An Honest Economy for Sonoma County
World-class vineyards, working waterfronts, and families who rebuilt after the fires — only to lose their insurance
Sonoma County knows what it means to watch your neighborhood burn. The Tubbs Fire. The Kincade Fire. The Glass Fire. Thousands of homes destroyed, lives upended, communities rebuilt from ash. And then the insurance companies left. The farmworkers who harvest world-famous grapes can't afford to live here. Bodega Bay's fishing families are hanging on by a thread. Sonoma doesn't need another politician talking about resilience. It needs someone who shows up with actual legislation. Here are the three bills that matter most.
They Rebuilt After the Fire. Then the Insurance Left.
Sonoma County families did everything right. They rebuilt their homes. They cleared their brush. They hardened their roofs. And then their insurance companies sent non-renewal notices anyway. Meanwhile, the farmworkers who make Sonoma's $4 billion wine industry possible can't afford to live in the county. And Bodega Bay's fishing fleet is aging out with no plan for what comes next. These three bills attack all three crises with drafted federal legislation — not campaign promises.
Federal Wildfire Insurance Stabilization Act
You survived the fire and rebuilt your home — you shouldn't have to lose it to a non-renewal notice
After the Tubbs, Kincade, and Glass fires, insurance companies didn't just raise rates in Sonoma County — they left entirely. Families who spent everything rebuilding their homes are now getting dropped by the companies they've paid premiums to for decades. The reason? Proprietary risk models that nobody can see, challenge, or verify. This bill replaces those secret algorithms with an open-source National Wildfire Risk Model built on real science and available to everyone. It creates a federal reinsurance backstop — modeled on the proven systems for flood and terrorism — so insurers can cover catastrophic losses without fleeing the market. It establishes the Zone Zero standard: a 5-foot noncombustible buffer around structures that earns homeowners guaranteed rate reductions. And it requires meaningful credits for home hardening — not token discounts, but real savings for fire-resistant roofing, ember-resistant vents, and defensible space. Sonoma already knows how to harden. This bill makes sure it pays off.
Pacific Coast Fisheries Resilience Act
Bodega Bay built Sonoma's coast — this bill makes sure it has a future
Bodega Bay isn't just a tourist stop — it's a working fishing port with families who've made their living on the water for generations. But salmon closures, crab season disruptions from toxic algal blooms, and an aging fleet are pushing the community to the breaking point. Bodega Bay is specifically named in the North Coast Fisheries Pilot Region — meaning it's first in line for federal investment. This bill provides salmon disaster relief payments so families can keep their boats and their homes while the fishery recovers. It funds crab fleet resilience support to maintain vessels and keep captains ready for shortened seasons. It creates a Fisher-to-Kelp-Farmer transition program that opens regenerative aquaculture as a real second income stream. And it invests in waterfront infrastructure — cold storage, processing facilities, and dock improvements that keep Bodega Bay competitive.
American Farmland Transition & Small Farm Opportunity Act
The people who harvest Sonoma's world-famous grapes should be able to live in Sonoma
Sonoma County's agricultural economy is worth billions — wine, dairy, produce, livestock. But the family farms and vineyards that built that economy are being squeezed out by corporate consolidation, and the farmworkers who do the hardest physical labor often can't afford to live in the county they feed. This bill creates rent-to-own pathways that help beginning farmers — including farmworker families — transition from working someone else's land to owning their own. It provides SBA-backed loans specifically for small farms, not industrial operations, with priority for first-generation farmers and veterans. It funds soil-friendly machinery innovation so small vineyards and organic farms can compete without destroying the terroir that makes Sonoma wines world-class. It supports regenerative viticulture — drought-resistant rootstocks, cover cropping, and water-efficient practices that protect both the land and the business. And it includes protections for agricultural scenic beauty — because Sonoma's rolling vineyards aren't just an economy, they're an identity.
Every Bill Meets These Standards
Not talking points — tested principles. Every bill was drafted with constitutional analysis, fiscal scoring, and real accountability built in. Read them yourself.