California — 48th District

Marni von Wilpert, 43, a Democrat and San Diego City Council member, is running for Congress representing inland North County cities, the San Diego County backcountry and parts of Riverside County in California’s 48th Congressional District.

Von Wilpert is a San Diego native serving her second term on the City Council.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Von Wilpert and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Von Wilpert said she did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

We need to unrig the economy for working people, stop Trump’s crazy wars and ICE’s chaos in our communities and hold special interests and big corporations accountable.

I’m running because I’ve spent my career taking on powerful interests and winning. As a workers’ rights attorney in Obama’s administration, I held corporations accountable for wage theft and price gouging. On the City Council, I’ve delivered real results — lowering housing costs, protecting working families and standing up to ICE’s overreach to keep our communities safe.

I’m the only candidate in this race who has flipped a Republican seat from red to blue. I know how to build a coalition, earn trust and win tough fights — and I’m ready to take that fight to Washington.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

Rising costs are crushing Californians, and Trump’s chaos and corruption are making it all worse. We need to rein in ICE’s lawlessness and restore the rule of law. I’ve led the charge against ICE’s abuse of our immigrant neighbors, joining Minnesota’s lawsuit against ICE’s abuse and banning ICE agents from city properties without lawful judicial warrants. In Congress, I’ll demand real accountability: no masked agents, no raids on churches and schools, no killing U.S. citizens in our streets.

While Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon, we can’t afford Trump’s reckless, directionless war in Iran while families at home are struggling. Washington’s priorities are backward. Instead of pouring billions into foreign wars, we should be working to lower costs here — bringing down prices, funding health care and rebuilding our communities’ aging infrastructure. We must restore our foreign service and USAID repair our relationships with our NATO allies.

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress? (150 words max)

Rein in ICE. Bring costs down. Hold Trump and Republicans accountable.

I would introduce legislation to lower costs by repealing Trump’s severe cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and reassert Congress’s authority to prevent spending on reckless, unauthorized wars that are making gas prices surge and draining billions from priorities at home.

I’ll fight to pass the PRO Act, a bill I helped write when I was a workers’ rights attorney in the Obama administration, to help working people organize unions, raise wages and unrig the economy.

And I’ll hold Trump accountable, reining in ICE’s lawlessness, restoring congressional oversight over Trump and Washington’s out-of-control corruption and holding corporations accountable like I did as civil prosecutor in San Diego. I’m the only Democrat with a proven record of beating the Republicans, in court and at the ballot box, and I’ll do it again in Congress.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority? (100 words max)

Our top priority must be stopping the chaos that’s hurting working families — from reining in ICE’s abuses and restoring the rule of law, to delivering real relief from rising costs. That means reversing Trump’s health care cuts, protecting Medicaid, Social Security and the Affordable Care Act and cracking down on policies that are driving up costs. We win when we offer an agenda that unrigs the economy for everyday Americans and when we have leaders actually willing to come to the table to deliver real results. That’s the way I’ve served locally, and the way I will serve in Congress.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

Our immigration system is broken — but Trump and Republicans’ chaos and fear aren’t solutions. Sending masked agents into our communities to terrorize our neighbors undermines public safety and our values.

I support a balanced, common-sense approach: securing the border and stopping fentanyl trafficking, while ensuring law enforcement has the tools they need — and expanding legal pathways, modernizing our visa system, protecting Dreamers and creating an earned pathway to citizenship for people who have built their lives here.

As chair of the San Diego City Council’s Public Safety Committee and a civil rights lawyer, I’ve worked with local law enforcement to keep our communities safe while upholding constitutional protections — we can and must do both. My father immigrated to this country, served in the U.S. Army and built a middle-class life. I know we can have a secure border and a strong economy and treat people with dignity, and that’s what I’ll do in Congress.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

While Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon, Donald Trump’s reckless, unauthorized war in Iran has driven up gas prices and the cost of everyday goods and costs American taxpayers $1 billion a day, with no clear strategy or measurable outcome in sight. The Constitution is clear: Only Congress can declare war. Any sustained military action must be debated and authorized by Congress with full transparency and accountability to the American people.

