Jay Obernolte
Official portrait, 2020
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from California
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byPaul Cook
Constituency8th district (2021–2023)
23rd district (2023–present)
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 33rd district
In office
December 1, 2014  November 30, 2020
Preceded byTim Donnelly
Succeeded byThurston Smith
Personal details
Born
Jay Phillip Obernolte

(1970-08-18) August 18, 1970
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Heather Obernolte
(m. 1996)
Children2
Residence(s)Big Bear Lake, California, U.S.
Education
Signature
WebsiteHouse website

Jay Phillip Obernolte (/ˈbərˌnlti/ OH-bər-NOHL-tee; born August 18, 1970) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for California's 23rd district since 2021, when it was numbered as the 8th district. A Republican, he was previously a member of the California State Assembly representing the 33rd district. Before serving in the Assembly, Obernolte served on the city council and was the mayor of Big Bear Lake, California. He is the owner, president, and technical director of FarSight Studios, an American video game developer.

Early life and education

Obernolte was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Fresno, California.[1][2] He graduated as valedictorian of Edison/Computech High School in 1988. In 1992, he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and applied science from the California Institute of Technology and in 1997, he received his Master of Science in artificial intelligence from the University of California, Los Angeles.[3] In 2020, he was awarded a Doctorate in Public Administration from the California Baptist University with a dissertation on "Managing Budgetary Conflict Between the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government".[4]

Career

Business

In 1990, Obernolte launched FarSight Studios, an independent developer and publisher of family-friendly video games. The company originally produced games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and as of 2023 develops for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Oculus, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.[5] Notable games the studio has developed include Color a Dinosaur, Game Party, Hotel for Dogs, The Pinball Arcade, and the Sega Genesis version of Action 52.[6][3][7] FarSight Studios claims Sony, Microsoft, Google, and Apple among its clients and employs 25 workers.[8]

Politics

In 2005, Obernolte was elected to the Big Bear City Airport Board, where he served for five years. He then served as president of the board for three years and as vice president for one year.[3][9][10]

In 2010, Obernolte was elected to Big Bear City Council, where he served as mayor.[3] He also served on the Big Bear Lake Fire Protection Board, as director of the Mojave Desert and on the Mountain Integrated Waste JPA Board, the Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority Board, and the League of California Cities Desert-Mountain Division.[8][11]

Obernolte served as state assemblyman for California's 33rd State Assembly district, which encompasses a wide expanse of the High Desert (areas of the Mojave Desert), from the eastern fringes of the Los Angeles metropolitan area to the Nevada and Arizona borders, from 2014 to 2020. He was elected to Congress in 2020 to replace retiring Paul Cook as representative for California's 8th congressional district, which includes Mono County, Inyo County, and the majority of land mass in San Bernardino County.

California State Assembly

In January 2016, Obernolte was elected to serve on the California Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus, which is co-chaired by Assembly members Ian Calderon and Evan Low.[12] He also sat on the following committees: Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media as vice chair; Budget as vice chair; Appropriations; Budget Subcommittee 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation; Budget Subcommittee 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation; Utilities and Commerce; Joint Committee on Arts; and Joint Legislative Budget.[13][14]

In 2016, Obernolte expressed concern over Frontier Communications's acquisition of Verizon's voice, video, data, and FiOS network, saying that the takeover "negatively affected" his constituents through poor landline telephone service.[15]

In 2016, Obernolte introduced Assembly Bill 2341, which would provide San Bernardino and other rural counties with additional judges to resolve backlogged court systems.[16] The bill would have shifted seats from Santa Clara and Alameda counties to the rural counties including San Bernardino, but died in the Senate Appropriations Committee without a hearing.[17][18]

In 2017, Obernolte opposed Xavier Becerra's nomination as California Attorney General.[19]

