Marc Berman defends District 23 assembly seat against Republican challengers

“I would argue that I’ve been one of the most effective legislators in state government. Over the past nine years, I’ve gotten over 100 bills passed and signed into law,” he said. “I offer pragmatic bills that often get bipartisan support, that are really geared at making Californians’ lives better. I don’t do a lot of the flashy stuff. I do the substantive stuff.” 

For his challengers, Berman’s legislative track record — including a bill banning the use of gas-powered yard tools and another that made California a permanent vote-by-mail state — is far from an achievement. On the contrary, it’s part of why they decided to enter the race in the majority-Democrat district. 

Johnson said support of one-day, in-person voting, targeting fraud and a belief in “parents’ rights” to be informed by schools if a child is thinking of transitioning genders or socially transitioning, are key issues for him. 

“I’m actually running a fairly nonpartisan campaign, because what I talk to people about as a father, as a business owner, I just talk truth and reality, common sense,” he said. 

Costs

Both Giorgetti and Johnson said they felt that reducing the role of the state government in regulation and taxation would be a solution to addressing California’s cost-of-living crisis. Giorgetti, for whom fiscal responsibility and a business-minded approach to the state budget is a priority, said the breadth of regulation required to build a house in San Mateo County is untenable, for example. 

“You’ve got to reduce regulations,” he said. “How can I get that house approved in one month? … You can’t, because this freaking state and most bureaucracies, they put so much whammy around it. It costs you days, weeks, hours. Time is money, and you can’t do it.” 

Berman, by contrast, targeted the lack of housing supply and high prices in the state as the most serious factor in California’s lack of affordability for working-class residents. 

“The cost of living crisis has a lot of different components, but the biggest one, and the one that I think is the foundation for all the others, is the cost of housing,” he said. “And the cost of housing is so high because we have done a great job at creating jobs over the past 50 years, and we’ve done a terrible job at building the housing necessary to meet the demand.” 

While state-mandated housing requirements can be controversial, Berman acknowledged, he said it was ultimately necessary for California to address its supply-and-demand issue. He also highlighted his work on consumer protections to help constituents keep “hard-earned dollars,” and said the legislature should continue work on expanding child care and basic needs services for students. 

VLF

In San Mateo County, the hot-button issue that perhaps most directly intertwines state and local politics is the fight for in-lieu vehicle license fee funding, which cities utilize to fund basic needs services. A 2004 change in the distribution system of VLF, which comes from taxes on California vehicles, determined revenue distribution by property tax revenue and the county’s school districts.

That system leaves San Mateo County, unlike most jurisdictions in the state, without guaranteed VLF funds and forces local legislators to fight for the funding to be included in the state budget each year. Presently, county leaders and state and federal legislators alike have come together to demand a reimbursement of $157 million in VLF fees that the area is owed. 

Both Johnson and Giorgetti said they were previously unfamiliar with the VLF issue, however, Giorgetti said “I’ll fix it. That’s what I do,” and Johnson suggested making VLF a flat fee where money is distributed directly to the county and state. 

Berman, who has worked with other local state legislators to haggle with the state for the money each year, acknowledged the complexity of the issue. While the ultimate goal is clearly a permanent solution, he said, he also highlighted the successes the San Mateo County state delegation has had in securing the funds in the past. 

“The goal is to find a permanent solution, so we stop coming back on this year-to-year-to-year kind of negotiations,” he said. “But in the meantime, we need to make sure that, especially as local government budgets are getting tighter, we need to make sure that the state steps up and does what it promised to do.” 

AI

As artificial intelligence rises in prominence throughout the nation and the state, the candidates suggested different approaches to regulating the new technology. Both Republicans said they largely didn’t believe the state had a regulatory role, with Giorgetti emphasizing that those who were misusing it should be prosecuted through the criminal justice system. 

“I’ll keep it simple. No role,” he said. 

Johnson also said he was extremely wary of such regulation, however, he posited the idea of an “agreement” on the uses of AI and suggested the issue may be better suited for the federal government. 

“The shortest answer I can give you is that I really don’t want the state to regulate it. On the one hand, it’s not an easy answer,” he said. “In this case, for this conversation, I might defer to the federal government, who has a bigger picture.” 

Berman, by contrast, said that the federal government’s ineptitude in producing meaningful AI regulation left California no choice but to be a leader on the issue to move forward with their own legislation, and pointed to his own work targeting the distribution of AI-generated child sex abuse material. 

“It’s going to be a multifaceted strategy to regulate, to reduce the risks of AI, and then we can only do it for Californians, but hopefully other states follow our lead and adopt a lot of the policies that we pass,” he said. 

Trump

As a member of the California Legislature, Berman has been a stalwart supporter of California’s position as a bastion against the policies of the Trump administration. He was firm in his position that the state should continue that fight, in the courts and in other arenas. 

“If I’m reelected to my last term, eight of my 12 years in the legislature will have been with Donald Trump as president,” Berman said. “And I think that makes the job and the legislature, the institution, that much more important in doing everything that we can to at least protect our 39 million residents.” 

As a Republican candidate who is supportive of Trump, Giorgetti said residents and politicians alike needed to focus on the issues themselves, rather than a blanket rejection based on the individual. 

“Don’t tell me we’re doing it because Trump’s going the other way. A lot of things happen today, in my opinion, just because he goes right, you got to go left. If he goes left, you go right. That doesn’t make any sense. Talk to me about the policy. Tell me why you’re doing this,” he said. 

Johnson, who described his core conservative principles as a “God-fearing, country loving-guy,” said that while he supported Trump, he was far more concerned with local issues and his own values than reacting to the president’s most recent statements.