Who Is San Diego Sending to Sacramento This Year?
Voter Guide: Assembly & Senate Contests Reviewed
California politics have been defined in recent years by a Democratic Supermajority in both houses of the legislature in the state capital.
The actual power in Sacramento belongs to the Governor, whose vetoes reign supreme when it comes to new laws. Despite their lopsided majority, legislative Democrats have never even tried to override Gavin Newsom (or any governor for more than 40 years) . It's been considered a political third rail and a social faux pas.
Via Politico:
Instead, they have historically deferred to repeatedly reintroducing the same legislation — year, after year, after year.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who is termed out this year, has adopted such a strategy with her bill to grant media access to prisons. It has been vetoed nine times by four governors. Her tenth version, Senate Bill 254, currently sits on Newsom’s desk.
The reasoning behind this political cowardice is the fear of gubernatorial revenge; other bills will get vetoed; input won’t be sought on sensitive matters, and, perhaps, not getting invited to political soirees.
There’s an interesting breakdown of political norms this year, as the State Senate has refused to convene in response to a call from Gov. Newsom for a special session. His push to set new regulations for the oil and gas industry failed to make it through the Assembly, which –interestingly enough– reconvened for hearings on the matter.
This is ultimately a flex by the dirty energy industry to sabotage legislation aiming to prevent price spikes using procedural methods. The votes are there in both houses; the Assembly let the bill die during the regular session, saying they needed to study the matter. Now the Senate won’t come back to town. This is how politicians look good to their constituents (and keep the campaign coffers filling) while not actually accomplishing anything.
A back and forth on implementation of a law on corporate reporting concerns emission may have ended on August 31, with passage of Senate Bill 219, responding to the Governor’s demand for a (two year) delay with a six month delay instead. My bet is that Newsom will veto the legislation, since his view is that the California Air Resources Board is not ready to take action.
Republicans, by and large, have been powerless to do much more than hold press conferences and hope for the opportunity to become a co-sponsor on non-controversial bills involving their districts.
There’s lots of tough talk from the right side of the aisle among those tuned into the MAGA culture wars. In the likely event that Carl DeMaio claims the Assembly seat in the 75th district, they’re about to get their very own version of Congressman Jim Jordan, and the press conferences will get wilder and louder.
Measures responding to local entities entering the right’s culture war arena were popular this session, with several awaiting the Governor’s signature. These include AB 2085 to streamline the permitting process (Beverly Hills blocked a clinic) for reproductive health clinics, along with SB 1174 prohibiting local governments from requiring voter identification in municipal elections and AB 1825 which would outlaw the sort of citizen review panels that Huntington Beach and Fresno County recently created to restrict access to library books with “sexual references” and “gender-identity content.” (h/t CalMatters)
California State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil just switched over to the GOP side. I’m sure it had nothing to do with being hit with a civil lawsuit filed by her ex-chief of staff who alleges the senator forced him to do sexual favors while she was his boss. He says a back injury occurred when he was obligated to go down on her in the backseat of a car. There’s more in the way of allegations that would make a tech bro blush.
Now that I’ve finished dishing up the gossip, let’s get to who’s running where. I’m only covering the legislative districts that include a San Diego County element.
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California Assembly - District 75 - Republican incumbent Marie Waldron Termed Out - Encompasses parts of inland central and eastern San Diego County, including Ramona, Poway, Santee, and Alpine.
The race for Assembly in D75 is a Republican on Republican contest. Relatively moderate Lakeside Union School District office holder Andrew Hayes is up against MAGAish provocateur Carl DeMaio, who actually paid for advertising supporting Democrat Kevin Juno in the primary, hoping to make his path easier in an overwhelmingly Republican district.
The county GOP’s endorsement page completely ignores D75, as in no listing, whereas other contests received a “no endorsement” listing. However, nearly every elected Republican in the county has endorsed Hayes, because many in the party consider DeMaio an asshole.
DeMaio had a talk radio show and has a grassroots mailing list that regularly sends out appeals for donations to popular right wing causes. In the failed effort to recall Gov. Newsom there were complaints about monies he raised not making it to the official sponsor.
Carl DeMaio (Republican)
Website | Facebook | Xitter
His campaign has raised $2.2 million, including a $100 thousand personal loan,
Andrew Hayes (Republican)
Website | Facebook | Xitter
His campaign has raised just under $1 million, including $27,000 for the SDGOP, which I’ll presume will say was for the primary.
I’m sure glad I don’t live in D75.
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California Assembly - District 76 - Democratic Incumbent Brian Maienschein is termed out. Encompasses the northwestern part of the county inland from the coast from Carmel Valley to San Pasqual Valley inland and northern Vista suburbs.
Soon-to-be former Assemblyman Maienschein switched from Republican to Democrat, something the local GOP is still pissed about.
