Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Incumbents look to maintain seats in SD-area state legislative races

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Seven San Diego-area state legislative incumbents are trying to retain their seats in Tuesday's election, while a pair of Democrats are vying to fill the Assembly seat vacated by mayoral candidate Todd Gloria.

The lone state Senate race in the county pits Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, against Republican Linda Blankenship in District 39, which stretches from Solana Beach to southern San Diego, and east into San Pasqual Valley.

Atkins was running unopposed in the March primary until Blankenship emerged as a write-in candidate.

Blankenship, a Carmel Valley resident and business owner, has worked as a consultant, among other roles, on "every level of political campaigns from school board to presidential races," according to her campaign.

Atkins, California's first female and LGBTQ Senate President Pro Tem, formerly served on the San Diego City Council. She was elected to the state Assembly in 2010, and was eventually chosen as Assembly Speaker.

In the 71st Assembly District, incumbent Randy Voepel, R-Santee, is being challenged by Democrat Elizabeth Lavertu.

Voepel served as Santee's mayor from 2000 until 2016, when he was elected to represent the 71st District, which encompasses a large portion of eastern San Diego County, as well as portions of Riverside County.

Voepel and Lavertu were the only two candidates in the March primary, with Voepel taking more than 60% of the vote.

The two-term Assemblyman says public safety, lowering taxes and opposing the state's cap-and-trade program are among his priorities. He also cites his two combat tours in Vietnam as contributing to his insight into veterans' issues.

Lavertu, a small business owner from Spring Valley, has a background in community volunteer work and is the co-chair of the Spring Valley Community

Planning Group. She says that if elected, she will work to provide more affordable housing, expand access to healthcare, and spur the economy and job creation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 75th District, Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, is seeking re-election against behavioral health care provider Karen ``Kate'' Schwartz.

Waldron was first elected in 2012 and began serving as Assembly Republican leader in 2018. She previously served on the Escondido City Council.

Waldron took about 56% of the vote during the March primary, versus Schwartz, who earned nearly 38%.

Schwartz sits on the Fallbrook Regional Health District Board and has worked as a behavioral health care provider for the past 35 years, according to her campaign website.

The 75th District covers much of northern San Diego County, including Escondido, Fallbrook, and San Marcos, and also covers Temecula in Riverside County.

In the 76th District, Tasha Boerner Horvath, D-Encinitas, is running for re-election against Melanie Burkholder, a mental health counselor and former Secret Service agent.

Boerner Horvath was elected to the Encinitas City Council in 2016, then won the 76th District seat two years later. The Assemblywoman won 57.5% of the vote in the March primary, with Burkholder covering the other 42.5%. She said the health and economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will be her focus, if re-elected, while Burkholder says repealing Assembly Bill 5, combating homelessness and championing public safety are among her priorities.

The North County District covers the Camp Pendleton area south through Encinitas.

In the 77th District, Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego, is facing off against Republican June Cutter.

Maienschein, who was elected to the seat in 2012, is seeking re-election two years after switching parties. He previously ran as a Republican in every election, but shortly after being re-elected in 2018, announced he was changing his party affiliation, partly due to disagreements with President Donald Trump's leadership.

Cutter, an attorney and small business owner who lives in Del Sur, says schools, crime, and homelessness have all gotten worse under Maienschein's watch, and said his party switch was part of what prompted her to run for office.

Prior to being elected, Maienschein served on the San Diego City Council and as the city's first commissioner on homelessness. He took 57.5% of the March primary vote, with Cutter taking 42.5%

The 77th District covers northeastern San Diego, and Poway and Rancho Santa Fe to the north.

The 78th Assembly District race features two Democrats going head-to- head, with healthcare worker Sarah Davis going up against San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward, both of whom are seeking the seat vacated by Todd Gloria as he vies to become San Diego's mayor.

Ward has been on the city council since 2016. He serves as chair of the council's Land Use and Housing Committee and previously served as chair of the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. He also previously served as chief of staff to state Sen. Marty Block, who represented the 78th District.

In his campaign statement, Ward cites his work on the council aimed at increasing homeless services, his authoring of the city's Equal Pay Ordinance, and creation of its rental assistance program amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Davis is a licensed midwife who is vice president and policy chair of the California Association of Midwives. She also co-founded Birth Roots Women's

Health & Maternity Center in Chula Vista. She says her background in health care is part of what will spur her to push for expanded health care access and solutions to homelessness. She also said fighting climate change is one of her priorities, and said she would push to ban fracking, if elected.

The 78th District covers coastal San Diego County from Solana Beach to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ward took more than 55% of the vote in the March primary, with Davis trailing at nearly 28%.

In the 79th District, incumbent Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, is seeking re-election against Republican challenger John Moore for the third straight election.

Weber has held the seat since 2012 and took nearly two-thirds of the vote in the past two elections against Moore.

According to Weber's campaign, her legislative priorities include strengthening civil rights, protecting people with disabilities and increasing educational opportunities, which she described as a "lifelong commitment,'' stemming from her work as a board member for the San Diego Unified School District, and as a San Diego State University professor.

Moore is a retired businessman and Air Force veteran who says he will fight to increase economic opportunities for district residents, who Moore says have been adversely affected by regulations driving companies out of state.

The 79th District stretches from Mission Valley to La Mesa, then south into Chula Vista.

In the 80th District, covering City Heights to the north and stretching south to the U.S-Mexico border, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, is being challenged by Republican John Vogel.

Gonzalez Fletcher received nearly 73% of the March primary vote, with Vogel trailing at around 18%.

Gonzalez Fletcher was first elected to the Assembly in 2013, and previously worked as senior adviser to then-Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

Vogel previously sought election to the South Bay Irrigation District in 2016, but was defeated by incumbent Jose Cerda.

One of Vogel's major campaign priorities is to repeal Gonzalez Fletcher's Assembly Bill 5, which mandated that select workers — most notably ride-hailing and food-delivery service drivers — be considered employees rather than independent contractors.

The bill is also being countered in Tuesday's election by Proposition 22, which seeks to give app-based transportation companies like Uber and Lyft -- which are sponsoring the initiative — an exemption to AB5.

Vogel also supports parental rights to School choice and medical decisions, though he says he personally supports vaccines.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/24/2024 08:29