A series of races to represent the Peninsula at the state level are underway with three Democrat incumbents vying to retain their seats against Republican and other challengers ahead of this March 5 primary election.
State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, is running for reelection in District 13 against Republican corporate strategist Christina Laskowski and Republican mechanical engineer Alex Glew.
Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, is running for reelection in District 21 against Republican small business owner Mark Gilham. Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, is also running for reelection in District 23 against Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou, a Democrat; Republican small business owner Gus Mattammal; and Republican international attorney Allan Marson.
District 13 state Senate race
Becker doesn’t have an updated campaign website — his opponent Laskowski doesn’t have one at all — but he has touted his accomplishments while in office as proof he is deserving of another term when announcing his bid for reelection.
In the last year, Becker had multiple bills signed into law aimed at protecting user data online, advancing election protections, combating price markups for inmates, encouraging new affordable housing development and addressing climate change through cutting carbon emissions and encouraging green infrastructure.
“We are making significant and meaningful progress in tackling some of the most pressing issues of our generation, and I have big plans for the next few years in the state Senate in areas like climate change, early learning, economic opportunity, and much more,” Becker said to KRON4 News in December when he announced he would not be running for Congress after U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, announced her retirement.
Meanwhile, Glew, who holds a bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s and doctorate in material science and engineering from Stanford University, highlighted his positions on various issues if elected.
According to his campaign website, Glew supports local control over zoning and Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment approved in 1978 which limits the tax rate levied against property values. He also opposes rent control measures and split rolls such as taxing commercial properties at a different rate than residential properties.
On public safety, Glew said he supports reinstating felony charges for some crimes and maintaining a bail system. He also supports a free-market health care system and believes competition could help cut medical costs by 50%.
District 21 state Assembly race
Like Becker, Papan, a San Mateo councilmember from 2015 through 2021, does not have an updated campaign website but has also highlighted her accomplishments from her first term on her legislative website.
She authored legislation aimed at removing harmful chemicals from menstrual products, reducing barriers to child care and protecting sensitive waterways known to often be polluted. Those three measures were vetoed by the governor but others were signed including a measure addressing water rate structures and another instituting car rental fee changes.
Papan was also recently named chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife, and has joined other state electeds in presenting hundreds of thousands of dollars to local jurisdictions for various projects.
Gilham, Papan’s opponent, advocates for an “America first” approach to policy making, according to his campaign website. In practice, that means ensuring parents have a say over their children — which educational institutions students attend, what they’re taught in schools and whether they’re vaccinated.
On immigration, Gilham supports erecting the border wall proposed by former President Donald Trump. He’s called for shorter election cycles that only allow for votes to be cast on a single day rather than for weeks ahead of the official Election Day, and has taken issue with mail-in ballots.
Gilham, according to his campaign website, is a strong supporter of law enforcement but believes police departments should be closed and folded into county sheriff’s offices. He ultimately believes in a small government, advocating for cutting “not the budget but government itself” by 20% to 30%.
District 23 state Assembly race
In the race to represent District 23, the incumbent, Marc Berman, listed strengthening voting rights, addressing homelessness and housing, students’ success, protecting reproductive freedoms, addressing gun violence, protecting consumers and tackling the climate crisis as his top priorities on his campaign website.
Berman has already advanced legislation on these issues with 16 bills being signed into law last year alone from making ballots more user-friendly to ensuring the Department of Justice has the right to inspect and issue citation for any violations having to do with the sale, transfer and storage of firearms.
Looking ahead, Berman has said he’d like to continue working on an expansion of access to computer science education for high school students and developing a roadmap for industrial heat electrification to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“As your Assemblymember, I’ve always led with my progressive values,” Berman wrote on his reelection campaign website. “I’m just getting started.”
Mattammal’s two main issues listed on his campaign website are tackling the state’s economic standing and advocating for smart housing development. To boost the economy, Mattammal said the state should greatly reduce business regulations to allow shops to focus more on daily operations rather than compliance.
On housing, Mattammal said the current crisis is the fault of poor policy decisions in Sacramento and argued for redeveloping transit areas like El Camino Real under a special designation that would grant automatic approval to projects proposals with at least 15% of units offered at affordable rates.
He also raised homelessness, the cost of goods and services, education, and crime as other top priorities he’d address if elected.
Those policy areas are also top concerns for Marson, according to his campaign website. He shared support for drug rehabilitation programs and providing mental health assistance to help fight crime and homelessness, advocated for increasing density along busy corridors and for local control over zoning, and admonished diversity, equity and inclusion programs and critical race theory — an academic approach to understanding the interplay between race, ethnicity, social and political laws and media.
Marson also argued for establishing more dams and reservoirs to boost inexpensive energy and cutting wasteful spending on climate initiatives he said have made little gains. On election integrity, he advocated for enacting voter identification laws, banning ballot harvesting which allows for a person to collect completed and sealed ballots to drop off at official voting sites, and encouraging in-person voting.
Similarly, Kou on her campaign website said she would push to end “the insanity of street homelessness” through establishing navigation centers and treatment programs and building affordable housing where it makes sense while advocating for local control; advance public safety by mandating treatment for those suffering with addiction on the streets, allowing officers to focus on cracking down on “career criminals”; and “get smarter about government spending.”
“We can’t keep sending the same people to Sacramento over and over again and expect different results. We need real change. And that’s what I plan to do – go to Sacramento to deliver. I’m not heading to Sacramento to ‘go along to get along,’” Kou said on her campaign website.
Other local races
Two Congressional races are also underway with U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, running for reelection in District 15 against Republican housing policy advisor Anna Cheng Kramer.
Eleven are also running to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, who plans to retire as representative of District 16 at the end of this term — Peter Ohtaki, a Republican financial emergency manager from Menlo Park; Peter Dixon, a Democrat technology entrepreneur, veteran and father living in Portola Valley; Democrat tech executive Rishi Kumar; Joby Bernstein, a Stanford University Masters of Business student and Democrat; Republican Karl Ryan; Joe Simitian, a Santa Clara County supervisor and Democrat; former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat; tech policy expert Ahmed Mostafa; Democrat state Assemblymember Evan Low; Palo Alto Councilmember Greg Tanaka, a Democrat; and Julie Lythcott-Haims, an author, activist, speaker, educator and Palo Alto councilmember.
Former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier is running against Millbrae Councilmember Ann Schneider for the Board of Supervisors District 1 seat being vacated by Supervisor Dave Pine.
Five are running for board President Warren Slocum’s seat in District 4 — two East Palo Alto elected officials, Mayor Antonio López and Councilmember Lisa Gauthier; Maggie Cornejo, former Slocum staffer and current nonprofit administrator; Paul Bocanegra, activist and member of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission; and Celeste Brevard, project manager for Stanford University. Board Vice President David Canepa is running for reelection unopposed.
The Presidential Primary Election will be held Tuesday, March 5. Vote By Mail ballots began Monday, Feb. 5, and the voter registration deadline was Tuesday, Feb. 20. The primary is open to all political parties and the top two will run off in the Nov. 5 general election. In the supervisors’ races, however, a candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote will not have to run again in the General Election.
(1) comment
Vote for "Hope and Change" and vote republican. Aren't you all tired of the unpunished crime, homelessness, being overrun by illegal immigrants, inflation, and the deluge of new rules and regulations to control your every move?
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