Darshana Patel (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | Xitter
Poway Unified Board of Education member Patel is a biotechnology researcher and a civic nonprofit executive who has received the Democratic Party’s endorsement along with virtually every local elected official from that party. She’s raised roughly $116,000 according to Transparency USA
Kristie Bruce-Lane (Republican)
Website | Facebook | X itter
She seemed nice enough (Republican-endorsed business person running against ‘Sacramento Dems’) till I found her dissemination of misinformation concerning allegations (disproven) about “illegal aliens” trying to hijack two school buses in the county. Yeah, she’s a hater. She’s raised about $128,000 for this campaign, but has funding left over from a 2022 campaign for a total war chest of roughly $506,000
Darshana Patel is the obvious choice.
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California Assembly District 77 - Incumbent is Tasha Boerner-Horvath
Encompasses the coastal areas from Carlsbad to the Coronado Strand, including downtown San Diego.
Tasha Boerner-Horvath (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | X itter
Da-y-m. This San Diego native has done a bang up job in the assembly in terms of legislative issues. From not-“recycleable” plastic bags to gun safety to Tijuana river pollution, she’s been there. She’s endorsed by the local Democratic Party, and has raised just short of a hundred grand; combined with monies banked from prior campaigns, her war chest amounted to over a half million dollars.
James Browne (Republican)
Website | Facebook | X itter
He’s a novice candidate, talks like a wanna be, and has no chance in November. Seems nice, though. The local GOP didn’t endorse him. Probably not a hater. He has no contributions to report.
It’s Tasha all the way for me.
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California Assembly District 78 - Incumbent Democrat Chris Ward has no challenger.
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California Assembly District 79 - Incumbent Democrat Akaih Weber is running for State Senate
Encompasses the North Central regions of San Diego City, from Balboa Park north to Mira Mesa and east to the north suburbs of El Cajon.
This is a Democrat on Democrat contest in a Blue part of town. No fireworks that I’ve seen in terms of campaigning; lots of selfies of door-knocking. I should note that, while Colin Parent came out on top in the primary, the combined votes of his democratic opponents were higher than his total.
Colin Parent (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | X itter
YIMBY advocate (as Counsel for Circulate San Diego) and the first Democrat elected to the La Mesa City Counsel in 30 years, Parent has been campaigning in one way or another for more than a decade. He’s got the bigger social media footprint, but didn’t get the endorsement of the local Democratic party. The OB Rag hates him, calls him a corporate tool, etc. He’s not that bad, but does play the establishment game well. He’s collected $687,000 in donations, with his biggest donors being the California Association of Realtors and two labor unions.
LaShae Sharp-Collins (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | X itter
She’s got deep roots in the community, served as District Director for then-Assemblymember Shirley Weber, and can’t seem to pass up the opportunity to join an union picket line. While she may not have her opponent’s name recognition, she does have the endorsement of the Democratic party and a boatload of progressive organizations. She’s raised $318,000 or so in contributions, with a lot of union and academic-related donors.
Either candidate could do this job successfully, I'm giving LaShae Sharp-Collins the nod.
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California Assembly District 80 - Incumbent Democrat David Alavarez is running for reelection. Encompasses Southeast San Diego south to San Ysidro and east thru Otay Mesa.
David Alvarez (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | X itter
He’s been a fixture in San Diego politics, serving as a city councilmember, mayoral candidate (lost to Kevin Faulconer), and board member of numerous non-profits. Much of the newer ( & planned) infrastructure projects throughout Barrio Logan and other neighborhoods are the result of his advocacy. While he’s occasionally unpredictable on issues, Alvavrez has the endorsement of the local Democratic Party and has raised over $900,000 through this election cycle..
Michael W Williams (Republican)
Website | Facebook | X itter
He has been twice elected to the San Diego County Republican Central Committee so he’s used to partisan squabble. His campaign on social media centers around the mess in the Tijuana River Valley, and he’s shared the idea of charging all northward traffic from that city a toll to pay for fixing the problem. By mainly reposting other Republicans who lean wingnut, he’s sort of keeping up a veneer of being moderate; but my conclusion is that he’d like those deemed as leftist/Marxist/Communist eliminated. His campaign has raised a total of $8,467.
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California State Senate District 39 - Incumbent Democrat Toni Atkins is termed out
Encompasses San Diego from Point Loma on the west to Kearny Mesa on the north and east to Crest.
It’s hard to imagine life in San Diego without Toni Atkins, a liberal LGBTQ+ icon who's worked her way up the political food chain from city council to big kahuna in the legislature. She’s going to run for governor in 2026, and that will be her toughest challenge ever. At one point then-Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was aiming for this seat; now he’s using his war chest to help with legal fees. Fortunately, there’s an up and coming smart Democratic woman vying to replace her.
Akilah Weber (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | X itter
No mention of Akilah Weber goes without including her role as a physician/obstetrician/gynecologist. She’s served on the La Mesa City Council, ran to replace her mother in the State Assembly, and has cranked out an impressive set of bills during her tenure, seeking to expand access to maternal and infant care in California, ensure equitable access to reproductive and contraceptive care, and remove toxic cleaning products from the consumer market.
She’s been endorsed by the Democratic party and apparently is a monster fundraiser, having collected over $1.3 million since the start of 2024.
Bob Devine (Republican)
Has no campaign presence, no reported contributions, and no endorsement from the County GOP. Put an “L” on his forehead.
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Previously
California Ballot Measures Two thru Six
California’s Proposition 32: Something’s Better Than Nothing, I Suppose
CA Proposition 33: Deja Vu All Over Again on Rent Control
Just Say No to CA Propositions 34 & 35
California Proposition 36: A Feel Good Measure for Fear Mongers
Local 2024 Ballot Measures in San Diego
Tomorrow: I’ll write about the debate
Wednesday: Who’s Going to Washington to Represent Us?
About the Voter Guide.
I’ve been compiling voter guides for San Diegans for over a decade on various platforms. I have a progressive point of view tempered with life experience informing me of what’s possible and what’s bullshit.
Portions of this guide will be published most weekdays throughout September. I’ll publish a comprehensive guide (with links if you care) on Monday of the week ballots are mailed out. (October 7)
The Democratic supermajority in California has given rise to some mediocre politicians. I won’t recommend Democratic candidates unless I can say I feel more than ‘meh’ about them.
I can’t recommend Republicans because they’ve chosen to ally themselves with authoritarian, anti-democratic, and theocratic forces. I won’t suggest third parties because they can’t win in today’s system –this is a guide for THIS election.
While I’d like for everybody to agree with my choices, we all know that won’t happen. As long as you actually vote, I’ll be satisfied.
Check your voter registration at
https://www.sdvote.com/content/rov/en/voter-info-lookup.html
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Tuesday’s Other News to Think About
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Mysterious influencer network pushed sexual smears of Harris via Semafor
(Can you say Russia? I thought you could)
The calls in June and early July encouraged participants to push familiar Republican talking points on X and, in particular, on Spaces, the platform’s live audio product. In the early summer, those talking points included attacking Judge Juan Merchan during Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, casting President Joe Biden as feeble, and accusing Democrats of weaponizing the government against conservatives.
An invitation to a call on Monday, July 22, arrived under the subject line “War Room — Kamala Messaging,” according to an invitation seen by Semafor. At the time, Harris was fast consolidating support as the Democratic nominee, and Republicans were unsure of how to blunt her progress.
The influencers’ marching orders were clear: make a series of lurid sexual jibes aimed at Harris, the least crude of which was comparing her to Haliey Welch, the “Hawk Tuah girl” who became a viral sensation over a video of her discussing oral sex.
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Trump teams up with pickup artist for new crypto scheme by Judd Legum for Popular Information
World Liberty Financial is not owned by Trump or his family. The company is registered to Zak Folkman. Previously, "Folkman previously registered a company called Date Hotter Girls LLC and posted seminars on YouTube on how to pick up women." One of Folkman's "masterclasses" provided instruction on how to "Become the Ultimate Alpha Male." Folkman also partnered with Logan Paul to create Subify, a "censorship-free" competitor to OnlyFans, which sells subscriptions to explicit content, and Patreon.
Folkman, World Liberty Financial's head of operations, also has a checkered history in the crypto industry. Folkman previously co-founded Dough Finance, which lost more than $2 million of customer funds in a July 2024 hack. Early code from World Liberty Financial appears to be lifted "directly from Dough Finance." It is unknown if that code will be used in the final product or if that code contains the vulnerability exploited in the Dough Finance hack.
Last year, Americans "were duped out of more than $5.6 billion last year through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency," according to an FBI report released on Monday. World Liberty Financial has not even launched yet, and it has already unwittingly facilitated two scams.
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Trial begins over Texas 'Trump Train' highway confrontation via The Associated Press
The civil jury trial over the so-called “Trump Train” comes as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris race into the final two months of their head-to-head fight for the White House in November.
Democrats on the bus said they feared for their lives as Trump supporters in dozens of trucks and cars nearly caused collisions, rammed a Biden-Harris campaign staffer's car and forced the bus driver to repeatedly swerve for safety.
“For at least 90 minutes, defendants terrorized and menaced the driver and passengers,” the lawsuit alleges. “They played a madcap game of highway ‘chicken’ coming within three to four inches of the bus. They tried to run the bus off the road."
The highway confrontation prompted an FBI investigation, which led then-President Trump to declare that in his opinion, “these patriots did nothing wrong.”
