Political Notebook: Gay tech consultant Byors seeks SoCal Assembly seat

Software engineer and computer consultant Jason Byors in the spring had launched a campaign for the 41st Congressional District seat held by Congressmember Ken Calvert (R-Corona). But, over the summer, the gay Cathedral City resident changed course.

Byors, 54, is now running for the Assembly District 47 seat held by Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R-Bermuda Dunes). He is one of several candidates who had planned to run against Calvert to now jump into a different race amid the prospect of seeing the Coachella Valley be redistricted into the 48th Congressional District should Proposition 50 be passed by California voters this November.

It would mean the LGBTQ tourist and retirement mecca in Southern California would move into the House district represented by Congressmember Darrell Issa (R-Vista). That prospect has led various LGBTQ and straight Democratic leaders from Palm Springs to San Diego to announce bids for Issa’s seat in 2026.

As for Wallis’ Assembly seat, Democrat Lucas Piñon pulled papers to run for it this week. Months ago, with it looking like no one would run against the legislator next year, Byors had been approached by local party leaders about doing so, he told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview. Those discussions began prior to state legislators putting Prop 50 before voters this fall, as there already was a large field of contenders gearing up to run against Calvert.

“It was brought to my attention by the Democratic Party that nobody is running against Greg Wallis, so I thought about it,” said Byors, who has yet to endorse any candidate running against Issa. “My main objective here is to help people get through this chaos.”

He was referring to the policies being put into place by the Trump administration. But even if he were to be elected to the House, and Democrats are able to flip the chamber next November, unless the party also regains control of the U.S. Senate, Byors noted, Democrats will face hurdles on Capitol Hill “to undo the problems of the Big Horrible Bill.” He was referring to Republican President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that Congress passed this year and will reduce health care access for millions of Americans while increasing the country’s debt by the trillions according to analysts.

On the other hand, if elected to the state Legislature where Democrats are expected to maintain their majorities in both chambers come 2027, Byors said he would be able to make more of an impact on the pocketbook issues confronting Californians, from high health care and housing costs to the impacts of a warming climate and other environmental concerns.

“In regard to the Medicare cuts, we can look at the state budget to minimize the damage by that,” said Byors as just one example of the response to federal issues he could pursue in the Assembly. “I would love to go serve in Sacramento to help get California through this.”

Early supporters
A number of leaders in Riverside County have endorsed Byors’ Assembly bid, including gay Assemblymember Corey Jackson, Ph.D., (D-Perris), who called his campaign “a top priority” for local Democrats. Former state Senate candidate Joy Silver, a lesbian who now chairs the Riverside County Democratic Party, also lent her early backing to Byors’ candidacy.

“He brings integrity, compassion, and real-world experience at a time when the political world is more disconnected than ever,” stated Silver. “Jason isn’t in this for headlines, he is in this for working families. He knows the struggles people face. He is the right choice for this district!”

In the last two election cycles, Wallis was able to defeat bisexual former Palm Springs city councilmember Christy Holstege, a married mom who cycled out of her council seat last year. But Holstege only fell short by 85 votes last November during a year where Republicans saw a surge of support with Trump back on the ballot as he sought a return to the White House.

The 2026 race will be held in a different political landscape, contended Byors, with Republicans up and down the ballot having to defend the policies of the Trump administration. Already, Byors said he is seeing signs of voters in the Assembly district sour on the president and his party.

He pointed to a gentleman who lives a few streets away from him who has been flying pro-Trump flags, dozens at a time, in the last few years when Democrat Joe Biden was in the White House. Last month, Byors drove by and noticed there were just three U.S. flags and one supporting prisoners of war flying.

“There was not one Trump flag,” noted Byors. “This was around the time of the Epstein files saga started blowing up, so I have a feeling that had something to do with it.”

 
As this is his first time seeking elected office, Byors also noted he doesn’t enter the race with the “baggage” that Holstege had to contend with among voters upset with various votes or stances she took as a councilmember. He comes to the campaign trail, instead, with a clean slate.

“There were some missteps, I believe happened, that maybe rubbed people the wrong way. I am not a known quantity,” he said.

As such, he does lack the name recognition an elected leader would bring to the race. Byors told the B.A.R. he expects to raise the money needed to mount a viable campaign and reach voters with his story and platform. In addition to targeting LGBTQ voters, Byors plans to reach out to more conservative voters in the rural parts of the district in San Bernardino County.

In February, Democrats had a slight registration edge over Republicans in the Assembly district. According to the California Secretary of State’s office, of the 328,440 registered voters in AD 47, nearly 39% were Democrats and 34% were Republicans.

“There are more registered Democrats in this current configuration of the district than Republicans, so we should be able to win this,” argued Byors, who added it makes no sense for a Democrat not to seek the seat. “That would not be a good situation, to not run someone for it.”

Wallis’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the voter registration figures or Byors’ entrance into the race.

The two candidates already are on opposite sides of the fight to pass Prop 50 come November 4. Wallis voted against holding a special statewide election that Tuesday for the ballot measure and has been speaking out against it. 

“Californians created an independent redistricting commission to keep politicians from picking their voters,” stated Wallis on his campaign Facebook page. “Proposition 50 threatens to undo that progress – rushing maps through Sacramento and silencing local voices.”

Byors has been pushing for Prop 50’s passage, attending local events in support of the redistricting measure that could bring five more House seats in the Golden State to the blue column. In talking to the B.A.R. he argued it is a necessary reaction to Trump’s pressure campaign to see GOP-led statehouses redraw the lines of their states’ House seats to favor more Republicans next year.

“If we don’t flip the House in 2026, our democracy might be over. It is why I strongly support Prop 50,” said Byors.

As for the Assembly race, should it become crowded with other Democrats then Byors said he would “have to evaluate at that time” if he would remain in the contest. The deadline to file isn’t until March, and under the state’s open primary system, the top two vote-getters regardless of party will advance out of the June 2 primary onto the fall ballot.

Even after his partner, JR Vaosa, was diagnosed last month with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of one’s lymphatic system, Byors didn’t drop his bid. The couple determined there was no reason for him to suspend his campaign at this time, though Byors conceded if “things get bad,” he may decide otherwise.

“He did his first round of chemo. Things are going well,” said Byors. “They are hopeful they will be able to get it.”

Vaosa, who is living with HIV, is an account rep for a company that pays commissions for people who sell internet service. The couple has been together nearly four years and moved to Cathedral City three years ago.

Byors, who is HIV-negative, had been living in Los Angeles since moving to the Golden State in early 1995. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he grew up in nearby Marblehead and graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1993 with degrees in finance, economics, and investing.

He worked in a research role for a hedge fund in Boston then pivoted to software engineering. His employers included Sony Pictures, Toyota, Pioneer Electronics, a fire safety division of Gillette, and the television division of Twentieth Century Fox.

Byors has also worked for the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, where he was a budget consultant on a swimming pool project. He continues to have an IT contract with LA’s planning department.

Upset with the direction Trump has taken the country since starting his second term in January, Byors told the B.A.R. he asked himself what he was going to do about it.

“My decision was instead of doom scrolling and screaming at the wall, I am going to put my foot in the ring,” said Byors. “We have a democracy here and we are not going to lose it to fascism.”

To learn more about his Assembly bid, visit his campaign website jasonbyors.com.

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on what transgender former Palm Springs councilmember Lisa Middleton has been up to since leaving office last year.

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Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected].