Josh Fryday, Chief Service Officer of California in the California Governor’s Cabinet, talks to a campaign supporter during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Fryday is the former mayor of the Northern California city of Novato and serves as the state’s chief service officer, leading the newly created Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement. He is also a veteran who served in the Navy as a judge advocate general.
While stationed in Japan, Fryday helped coordinate disaster relief efforts after the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. He represented detainees while serving at Guantanamo Bay and later urged legislators to close the detention facility during his testimony before a U.S. Senate committee.
“I have the experience of delivering for people and the demonstrated courage of standing up for our values and speaking out when it matters most,” he said.
A self-described environmental champion, Fryday supports the state’s plan to phase out new gas-powered cars by 2035. “We need to be very aggressive in pursuing the transition to a clean economy,” he said.
Fryday has concerns about the Billionaire Tax Act and thinks the state should explore other ways of raising revenue.
He does not support the death penalty.
“Public safety should be a huge concern of government,” he said. “It’s part of why I volunteered to serve in the military, to keep our country safe, but I think the death penalty has proven that it doesn’t deter crime and its been applied unfairly.”
Fryday would fight back against the Trump administration’s attacks on universities, communities and the environment.
“We need courage to stand up to the Trump administration to be able to protect our state,” he said.
Other certified candidates appearing on the ballot for lieutenant governor include Democrats Janelle Kellman, Jeyson Lopez, Oliver Ma, Tim Myers and Abdur Rahman Sikder and Republicans Ebie Lynch, David Collenberg, David Fennell and Skip Shelton. Third party candidates include Alice Stek with the Peace and Freedom Party and Rakesh Christian and Sean Collinson, who both have no party listed.
