Teacher, Marine vet Suzanne Till targets Issa as ‘nonpartisan moderate Democrat’

Suzanne Till at Padre Dam in Santee has been a water board member since Photo via Suzanne Till Suzanne Till became a Marine officer and conquered cancer Now her mission is to beat entrenched incumbent Rep Darrell Issa in the th Congressional District A instructor at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista Till is among six Democrats looking to upset Republican Issa in the GOP-leaning East County That s a record number of Issa challengers East County-born Till calls herself a nonpartisan moderate Democrat who doesn t do party politics But she declares If I do not receive the California Democratic Party endorsement I will drop out of this congressional elections Her record in nonpartisan races is though She prides herself on helping her late dad Joe Till get elected to the Riverview now Lakeside Water District board in and following him onto another water board In my students pestered me to do something about surroundings change so I did she informed Times of San Diego I decided to run for political office a seat on the Padre Dam Municipal Water District That year she was elected Division director beating the Republican incumbent by percentage points I was re-elected in against a well-funded Republican challenger she stated of Robert Lloyd Sr winning by points Padre Dam MWD serves approximately people in the th District she explained My dedication to fiscal responsibility is unwavering I have NEVER voted for a water or sewer rate increase In she was diagnosed with lung cancer The healthcare medical expert and staff at the UCSD Moore Cancer Center saved my life Till noted I am on targeted therapy and am at the moment in remission Lakeside resident Till is the second woman hoping to advance out of the June primary after Whitney Shanahan of Fallbrook Other Democrats in the race are Curtis Morrison Albert James Mora Brian Nash and Nicholas Nick Davis with Till a July entrant David didn t respond to a Q A request But Till narrated a fascinating immigrant tale about her late mom Femie My mother s life story is one of courage and compassion she explained In her early teens Femie survived one of the largest forced migrations in history fleeing World War II s Eastern Front the brutal war between Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union in East Prussia th Democrat joins race to oust Rep Issa This ain t a campaign It s an intervention Experts pick Rep Issa to win in unless Democrats ride a seismic shift Who can beat Rep Darrell Issa in CA- Three Democratic rivals step up to plate In her twenties Femie emigrated to the United States where she met and married Joe As a wife and mother of five children in Lakeside Suzanne being the eldest Femie was ongoing at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and worked tirelessly to feed and clothe the homeless Till benefits from local name recognition her Marine veteran father Joe taught math and coached football for years at El Capitan High School A divorced mother of one son SDSU music theater graduate Johnathon she boasts a White Swiss Shepherd rescue named Yuki my campaign superstar When I campaign going door to door Yuki is there along with my son Johnathon who manages our campaign voter database she noted Till graduated from UCLA and like her dad was commissioned a Marine Corps officer She earned a master s at SDSU in geography and urban planning and a Ph D in water materials geography at the University of Colorado Boulder Till is a published author in water support geography and was the watershed coordinator for the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project This interview was conducted by email in mid-July TIMES OF SAN DIEGO Did anyone encourage you to run SUZANNE TILL I was attending the Roosevelt Dinner the annual dinner for San Diego County Democrats in May At the dinner I quipped about running for Congress and then soooo a multitude of Democrats let me know all that night how happy they were that I was thinking of running I sought my oncologist if I should run and she disclosed yes please run we will keep you healthy So here I am Why are you running for Congress Main issues When I was first elected in at my swearing in I dedicated my work as an elected official to the youth of East County I know our youth are faced with the overwhelming challenge of adapting to and solving atmosphere change Now in our young people can t afford to live here in California due to rising housing water and force costs Our adult children who love California are leaving the state Definitively we are in trouble concerning our water supply Due to setting change the Colorado River which supplies of water for the th District is drying up San Diego and Riverside Counties have the the majority expensive water supplies in the State So my main platform is Affordable housing water and force What requirements of CA majority of need addressing How would you help to fulfill these requirements As an elected official I am at present addressing one key issue reliable and affordable water supply As director and vice president of the Padre Dam Water Board I am committed to the completion of the East County Advanced Water Purification Effort East County AWP Operational in the East County AWP will produce of water supplies for East San Diego County I helped secure million in federal and state funds for the East County AWP The AWP has created good paying jobs in the th district Unlike the expensive water supplies such as imported water and water from the Carlsbad desalination plant the East County AWP is locally produced high quality water With the East County AWP Padre Dam MWD will stabilize water rates in East County Clean power solar and wind are at this moment the lowest cost force sources in California I don t understand why the Republican Big Beautiful Bill is trying to replace affordable clean vigor with expensive polluting fossil fuels that accelerate surroundings change I will work to bring back the clean force economic activity and jobs to the th We should reinstate the electric car subsidy Tax incentives and subsidies for rooftop solar are a must not only for homes but also schools parking lots and even Padre Dam MWD If our force bills go up so do water rates I am a nonpartisan moderate Democrat I do not do party politics and serve the voters first The Padre Dam MWD Board of Directors is bipartisan and an example of great governance We need more elected bureaucrats like me who can and desire to work in a bipartisan surroundings in Washington DC I want to continue the flow of federal funds and jobs for infrastructure in the th We need legislative amendment for the California housing region a housing realm that serves multinational funding corporations not affordable housing for California s working families As a veteran I am at the moment disturbed by how the military is being used as a political tool domestically within the U S borders I would love to be part of a movement to dismantle partisan politics in Washington DC How do you plan to displace an entrenched GOP incumbent in a district with Republican registration compared with Democrats and independents My current water district has the same voter profile and I won of the vote in I will use the same triumphant strategy I utilized in my campaign for director Division Padre Dam MWD I will go door to door do town halls and listen to voters It is my job to listen and earn the people s vote no matter what party affiliation including independent voters This strategy seems to work How will you finance your campaign Do you expect DCCC or local Democratic Party help How much self-financing will you do I am a high school coach not a multimillionaire like Congressman Issa At the California Democratic Party convention in June my candidacy was well received Yes it is our target to receive assistance from DCCC In the Democratic Party there is a movement to get more veterans in Congress I believe I am just that veteran to succeed and serve the th How are you better prepared to challenge Mr Issa than your Democratic rivals Unlike Darrell Issa I was born in the th grew up in the th raised my family in the th and I am an elected official in the th I have run achieving in two political campaigns in the th I am a USMC veteran My experience as an elected official in achieving bipartisan governance stands out Tell about your main campaign staff paid or unpaid manager charity fundraiser social media person media coordinator We declared candidacy on July we are still growing The campaign club is small and extremely efficient Helpers from all over the USA are helping Locally I have a group of high school and college students working on this campaign How will you appeal to decline-to-state voters Will a major independent vote be needed to overcome the GOP advantage A great number of voters especially independents are tired of party politics My current elected position is nonpartisan I am very pragmatic and seek science material driven commonsense solutions I have encouragement from independent voters Will you seek patronage from disaffected Republicans My current elected position is nonpartisan I have challenged Republican and Democratic elected leaders who continue to raise water rates on imported and desalinated water sold to us by the San Diego County Water Authority There are other local low-cost and sustainable water supplies for the th District such as the East County AWP I have advocacy of Republican voters and elected bureaucrats If elected what would be your major priorities in Congress A minimal more priorities As the proud daughter of an immigrant I know firsthand USA is a country of hard working immigrants Immigrants and immigrant families must not be portrayed as or treated as criminals We need smart procedures to keep our confines secure allow for a prosperous cross-border market adjustment a broken immigration system and stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities I am alive and very operational as an educator and serving the local society due to lung cancer research and cutting edge treatments at UCSD I am committed to federal advocacy for cancer research and cutting edge treatments throughout the United States Fun fact The th District is home to almost all of San Diego and Riverside Counties drinking water reservoirs Various of these reservoirs cannot even be filled to full ceiling due to a history of deferred maintenance I will bring in federal support to fix and upgrade our aging water storage and transportation infrastructure Laying off teachers counselors and librarians as done by the Grossmont Union High School District in May does not sponsorship our children s future I am a lecturer I know what works for our students I aid smaller class sizes more STEM science device engineering and mathematics tuition more arts teaching and increasing tutor pay Ultimately when I went to school at El Capitan High School countless teachers including my dad had master s degrees We had so a multitude of career technical training CTE classes We need those teachers with advanced degrees back in the classroom along with more CTE such as auto mechanics and agriculture If Dems take control in early Would you patronage the impeachment of Donald Trump Washington politics is chaotic and changes hour to hour Consequently I prefer not to commit to anything in the future If elected would you assistance term limits for House members Yes If elected would you pledge to hold regular in-person town halls in the district I right now do voter outreach as a director for Padre Dam MWD so yes Anything else readers should know about your candidacy I am very healthy an athlete and have never smoked in my life This lung cancer determination came as a total surprise for my family and friends In the USA more women are diagnosed with breast cancer but more women die of lung cancer every year Prayers do work my students and co-workers pray every day for my cancer recovery journey and continued remission I just adored Pope Francis and I am very excited about our American Pope Leo who will bring much needed love kindness and compassion for all humanity biodiversity and the Earth This year was amazing My cancer is in remission I got re-elected in a very tough race AND I served as a volunteer coach with the Santana High School girls basketball club The organization was so cohesive and hard-working and then unexpectedly we won the San Diego County CIF championship I wish they would have auditioned Yuki for the part of Super Dog in Superman She is my Super Dog