Jay Obernolte


Jay Phillip Obernolte is an American politician and programmer serving in the California State Assembly since 2014. He is a Republican representing the 33rd State Assembly district. He was elected to the city council of Big Bear Lake, California in 2010, where he served as mayor. He is the owner, president, and technical director of FarSight Studios, an American video game developer established in 1990.

Early life and education

Obernolte was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Fresno, California. He graduated from Edison/Computech High School in 1988. In 1992, he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and applied science from California Institute of Technology and in 1997, he received his Master of Science in artificial intelligence from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

Business

Obernolte launched FarSight Studios, an independent developer and publisher of family-friendly video games for the PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Apple iPhone and PC, in 1990. Notable games FarSight Studios has developed include Game Party, Hotel for Dogs and Pinball Hall of Fame. FarSight Studios claims Sony, Microsoft, Google, and Apple among its clients and employs 25 workers.

Politics

In 2005, Obernolte was elected to the Big Bear City Airport Board where he served for five years. He then served as President of the board for three years and as Vice President for one year.
In 2010, Obernolte was elected to Big Bear City Council, where he served as Mayor. Obernolte also served on the Big Bear Lake Fire Protection Board, director of the Mojave Desert and Mountain Integrated Waste JPA Board, the Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority Board, and on the League of California Cities Desert-Mountain Division.
Obernolte has served as State Assemblyman for California's 33rd State Assembly district, which encompasses a wide expanse of the High Desert, from the eastern fringes of Los Angeles metropolitan area to the Nevada and Arizona borders, since 2014.

2014 California State Assembly election

On February 10, 2014, Obernolte announced his candidacy for the California State Assembly to succeed California Republican Party Tim Donnelly in the 33rd district.
Obernolte was endorsed by the California Republican Party, San Bernardino County Republican party, the California Republican Assembly, The Press-Enterprise, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Peace Officers Research Association of California, San Bernardino County Safety Employee's Benefit Association, the California Conservative Christians, and the Independent Voter Political Action Committee.
In the June 2014 primary, Obernolte finished second with 18.89% of the vote with 7,887 votes and faced Democrat John Coffey in the November 2014 general election, winning with 65.9% of the vote.

2016 California State Assembly election

On January 25, 2016, Obernolte announced he would seek a second term as the representative for California's 33rd Assembly District to face Scott Marcovich, a contractor.
In the June 2016 primary, Obernolte finished first with 60.7% of the vote with 43,526 votes and faced Democrat Scott Markovich in the November 2016 general election, winning with 60.6% of the vote.

2018 California State Assembly election

2020 congressional election

In September 2019, after Paul Cook announced his retirement from California's 8th congressional district, Obernolte announced his intention to run. Obernolte's biggest concerns are taking care of veterans and holding the VA accountable, securing the border and cracking down on human and drug trafficking, and lowering taxes. He also supports creating jobs and helping small businesses, working with public safety officials to reduce the number of gangs and violent criminals, and cutting wasteful government spending to address the federal budget deficit.
On February 12, 2020, President Donald Trump endorsed Obernolte on Twitter.

Political actions

Caucuses and committees

In January 2016, Obernolte was elected to served on the California Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus, which is co-chaired by Assemblymembers Ian Calderon and Evan Low. Obernolte also sits on the following committees: Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media as Vice Chair; Budget as Vice Chair; Appropriations; Budget Subcommittee 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation; Budget Subcommittee 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation; Utilities and Commerce; Joint Committee on Arts; and Joint Legislative Budget.

Fire tax and fire insurance

Obernolte authored Assembly Bill 1642, which would extend the deadlines to either pay the fire tax, which is a state fire prevention fee, or file a petition for redetermination from 30 days to 60 days. In July 2017, the fire fee was suspended as part of Assembly Bill 398.
Obernolte opposes raising fire insurance costs, which is calculated by factors in the risk of wildfire, fuels, slope and road access for emergency vehicles.

Minimum wage

Obernolte opposes increases in the minimum wage. In an April 2016 op-ed published in the San Bernardino Sun, Obernolte wrote on the effects of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He wrote that "income inequality is the defining challenge of our generation" and the recent push to increase the minimum wage "is an effort to address the very real problem that wages are less than we feel they should be. However, we need to remember that income inequality is the result of a multitude of factors — among them, globalization, technological change, the efficient employment of capital and changing institutions. In other words, low wages are a symptom of the problem of income inequality, not the root cause of income inequality."

Frontier Communications

In April 2016, Frontier Communications took over Verizon's voice, video, data, and FiOS network. In May 2016, Obernolte voiced his concern over Frontier Communications' acquisition of Verizon services noting that it has "negatively affected my constituents... It is particularly disturbing to me that the public safety of our residents has been threatened by the faulty landline telephone service they have experienced since the."

Legal

In May 2016, Obernolte introduced Assembly Bill 2341, which would provide San Bernardino and other rural counties with additional judges to resolve backlogged court systems. "San Bernardino County currently faces an unacceptable shortage of judicial officers. My hope is that this bill will provide the necessary judicial resources to alleviate this critical problem" Obernolte said. The bill would have shifted seats from Santa Clara and Alameda counties to the counties in San Bernardino but it died in the Senate Appropriations Committee without a hearing.
In January 2017, Obernolte released a statement on his opposition to Xavier Becerra's nomination as California's Attorney General stating, "While Congressman Becerra possesses many of the qualifications necessary in an Attorney General, many of his positions on constitutional issues deeply concern me. His stances on both the First and Second Amendments clearly don't align with my values or those of my constituents. California's Attorney General should be committed to protecting these Constitutional rights."

Veterans

Every year, California State Assemblymembers select a veteran in their district to be recognized as the Veteran of the Year and honored in Sacramento with a ceremony and luncheon. In 2015, Obernolte awarded Hesperia Chamber of Commerce President Brad Letner. In 2017, Anthony "Tony" Cooker was recognized as the 2017 Veteran of the Year for the 33rd Assembly District. In 2019, he recognized United States Army Veteran Ed Morgan as Veteran of the Year.
In 2016, Obernolte sponsored approved Assembly Concurrent Resolution 180, which dedicates a stretch of California State Route 247 to the late Sgt. Brian L. Walker.

California budget

Obernolte stated that Governor Jerry Brown's $179.45 billion budget proposal, which focused on "long-term fiscal responsibility", was "responsible", although he expressed a preference for fixing existing programs over creating new ones. Obernolte also stated an interest in funding job skills training, improving the state's Denti-Cal program, repairing infrastructure, and working on the housing crisis. Obernolte pushed for lawmakers to limit long-term funding commitments and also noted that the budget proposal does nothing to address the "state's out-of-control pension debts and retiree health care liabilities."

California Roll – AB 1103

Obernolte co-authored Assembly Bill 1103, which would allow California bicyclists to roll through stop signs, if it was safe to do so. The bill is based on a law adopted by Idaho in 1982 and will be voted on in 2018. Under the proposed legislation, cyclists would be authorized to " a stop sign, after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way, to cautiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping, unless safety considerations require otherwise."

Personal life

Obernolte married his wife Heather in 1996 and together they have two sons: Hale and Troy. The family has lived in Big Bear Lake since 1997.
Obernolte holds an airline transport pilot's license. He is also a certified flight instructor and has flown light aircraft since 2005. He worked with Embraer as a member on its Pilot Advisory Board during the development of the Phenom 300. Obernolte is a member of the Young Eagles, a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating them about aviation.
Obernolte holds a third-degree black belt in Pacific Unified Martial Arts and is co-owner and instructor at PUMA Karate in Big Bear Lake.