(DUBLIN, CA.) – Carin Elam, a longtime resident of California, is one of many candidates running for California’s 14th Congressional seat.
In an interview with Open Governance, Elam shares the experience she has, the points of her campaign and the plans she has for the district.
Photo Credit: instagram.com / carinforcongress
The interview begins with Elam opening up about her experiences prior to her decision to run for Congress. Originally born in Southern California, she was raised in the East Bay.
Referring to her father, she shares the most valuable lesson she learned from a strong figure in her childhood.
“He got up everyday wanting to make the world better than it was. He always got up with purpose, he always got up with the intention to help and that’s been how I’ve lived my life.”
This way of living is reflected in the type of work and knowledge she chose to pursue after graduating from Antioch High School.
Moving across the country to New York, Elam studied political science and economy at Barnard College. Following her graduation, she worked for 17 years in consulting with primarily healthcare clients.
“I was in both the hospitals and with health insurance companies, so I got to see [their] inner workings. With that, one of my top priorities is affordable healthcare.”
Enya Niebergall, a reporter with opgov.news, wrote an article exemplifying the decrease in affordability of healthcare in San Francisco, CA.
Marking the end of these 17 years and the beginning of a new direction in her life, Elam went back to school and graduated with a masters in international and European governance.
Eventually moving to Pleasanton, CA, working briefly with Democrats Abroad and afterward with LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Elam decided to pursue her passion in politics and run for Congress.
All of this experience closely relates to the main points of her campaign. As mentioned in a previous quote, one of the largest is affordable healthcare.
“There are already [good healthcare] policy ideas out there, and I will do my part to move those forward.”
When asked for specific examples of what kind of policies she would support, this is what she shares:
The minimum age to qualify for medicaid should be lowered from 65 to 60
She is a “choice” candidate and supports women’s reproductive care
She wishes to investigate healthcare insurance companies and how they charge high and differing prices across different hospitals
Photo Credit: instagram.com / carinforcongress
Another major point of Elam’s campaign includes incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into primarily medical and educational scenes with the goal to improve these areas and create new jobs.
She opens this topic by addressing the application of AI within medical environments.
“[These] large data models can do research so much faster and at scale [...] versus a human trying to run the same number of tasks. [I believe] that we will get to a place of finding cures for some serious diseases or cancers.”
When it comes to the educational system, Elam expresses her surprise that people she’s spoken to who work in education are more enthusiastic about AI than not.
Her and the staff agree that AI is something that is necessary to education, for it will be needed to enter the workforce.
She also believes AI could increase the efficiency of grading and help students as an educational tool.
Gopal Krishan shares Elam’s views on the potential for AI to benefit society, believing specifically that it can help increase transparency regarding crime data.
Though her stance on AI is generally positive, she acknowledges the many concerns regarding AI and those who disagree with her ideas. She also expresses her desire to pass federal legislation that would regulate the use and development of AI in order to address both sides of the argument.
Photo Credit: instagram.com / carinforcongress
This principle of compromise reflects the final major point of her campaign. The concept of “reaching across the aisle,” or finding compromise between different political parties comes up multiple times throughout the interview.
“I will work across the aisle with anyone who wants to provide real solutions for the district and the country. I think we need to stop getting stuck on ideological positions and we really need to look at common sense solutions.”
If you have any questions, please email me at madison.v@lead4earth.org or comment below.
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