PRESS RELEASE Gill CA09: RICKY GILL NAMED A “CONTENDER”

Ricky Gill (R-CA-9)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2012

RICKY GILL NAMED A “CONTENDER”

LODI, CA, February 7, 2012 – The National Republican Congressional Committee today named Ricky Gill a “Contender” candidate, the third of four stages in its selective “Young Guns” election program. Gill is one of only 11 candidates nationwide who has achieved “Contender” status.

Advancing to “Contender” status required Gill to meet a rigorous set of fundraising and organizational benchmarks that demonstrate he is “on the road to victory,” according to the NRCC. To date, Gill has raised more than $1 million and has earned endorsements from leading national figures including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and former San Joaquin Valley Congressman Norman D. Shumway.

“Ricky Gill continues to prove himself by meeting these latest benchmarks in the ‘Young Guns’ program,” said NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX). “Ricky’s dedication and experience enables him to advocate effectively for pro-growth policies and fight the failed Democrat status quo in Washington. This will stand in stark contrast to the Democrats’ record of spending, borrowing and taxing that California families and small businesses know has failed.”

Gill is challenging Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), a three-term incumbent who lives in the Bay Area, well outside the Valley and Delta communities of the 9th Congressional District.

About Ricky Gill

Ricky Gill is a native of San Joaquin County, born and raised in Lodi, California. The son of immigrant parents, Ricky is a small business owner, a family farmer, and a former member of the California State Board of Education whose story speaks to the power of the American dream. Ricky grew up helping manage his family’s vineyard operation and serving the community as chair of the Greater Lodi Area Youth Commission. He has played an integral role in his family’s small business, which employs 60 people in the San Joaquin Valley, for several years. In 2004, he was appointed by the Governor to the California State Board of Education, where he served as the sole representative of more than six million public school students. He subsequently served as an adviser to the California Secretary of Education. Ricky now serves as a member of the Lodi Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University, he will soon complete his Juris Doctor at the University of California, Berkeley.