I would not support continuing an unauthorized war. As the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran and having served in the United States Peace Corps, I know the true costs of war for American families and the power of our diplomacy. Instead of forever foreign wars, I would call for reasserting congressional authority, pursuing diplomacy and refocusing our resources on the challenges we face at home — lowering costs, strengthening our economy, and investing in our communities.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

It is the No. 1 thing I hear on the campaign trail — we need immediate, tangible relief for working families. That starts with raising wages and lowering costs. I’ll fight against reckless tariff policies that raise the cost of essential goods and take on corporations that are price-gouging. I’ve done it before — passing the nation’s first ban on digital-only grocery coupons so everyone can access savings.

We also have to tackle the housing crisis and unrig the economy. I’ve launched down payment assistance for teachers and cut red tape to build more affordable homes so people can live where they work. As a workers’ rights attorney in the Obama administration, I held employers accountable when they violated workers’ rights, and I’m leading local efforts to do the same. In Congress, I’ll pass the PRO Act to strengthen workers’ rights, raise wages and build an economy that rewards workers.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

Donald Trump’s environmental destruction is a clear and present danger — rolling back clean air and water protections, handing giveaways to Big Oil and putting profits ahead of our health. In San Diego, I held corporate polluters like Monsanto accountable for polluting California’s water, and I’ll bring that fight to Congress. We need practical action to enforce the Clean Air and Water acts, invest in clean energy jobs and hold polluters accountable to protect our communities’ health. We can protect our environment and grow our economy together, but it requires responsible leadership ready to fight special interests and deliver long-term solutions.

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

The biggest threat to our democracy is out-of-control demagogues like Trump who put themselves above the law. I’ve spent my career holding powerful interests accountable — from prosecuting corporate wrongdoing to the gun lobby to big corporations to ICE — to win for working people here in San Diego. In Congress, I’ll fight to hold Trump accountable and defend the rule of law — no lawless ICE, no more blatant brazen corruption. We must pass the Voting Rights Act and the No Kings Act and restore the checks and balances that protect our democracy. Our country depends on it.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

Washington has a corruption problem — and Donald Trump has taken it to a new, terrifying level, exploiting the presidency to enrich himself and reward his special interest donors. And we see it in this campaign, where billionaires backing my opponent are trying to buy our elections.

Public service should be about working for the people, not trading stocks and profiting from inside information. I support a full ban on members of Congress and their immediate families buying or selling individual stocks. And I am rejecting corporate PAC money in my campaign because I fight for the people, not for anyone else.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

Congress is supposed to be a check on the president. Right now, it’s failing — and that failure is dangerous for America. We’ve seen authority over our economy, our elections, even decisions of war and peace handed to Donald Trump. That’s not how our system is supposed to work. I’m running for Congress to change that.

Throughout my career as a civil rights attorney, a prosecutor and a local official, I’ve held powerful actors accountable. In Congress, I will fight to reassert legislative authority, strengthen oversight and rein in Trump so that no president operates without checks and balances. That includes defending Congress’s role on war powers and stopping ICE’s lawlessness. No one is above the law, and I believe that accountability is a necessary pillar of our democracy. It will take leaders with conviction to right this ship, and that’s what I’ll do.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

People have lost trust in Congress because they don’t see it delivering results. Working families don’t have a choice whether to pay their bills, but they see a Congress in dysfunction, constant shutdown threats, members of Congress kowtowing to an out-of-control president and decisions made behind closed doors while their own costs keep rising. They have every right to be frustrated.

Congress earns trust by solving problems — lowering costs, improving people’s lives and being transparent. That’s why it’s so important we elect leaders who will fight for our community. I’ve focused my career on delivering real, tangible results for San Diego County — and that’s exactly what I’ll do in Congress.