
2022
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
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The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association advocates for limited taxation and for the “economical, equitable and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.” It was founded by Howard and Estelle Jarvis, who championed Proposition 13 in 1978, California’s landmark property tax limit.
100%
2022
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California represents seven affiliates that run more than 100 health centers serving more than 750,000 patients a year. It advocates on sexual and reproductive health care and education, and access to health care, including abortion.
90%
2022
Sierra Club
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The Sierra Club has 13 chapters with more than 400,000 members in California and advocates on environmental and climate change issues.

Sponsored travel in 2022

Gifts reported in 2022

Senate District 17 demographics

Senate District 17 map
D

Safe Democratic district

Next election: 2024

How to read these charts

District
State

Voter registration

Dem
51%
47%
GOP
22%
24%
No party
20%
23%

Census data on race/ethnicity, household income, age, poverty rate, and education level will be provided when available.

See our methodology and sources →

Most recent election

2020 General
D

John Laird

Democratic
 64.7%
R

Vicki Nohrden

Republican
 35.3%

CalMatters coverage about this legislator

Will California strikers get jobless benefits?

By Lynn La, September 25, 2023

Legislative fix would save student housing at some California community colleges

By Mikhail Zinshteyn, September 6, 2023

California regulators OK Aliso Canyon expansion

By Lynn La, September 1, 2023

See all articles →

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