Obernolte said that Governor Jerry Brown's $179.45 billion budget proposal was "responsible", but expressed a preference for fixing existing programs over creating new ones. He also stated an interest in funding job skills training, improving the state's Denti-Cal program, repairing infrastructure, and working on the housing crisis. Obernolte pushed for lawmakers to limit long-term funding commitments and said the budget proposal did nothing to address the "state's out-of-control pension debts and retiree health care liabilities."[20]

Obernolte co-authored Assembly Bill 1103, which would have allowed California bicyclists to roll through stop signs if it was safe to do so (the "Idaho stop").[21][22] The bill died in committee.[23]

Obernolte authored Assembly Bill 1642, which would extend the deadlines to either pay the fire tax, which is a state fire prevention fee, or file a petition for redetermination from 30 days to 60 days.[24] In July 2017, the fire fee was suspended as part of Assembly Bill 398.[25] Obernolte opposed raising fire insurance costs, which is calculated by factors in the risk of wildfire, fuels, slope and road access for emergency vehicles.[26]

Obernolte opposed increases in the minimum wage.[27]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

In September 2019, after Paul Cook announced his retirement from California's 8th congressional district, Obernolte announced his candidacy.[28][29][30][31] The district covers most of the High Desert of San Bernardino County and Mono and Inyo counties.[32]

In February 2020, President Donald Trump endorsed Obernolte on Twitter.[33][34][31]

In the November 2020 election, Obernolte defeated Democratic nominee Chris Bubser[32] with 56.1% of the vote to Bubser's 43.9%.[35] Obernolte was sworn in to Congress on January 3, 2021, and appointed Freshman Class Representative to the House Republican Policy Committee.[36]

2020 California's 8th congressional district primary results by county
Map legend
  •   Obernolte—30–40%
  •   Bubser—30–40%
  •   Bubser—40–50%
California's 8th congressional district, 2020[37][38]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Obernolte 50,677 35.0
Democratic Christine Bubser 41,595 28.7
Republican Tim Donnelly 30,079 20.7
Democratic Bob Conaway 9,053 6.2
No party preference Jeff Esmus 4,042 2.8
Democratic James Ellars 3,948 2.7
Republican Jeremy Staat 2,288 1.6
Republican Jerry Laws 2,010 1.4
Republican Justin David Whitehead 1,305 0.9
No party preference J. Green (write-in) 11 0.0
Total votes 145,008 100.0
General election
Republican Jay Obernolte 158,711 56.1
Democratic Christine Bubser 124,400 43.9
Total votes 283,111 100.0
Republican hold

Tenure

On January 6, 2021, Obernolte voted not to count Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 United States presidential election, citing unilateral changes to election law made in those states by the judiciary or executive branch rather than the state legislature.[39][40][41] He also voted against impeaching Trump for inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6.[42] Obernolte voted against the creation of the January 6 commission.[43]

Obernolte's first pieces of legislation to pass the House concerned the enabling of technological advancement.[44] His Fellowship and Traineeship for Early Career AI Researchers Act and Next Generation Computing Research and Development Act were included in the bipartisan H.R. 2225, the National Science Foundation (NSF) For the Future Act,[45] and H.R. 3593, the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act[46] respectively. His first standalone legislation, H.R. 3533, passed the House in September 2021. It establishes occupational series for federal positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management.[47]

In February 2021, Obernolte voted against the resolution that stripped Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments[48] for her incendiary and violent statements.[49] In November 2021, he voted against censuring Representative Paul Gosar, who posted an edited video of himself violently attacking Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.[50]

In February 2021, Obernolte voted against the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to include new protections.[51]

In March 2021, he voted against the American Rescue Plan Act.[52][53]

In June 2021, Obernolte voted to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.[52]

As of October 2021, Obernolte had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 20% of the time.[52]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[54]

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Obernolte supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade and believes that because the Constitution does not mention abortion explicitly, states may outlaw it.[57]

On July 19, 2022, Obernolte and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.[58] He said, "As an ardent advocate for limited government, I do not feel that government should be empowered to dictate the terms of a marriage."[59]

In 2022, Obernolte was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[60][61]

In 2023, Obernolte was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[62][63]

Electoral history

2014 California State Assembly election

On February 10, 2014, Obernolte announced his candidacy for the California State Assembly to succeed Tim Donnelly in the 33rd district.

