Kyle Wilson for Congress

Kyle Wilson for Congress

Kyle Wilson is a workers’ rights attorney and proud independent running for Congress in California’s 2nd District to fight for an economy and political system that works for everyone, not just those at the top.

Biography

Born and raised in Santa Rosa, Kyle comes from a working-class family that has called Sonoma County home for four generations. His great-grandfather came to Sebastopol during the Dust Bowl, where he worked as an apple farmer. Kyle’s grandfather grew up on that farm and went on to serve the community as a Battalion Chief for the Santa Rosa Fire Department.

As a first-generation college graduate and Columbia Law School alum, Kyle has built a legal career fighting for everyday Californians, from representing victims of domestic violence at Legal Aid of Sonoma County to securing multi-million dollar settlements for workers across the state.

He has also taught legal writing at Empire Law School and volunteered as a community yoga instructor, reflecting his commitment to both intellectual discipline and personal wellbeing.

Frustrated by the division and dysfunction of the two-party system, Kyle is running to restore integrity, honesty, and compassion to public life. He believes politics should be about serving the people, not big business, and that every American deserves a fair shot at prosperity, opportunity, and dignity.

Fixing a Rigged Economy

I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom.

– Thomas Jefferson

Economic inequality in the United States has reached levels not seen in decades. Since 1965, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio has soared more than 1,650 percent. As of the first quarter of 2025, the top 0.1 percent of households held 13.8 percent of total wealth while the entire bottom 50 percent held only 2.5 percent. A recent report found that 62 percent of consumers live paycheck to paycheck, including 48 percent of those earning more than 100,000 dollars per year. This wealth gap reflects not hard work but concentrated political power.

The disparity is deeply unpopular: 87 percent of Americans view the CEO-to-worker pay gap as a serious concern. Inequality is eroding economic mobility, wages have stagnated, inflation eats into purchasing power, and social safety nets are frayed. Taken together, it is harder than ever for workers to survive and for entrepreneurs to compete against dominant corporations. Meanwhile, profits and executive bonuses surge, hollowing out the middle class, stifling innovation, and rigging the economy in favor of the few.

Priorities

• Reform the tax system: Reduce the burden on low- and middle-income families by expanding child and family tax credits, restore the corporate tax rate to Reagan-era levels, implement a graduated wealth tax starting at 2 percent on net wealth above 100 million dollars and rising to 95 percent above 1 billion dollars, and tax unrealized capital gains for high net-worth households.
• Promote economic opportunity: Cap CEO pay at 30 times the median employee salary, expand apprenticeships, vocational training, and affordable childcare, provide zero-interest government student loans that can be discharged in bankruptcy, and launch a “Made in America” digital marketplace that connects small manufacturers with consumers.
• Increase government efficiency: Modernize and synchronize administrative systems across federal, state, and local agencies, and invest in secure digital platforms that make government service delivery more responsive, transparent, and cost-effective.

Time’s Up on Career Politicians

The accumulation of all powers in the same hands is the very definition of tyranny.

– James Madison, Federalist No. 47

Congress was never meant to be a lifelong career, yet a growing number of members remain in office for decades, insulated from the realities their constituents face. House members are, on average, nearly 20 years older than the typical American, contributing to a disconnect on issues like technology, housing affordability, student debt, and climate action. Nearly 20 members of Congress have served for more than 30 years, creating a political class detached from the people they represent.

Career politicians undermine democracy in three ways:

• Limited competition: Incumbents win re-election over 90 percent of the time, often because of name recognition, party support, and access to special-interest money that keep grassroots voices out.
• Complacency and partisanship: Long-serving politicians focus more on retaining power than delivering solutions, becoming beholden to party leadership and donors rather than their constituents.
• Voter disengagement: Only 4 percent of Americans say they trust Congress to do the right thing almost always, and endless incumbency deepens the perception that the system is rigged.

George Washington stepped down after two presidential terms, warning about the dangers of factions and consolidated power. Today’s gridlock and lack of accountability reflect the problems he foresaw.

Priorities

• Limit House and Senate terms: Support a constitutional amendment that caps service at 12 years in the House and 12 years in the Senate while still allowing members to build expertise.
• Mobilize public support: Organize the bipartisan majority of voters who back term limits to drive state-level initiatives and pressure Congress to act.
• Enforce limits on congressional leadership: Push for internal rules that limit committee chairs and party leaders even before a constitutional amendment is adopted to curb centralized power.

Bringing the American Dream Home

A nation of homeowners, of people who own a real share in their land, is unconquerable.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Homeownership – the cornerstone of the American Dream – is increasingly out of reach for millions of families. In 2023, the median home price surpassed 430,000 dollars while the median household income hovered around 75,000 dollars. In California, the disparity is even worse: the median home price tops 800,000 dollars while wages remain stagnant.

Millennials and members of Gen Z are on track to have lower homeownership rates than their parents because of soaring prices, limited supply, student loan debt, investor speculation, and outdated zoning laws. Renters find little relief as costs rise nationwide, eroding savings and making it harder to qualify for mortgages. Meanwhile, the tax code favors large real estate investors through depreciation deductions, unlimited 1031 exchanges, and other shelters unavailable to families, enabling corporations and private equity firms to scoop up homes instead of households.

