SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Congressman Ami Bera spoke to the South Tahoe Democrats club on Wednesday night, as one of three Democrats running for California District 3. The redistricting of CD3 held by Republican Kevin Kiley has moved some Republican leaning areas into the 6^th district, which is currently held by Democrat Ami Bera.

Bera is running against Chris Bennett and Heidi Hall. He introduced himself as a son of immigrants and a lifelong Californian. “I got here because this country gave my parents a chance… and I could afford to go to college.” Bera served as a medical director of care management in Sacramento before running for office in 2010, and has represented Sacramento County since 2013.

Currently, Bera serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Bera spoke about the internal Democratic decisions on Proposition 50 in order to take out Kevin Kiley. “We all want to stop Donald Trump… but really the only way to do that is to get the majority,” he said.

Currently, it is unclear where Kiley plans to run, though Tom McClintock’s recent endorsement by President Trump makes it unlikely that he will run in California District 5. An audience member asked why Bera did not try to unseat McClintock himself, to which he replied that Democrats had already distributed Republican votes to make other districts competitive.

One question from attendees asked about Bera’s representation of Tahoe given the expansion of CD3. Bera replied that he was interested in rural healthcare and spent time speaking with Barton representatives about the unique situation Tahoe is in, especially sitting on state borders. He also indicated an interest in supporting forestry management, housing, water and other rural issues.

Bera berated Trump’s second presidential term so far, especially the actions of the past month. “What he did in Venezuela was an act of war… I think they lied to us in classified briefings,” he said. He also stated that he believed that Democrats would get the majority and that there would be another impeachment.

But Bera wasn’t without criticism from attendees. Questions about his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), his stance on Gaza and his acceptance of corporate donations came near the end of the talk.

Bera openly stated that the TPP was to “force China to come in our direction,” and that he supports a Jewish state of Israel but not Benjamin Netanyahu. He also said that he has not directly taken AIPAC money, but has taken money from pro-Israel supporters and pro-corporate donations, but not from gas, tobacco or Wal-Mart.

The question of ICE, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security also came up. Bera said he voted not to fund Homeland Security and was in support of independent investigations and body cameras of ICE, an end to the surge in Minneapolis and an implementation of oversight on ICE. He also suggested that they fire Kristi Noem.

However, Bera did not support abolishing ICE, CBP and DHS. “We do need them… the immigration system is broken right now, and we should do it in a humane way.”

Bera said he felt it was likely that Trump would try to intimidate the public with military force during the midterms or disrupt them somehow. “They’re going to do everything they can to cheat,” he said.

Bera also said that Democrats needed to plan to get the White House in 2029 and have their own “Project 2029.” “Don’t build what we had before—build what’s reflective of the 21^st century,” he said.

When asked what he would do to amend the constitution if he had a say, Bera said he would reform the Senate proportionally, implement campaign reform to make it beholden to constituents, remove gerrymandering and create a fairer playing field. He also said he would reform the Supreme Court and pass the Equal Rights Amendment, to the applause of the crowd.

Editor’s note: The Tribune will also be covering the other candidates in this race in upcoming articles.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley. Learn more at https://fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows/.