Jay Obernolte

Jay Phillip Obernolte (born August 18, 1970) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly in 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 1988.

Obernolte 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.

Obernolte launched FarSight Studios, an independent developer and publisher of family video games for the PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Apple iPhone and PCs, 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.

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 (PORAC), San Bernardino County Safety Employee's Benefit Association (SEBA), 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.

Caucuses and committees

In January 2016, Obernolte was elected to served on the California Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus, which is co-chared 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 insurance

Obernolte authored Assembly Bill 1642, which would extend the deadlines to either pay the fire tax or file a petition for redetermination from 30 days to 60 days.

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

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 (acquisition)."

Legal affairs

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 posses many of the qualifications necessary in the 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 2016, Obernolte sponsored approved Assembly Concurrent Resolution 180, which dedicates a stretch of California State Route 247 (SR-247) to late Sgt. Brian L. Walker.

Violence Against Public Safety Officers Deterrence Act

In January 2017, Obernolte wrote an op-ed, published in the San Bernardino Sun, covering Assembly Bill 2, which he introduced in early 2017. Obernolte wrote that the government has a responsibility and obligation to protect law enforcement, as a result of the spike in attacks targeting officers throughout the United States. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the first half of 2016 saw a 78 percent increase in firearm-related police officer deaths compared to the first half of 2015 and that ambush-style killing of law enforcement was 300 percent higher in 2016 than it was in 2015. Assembly Bill 2, the Violence Against Public Safety Officers Deterrence Act, will classify acts of violence that intentionally target peace officers as hate crimes, which will enhance penalties and extend prison sentences. Obernolte also writes, that a "'hate crime' label is appropriate for these ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers... Our law enforcement officers work tirelessly to perform the difficult yet very necessary job of defending our public safety. It is time for California to take a stand and support those who so willingly risk their lives to protect us."

California budget

In response to Governor Jerry Brown's $179.45 billion spending plan "urging long-term fiscal responsibility", Obernolte applauded the budget proposal for being "responsible", mirroring the total spending in the current approved budget, but asked that it focus on repairing existing state programs before setting aside money for new ones. Obernolte also stated, "We need to help Californians learn job skills for the 21st century, fix the state's failing Denti-Cal program, invest in repairs to California's crumbling infrastructure, and solve the housing crisis that is causing California's poverty rate to be the highest in the nation". 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."

Obernolte is a member of the Young Eagles program and in 2006, he was voted Soroptimist Man About Town.

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. Obernolte worked with Embraer as a member on its Pilot Advisory Board during the development of the Phenom 300.

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.