Former Santee Council Member Stephen Houlahan has been making great progress running for US Congress, District 50 in San Diego. Among the main reasons for his decision to run for congress is that our nation is being divided and the gap continues to grow. “As a Nurse, Stephen believes that he will be able to make positive impact on people’s lives”, said his campaign manager Bobby Borisov.
Also working with Stephen is Gali Rodriguez, as the campaign’s Content Manager and Student Coordinator. She has been successful in securing a diverse grassroots staff for the campaign.
Stephen Houlahan is a long-time resident of the city of Santee and has served the San Diego area, fighting against local and national corruption. Helping to protect the resident’s quality of life, promoting tolerance, and now implementing strategies for the COVID-19 national recovery. Currently, he serves as a Senior Specialist for the SHARP Health Care System in San Diego County, where he has obtained credentials as a Certified Coding Specialist and a Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist; in addition to a Master’s Degree in Nursing Science and an MBA.
In 2016, Stephen was inspired to run for and was elected to the Santee City Council. On which he also served as Vice Mayor from 2019-2020. He stands for causes like access to health care, fighting climate change, funding education, affordable housing, immigration reform, equal rights for all, abortion rights, and reasonable gun control.
Stephen supports accountability and transparency in government. He believes that accountability and transparency are two key elements that ensure ethical engagement. Unfortunately, these practices sometimes fail to be upheld by members of Congress. As a person who values integrity, Stephen promotes transparency by encouraging community members’ active participation. One of Stephen’s primary purposes is to help families become stronger by stimulating economic conditions and assuring jobs.
Stephen wants to restore common sense to the law, with regulations that encourage “grassroots” decision-making. Closing the divide between the people in our counties, communities, school districts, and most importantly our homes.
Stephen has devoted countless hours of community service as a Registered Nurse, youth sports coach, and served on multiple local Boards and Committees including the San Diego River Conservancy, Santee Firefighter/Paramedic County Service Agreement (CSA-69) Advisory Committee, Goodan Ranch Advisory Committee, and Mission Trails Taskforce.
As Santee’s CSA-69 representative, he led contract negotiations for a five-year fixed contract for the Santee Firefighter Paramedics. For 4 years he represented the Santee Firefighter Paramedics as the lead negotiator with the County of San Diego regarding CSA-69’s fee structure, insuring their financial future. As a member of the Goodan Ranch Advisory Committee, he coordinated efforts between the United States Marine Corps, County of San Diego, City of Poway, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and City of Santee to open the “Historic Stowe Trail” from Santee to Poway to the public. Additionally; he led efforts to stop investment in new fossil fuel infrastructure by defeating the Quail Brush Power Plant and Rainbow to Mission Valley Gas Pipeline proposals.
He now aspires to expand his community participation and represent California’s 50th Congressional District in 2022 in order to present solutions for immediate issues such as corruption in government, healthcare affordability, climate change, human rights, and much more.