John Garamendi
DemocratU.S. Representative, CA-8| Age | 81 (b. 1945-01-24) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2009-11-03 (~16 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | White; of Basque descent (paternal grandfather emigrated from the Basque Country) |
| Religion | Protestant (unspecified) |
| Education | B.A. in Business, University of California, Berkeley (1966); M.B.A., Harvard Business School (1970) |
| Prior occupation | Cattle rancher (Angus cattle) and pear grower in Mokelumne Hill, California; Peace Corps volunteer (Ethiopia, 1966-1968); businessman/partner at Yucaipa Companies; career politician |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Camp Blanding, Florida |
| Marital status | Married — Patricia 'Patti' Wilkinson Garamendi |
| Children | 6 |
| Residence | Walnut Grove, California |
Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 1974 |
| Previous offices | California State Assembly, 7th District (1974-1976) · California State Senate (1976-1990); Senate Majority Leader · California Insurance Commissioner (1991-1995) · U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior (1995-1998) · California Insurance Commissioner (2003-2007) · Lieutenant Governor of California (2007-2009) · U.S. House of Representatives, CA-10 (2009-2013) · U.S. House of Representatives, CA-3 (2013-2023) |
| Committees | House Committee on Armed Services (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Readiness; Subcommittee on Strategic Forces) · House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; Subcommittee on Highways and Transit; Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment; Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management) |
| Caucuses | Congressional Progressive Caucus · American Sikh Congressional Caucus (co-chair) · Peace Corps Caucus (co-chair) · Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Congressional Equality Caucus · Blue Collar Caucus · Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition · Shipbuilding Caucus |
| Leadership | Ranking Member, Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness (119th Congress) · California State Senate Majority Leader (state legislative service) |
| Ideology | Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; consistent liberal/progressive voting record (cosponsor of Green New Deal and Medicare for All); reported 100% alignment with President Biden's positions in the 117th Congress (FiveThirtyEight) |
| Signature legislation | Energizing American Shipbuilding Act (2018, reintroduced subsequently) - require share of U.S. LNG/crude exports on U.S.-built vessels · Garamendi amendment requiring Jones Act enforcement in offshore wind development · Growing American Shipping Act (included in Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014) · Buy America/Jones Act provisions in Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 |
Financial
Net worth: estimate
| Ranch (Mokelumne Hill, with livestock/cattle) | real_estate · $1,000,000–$5,000,000 · 2025 |
| Rental property | real_estate · $500,000–$1,000,000 · 2025 |
| Wells Fargo bank account | other · $250,000–$500,000 · 2025 |
| Bank of America account | other · $100,000–$250,000 · 2025 |
| Cabin | real_estate · $100,000–$250,000 · 2025 |
Scandals & crimes ledger
No recorded incidents. Under the adjudicated-only methodology, an entry appears only when a court or official body has formally acted and the record is cited.