Political Reformer Duf Sundheim Announces His Campaign for the California U.S. Senate Seat

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Wednesday, 09 September 2015 07:13

Written by Contributing Editor

George "Duf" Sundheim announced his intention to seek the California United States Senate seat currently held by Senator Barbara Boxer. The Sundheim campaign released a video to accompany the announcement.

"I am running for the United States Senate to give the people of California a voice in their government," Sundheim said. "California has suffered an economic earthquake that has split our state in two.  We have seen one of the greatest accumulations of wealth in history, but there are 8.9 million people living in poverty. 

"A major reason for this gap is bad laws that are choking job growth and causing costs to skyrocket. The combination is crushing millions of Californians. 

"Poverty-stricken zip codes are trapping children in failing schools. Our water infrastructure is antiquated and our roads are crumbling.  We can do better.  We must do better.

"Yet, we have a professional political class that seems to be deaf to these concerns; putting partisanship ahead of people, their ambitions ahead of ours. That is the issue in this election: are we going to allow the professional political class to chip away at our rights or are we going to return to a government of the people, by the people, for the people?

Sundheim majored in Economics and played football at Stanford University, graduating with Honors and Distinction. After graduation, Sundheim co-founded Volunteers for Youth, a nationwide program where college athletes worked with youth with low self-esteem. He then received a law degree from Northwestern University with the aid of an Exceptional Student Post-Graduate Fellowship. Sundheim has over 20 years of experience as a small business attorney. He knows how jobs are created and he has seen how government can destroy them.

In 2003, California was suffering from a severe energy crisis, rising taxes and a growing budget deficit. Sundheim gave a voice to popular concerns, playing a key role in the only successful recall of a sitting governor in the history of California.

In 2012, Sundheim reached across the political aisle to help Democrat Mayor of San Jose, Chuck Reed, pass sweeping pension reform with the support of 70% of San Jose voters. During this period, Sundheim also served as an advisor to Superintendent John Porter in San Jose's underserved Franklin-McKinley School District. They tirelessly battled bureaucracy and special interests to ensure the district put the children first, doubling the number of students who earned grades that placed them on the Sylvandale Honor Roll. 

Today, Sundheim owns his own small business, serving as a federal court mediator and volunteer settlement judge. In these roles, Sundheim regularly helps those long opposed to one another find common sense, long-term solutions to their problems.

Sundheim and his wife of 32 years, Cheryl, live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cheryl is an Infant Mental Health Specialist working in the field of early intervention with young children and families. They are the proud parents of two adult sons, Jordan and Eric.