Obernolte was endorsed by the California Republican Party,[64] the San Bernardino County Republican party, the California Republican Assembly,[65][66] The Press-Enterprise,[67] the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association,[68] Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC),[69] San Bernardino County Safety Employee's Benefit Association (SEBA),[70] the California Conservative Christians,[71] and the Independent Voter Political Action Committee.[72]

In the June primary, Obernolte finished second with 18.89% of the vote with 7,887 votes. He defeated Democrat John Coffey in the November general election with 65.9% of the vote.[73]

2014 California's 33rd State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Coffey 9,865 23.1
Republican Jay Obernolte 8,028 18.8
Republican Michelle Ambrozic 7,566 17.7
Republican Rick Roelle 6,574 15.4
Republican Art Bishop 5,956 14.0
Republican Brett Savage 1,811 4.2
Republican Scott Markovich 975 2.3
Republican Jerry J. Laws 814 1.9
Republican Robert J. "Bob" Burhle 802 1.9
Republican Robert Larivee 299 0.7
Total votes 45,690 100.0
General election
Republican Jay Obernolte 46,144 65.9
Democratic John Coffey 23,828 34.1
Total votes 69,972 100.0
Republican hold

2016 California State Assembly election

On January 25, 2016, Obernolte announced he would seek reelection as the representative for California's 33rd Assembly District.[74][75]

In the June primary, Obernolte finished first with 60.7% of the vote with 43,526 votes. He defeated Democrat Scott Markovich in the November general election with 60.6% of the vote.

2016 California's 33rd State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 43,526 60.7
Democratic Scott Markovich 28,220 39.3
Total votes 71,746 100.0
General election
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 84,000 60.6
Democratic Scott Markovich 56,086 39.4
Total votes 140,086 100.0
Republican hold

2018 California State Assembly election

2018 California's 33rd State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 43,100 65.8
Democratic Socorro Cisneros 12,566 19.2
Democratic Scott Markovich 9,854 15.0
Total votes 65,520 100.0
General election
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 72,109 60.2
Democratic Socorro Cisneros 47,603 39.8
Total votes 119,712 100.0
Republican hold

2022 California Congressional election

California's 23rd congressional district, 2022[37]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 57,988 60.9
Democratic Derek Marshall 20,776 21.8
Democratic Bianca A. Gómez 16,516 17.3
Total votes 95,280 100.0
General election
Republican Jay Obernolte (incumbent) 102,733 61.0%
Democratic Derek Marshall 65,655 39.0%
Total votes 168,388 100.0

Personal life

Obernolte married his wife, Heather, in 1996, and they have two sons.[76][77] The family has lived in Big Bear Lake since 1997.[3]

Obernolte holds an airline transport pilot's license. He is a certified flight instructor and has flown light aircraft since 2005. He worked with Embraer as a member on its Pilot Advisory Board during the development of the Phenom 300.[78][79][80][81] Obernolte volunteers as a pilot with the Veterans Airlift Command and the Young Eagles.[3][82]

Obernolte holds a fifth-degree black belt in Pacific Unified Martial Arts and is co-owner and instructor at PUMA Karate in Big Bear Lake.[3][83]

Obernolte is Protestant.[84]

References

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  2. Get to know a freshman: Jay Obernolte
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mayor Jay P. Obernolte – Biography". City of Big Bear Lake. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  4. "Congressman Jay Obernolte - Heather & I officially donned our doctoral hoods yesterday for our COVID-delayed graduation ceremony. I earned my Doctorate in Public Administration last year with a dissertation on Managing Budgetary Conflict Between the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government. I also had the best "study buddy" on campus. Congratulations to graduates across CA's universities this year! | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
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