Who is William Brown?

My name is William Brown. I am a social worker, a Marine veteran, a husband, a father, and a resident of Visalia. I have had enough of business as usual in Sacramento.

Like many of you, I watch our tax dollars vanish into a bureaucratic black hole while our roads crumble and schools struggle. I see hardworking families squeezed by rising costs and shrinking opportunities. And why do we keep electing the same politicians expecting different results?

I'm running for California's 12th Senate District because I believe in a more straightforward idea: you know better than any government official how to live and spend your money. No special interests are pulling my strings. No corporate PACs are funding my campaign. I'm a middle-class dad who thinks it's time for an honest conversation about individual liberty and fiscal responsibility.

As a social worker, I've seen firsthand how bloated bureaucracies often hurt the people they're meant to help. As a Libertarian, I believe there's a better way - one that trusts individuals and communities over central planners and career politicians.

This campaign isn't about right versus left. It's about the bottom versus the top. It's about returning power to where it belongs - with you, the people of California.

If this resonates with you, I would like to invite you on the journey and would appreciate your vote. It won’t be easy, but one that is worth the fight!

What motivated you to run for State Senate in District 12 as a Libertarian, and what do you see as the biggest difference between your approach and the major party candidates?

I was motivated to run because I saw too many working families, small business owners, and local communities being impacted by policies created without enough respect for individual liberty, local control, or economic reality. My dissatisfaction with laws like AB5 showed me how state government can overreach into people’s lives and livelihoods while claiming to help them. Over time, that concern grew into a broader campaign against corporate PAC influence, excessive regulation, and the two-party system that often puts political power ahead of practical solutions.

The biggest difference between my approach and the major-party candidates' is that I am not running to protect a party machine or special-interest network. I am running as a Libertarian because I believe government should be limited, accountable, and focused on protecting rights rather than controlling people’s choices. My campaign is not seeking PAC money or large donor influence. That allows me to speak clearly about what is best for District 12 without owing political favors.

As a Libertarian, which specific policy areas do you believe are most critical for District 12 and California to address immediately?

The most critical areas are economic freedom, water, housing, public safety, mental health, education, and reducing the cost of living. District 12 needs policies that support small businesses, agriculture, working families, and local communities, rather than imposing additional mandates and costs on them. California also needs to address water storage, groundwater recharge, and local infrastructure with urgency.

Mental health and reentry services are also major priorities. As a clinical social worker, I see the consequences of systems being reactive rather than preventive. We need to expand access to care, reduce unnecessary barriers to services, and stop using overcriminalization as a substitute for effective policy.

What concrete steps would you take as a State Senator to address education policy, local regulation, and business freedoms from a libertarian perspective?

In education, I would support parental rights, school choice, vocational pathways, transparency in curriculum and budgeting, and policies that better align education dollars with student needs. Families should have meaningful options, and schools should be accountable to students, parents, and local communities.

On local regulation, I would work to return more authority to cities and counties, especially on housing, land use, and economic development. Sacramento should not treat every community as if it has the same challenges. For business freedom, I would support reducing unnecessary fees, simplifying compliance requirements, reforming laws like AB5, and creating relief for small businesses in their early years so entrepreneurs have room to grow.

What do you want voters in District 12 to understand about Libertarian principles that they may not currently know?

Libertarianism is not about being left or right. It is about protecting individual rights, limiting government overreach, promoting personal responsibility, and allowing people to live their lives without unnecessary interference. It is also not anti-community. In fact, Libertarians believe strong communities are built from the ground up by families, small businesses, nonprofits, churches, local organizations, and neighbors, not by distant bureaucracies.

I want voters to understand that liberty is practical. It means lower barriers for small businesses, more choices for families, more accountability in government, stronger protection for constitutional rights, and more respect for local decision-making.

How do you plan to build support for your campaign beyond the typical Libertarian voter base in this district?

This campaign is already reaching people beyond party labels because the message is simple: individual rights, local control, and freedom from corporate political influence matter to everyone. Many voters are tired of being forced into two political boxes that do not represent them. Republicans, Democrats, independents, and third-party voters can all agree that Sacramento needs more accountability and less special interest control.

I plan to build support by focusing on shared concerns: the cost of living, water, small-business survival, public safety, housing, education, and the protection of constitutional rights. This campaign is about common sense over partisan loyalty.

Looking at California’s state budget and tax structure, what specific changes would you propose to reduce government spending while maintaining essential services?

California needs a serious audit of state spending, especially programs that continue to receive funding without clear outcomes. I would support performance-based budgeting, independent audits, and sunset reviews for state programs so taxpayers can see what is working and what is not. Essential services should be protected, but waste, duplication, and politically driven spending should be reduced.

I would also support tax and fee relief for working families and small businesses. California cannot keep solving every budget problem by asking people to pay more. The state should prioritize core services, reduce administrative bloat, and stop placing unfunded mandates on local governments.

What role do you believe state government should play in relation to local government authority, and how would you defend individual liberties?

State government should protect constitutional rights, provide basic legal frameworks, and ensure essential services, but it should not micromanage every local issue. Cities and counties understand their own communities better than Sacramento does. Local governments should have greater authority over housing, land use, public safety priorities, and economic development.

I would defend individual liberties by opposing laws that violate due process, restrict lawful self-defense, limit speech, burden small businesses, or interfere with personal freedom without a compelling reason. The government should have to justify restrictions on liberty, not the other way around.

What does success look like for your campaign, even if you do not win the election?

Success means proving that a Libertarian message can compete seriously in District 12. It means giving voters a real alternative to the two-party system and showing that a campaign can be built without corporate PAC money or political insiders. It also means forcing important conversations about liberty, local control, small business freedom, mental health, water, and government accountability.

Even if I do not win, success means expanding the table for non-traditional candidates and showing voters that they do not have to settle for politics as usual. This campaign is about building something bigger than one election. It is about moving California toward more freedom, more accountability, and more common sense.

Website: www.WilliamBrownSD12.com

X: @WhoIsWBrown

Interviews

https://endertalon.blogspot.com/2024/12/interviews-with-clinton-r.html

Interview with William Brown for California's 12th Senate District (SD12)