The United States faces a shortfall of more than four million homes, yet policy continues to reward speculation instead of incentivizing new, affordable construction.

Priorities

• Reform the tax code: Phase out depreciation deductions for large investment portfolios, end 1031 exchanges for corporate landlords while preserving them for small family operations, expand federal tax incentives for first-time buyers, and levy progressive property taxes on corporations amassing residential holdings.
• Increase supply through partnership: Establish a federal housing construction fund to partner with local communities on affordable and workforce projects, incentivize single-family development in rural and suburban areas, and work with states and cities on zoning reform.
• Support financial access and stability: Expand down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers and create a federally backed public option mortgage that offers stable, below-market rates for qualified households.

Sick of the System

A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.

– Mahatma Gandhi

The United States spends more on healthcare than any other developed nation, yet we have some of the worst health outcomes. In 2022, national healthcare spending topped 4.5 trillion dollars, nearly twice what countries with universal systems invest per person. Still, more than 27 million Americans are uninsured and millions more are underinsured, forcing families to choose between life-saving care and financial ruin. More than 40 percent of Americans report medical debt, and two-thirds of bankruptcies are tied to medical issues. Linking coverage to employment discourages entrepreneurship by making workers choose between health insurance and launching a business.

Administrative inefficiency drives up cost. Our fragmented mix of private insurers, public programs, and employer-based plans produces duplicative billing, denial disputes, and layers of profit-seeking middlemen. Research shows that more than 30 percent of U.S. healthcare spending goes to overhead rather than care, while drug prices here are two to three times higher than in comparable nations. Americans routinely travel abroad to afford insulin, cancer treatments, or surgeries that cost a fraction elsewhere. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical and insurance companies post record profits while care remains inaccessible.

Healthcare should be a public good, not a profit center, and we can build a system that is efficient, equitable, and humane.

Priorities

• Guarantee universal access: Deliver a universal healthcare guarantee so every American can access basic services, preventive care, and mental health support without risking bankruptcy.
• Simplify administration: Standardize billing, data-sharing, and patient management systems to cut overhead for providers, insurers, and patients.
• Reform prescription drug policy: Update patent laws to speed generic competition and allow programs like Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
• Protect families financially: Cap out-of-pocket expenses based on income and require price transparency from hospitals and providers.

Democracy, Not for Sale

Elections should be won with votes, not dollars.

– Senator John McCain

America’s political system is drowning in money, and the public is being silenced by the roar of corporate cash. The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for unlimited outside spending, equating money with speech and allowing corporations and special-interest groups to spend without limit so long as they do not “coordinate” with campaigns. In practice, elections have become battlegrounds for billionaire-funded propaganda, turning candidates into products and voters into targets.

In 2024, total spending on federal elections approached 16 billion dollars, more than double the amount spent just eight years earlier. Of that, 2.7 billion dollars came from Super PACs and outside groups funded by wealthy donors and dark money organizations with no accountability to the public. This flood of cash gives an outsized voice to the wealthy while drowning out ordinary Americans. It is a direct cause of policy failure: voters want a fairer economy, affordable healthcare, and action on climate change, but progress stalls when politicians owe more to donors than to voters.

Priorities

• Overturn Citizens United: Support a constitutional amendment that affirms corporations are not people and money is not speech so Congress and states can once again regulate election spending.
• Ban corporate PACs and dark money: Pass legislation that prohibits corporate PAC contributions and requires full transparency for every political donation.
• Lead by example: Refuse corporate PAC money and maintain full transparency about campaign donations so the movement is powered by people, not special interests.

Fighting Fire with Policy

The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.

– Theodore Roosevelt

Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it is a present and escalating crisis. Across Northern California and the nation we are already living with catastrophic wildfires, historic droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme weather. In Northern California, climate change is the smoke in our lungs during fire season, the disappearing snowpack that feeds our rivers, and the soaring insurance rates that price people out of their homes.

The science is clear. According to NASA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures have risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late nineteenth century because of greenhouse gases from human activity. Without bold action, the IPCC warns that we are on track to exceed 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) of warming by the 2030s, a tipping point that would unleash irreversible damage to ecosystems, economies, and communities.

Despite mounting evidence and public concern, Washington remains paralyzed because fossil-fuel companies and corporate lobbyists spend millions to delay reform and protect profits. In the 2024 cycle alone, oil and gas interests spent more than 100 million dollars on contributions and lobbying. Politicians of both parties have failed to meet the moment, trading climate protections for campaign cash.

Climate change is not only an environmental crisis; it is economic, moral, and generational. It deepens inequality, displaces families, and threatens the future for our children. We need leaders who will treat the emergency with urgency.

Priorities

• End fossil-fuel subsidies: Stop sending more than 20 billion dollars a year to oil and gas companies and redirect those funds to clean energy innovation, job training, and community resilience.
• Invest in a clean energy future: Expand federal investment in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, build localized grids and community-owned utilities, and incentivize building retrofits that cut emissions and lower demand.
• Hold polluters accountable: Reinstate and strengthen environmental protections, and impose criminal liability on corporate executives who knowingly violate environmental laws.