Edmund T. Tuck and Brittany Maldonado contributed to this report
Super Tuesday is just one week away. California’s high stakes House and Senate races are being watched by political analysts across the country. There are some important races for the California Legislature too. But it’s those local government races that will have the most direct and immediate impact on our lives.
Below is just a small glimpse of what we’ll be watching when the results come in from the March 5th primary. For our breakdown of local ballot measures, click here.
Boomerang Candidates
“Boomerang” candidates are widespread in California once again in the 2024 election cycle. The term “boomerang” candidate refers to state or national politicians that are running for local-level positions that they may have previously held. Politicians elected to state legislature seats cannot hold them for more than 12 years. This causes many termed-out Assembly or Senate members to look to local positions, hoping to stay in politics and regain political authority in a locality they have already represented. These candidates also usually have much better funding and name recognition than other candidates running for the same local position. In 2024 these “boomerang” candidates are running from Los Angeles County to Sacramento County, causing many otherwise unreported local elections to become more noteworthy.
Freddie Rodriguez is a “boomerang” candidate running for the Pomona Mayoral office. Rodriguez has served as the Assemblymember for District 53 since 2013. However, before his time in Sacramento he had previously been elected twice to the Pomona City Council. Rodriguez has also had decades of experience as a first responder. Improving community safety by empowering these first responders is a key campaign issue that Rodriguez is running on. Incumbent Pomona Mayor since 2016, Tim Sandoval, is also in the race. Rodriguez, at time of writing, has a sizable money lead and is a favorite going into the March election.
In Los Angeles Council District 2 (LA CD 2) former State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian is running to replace his former boss Paul Krekorian. Krekorian has served as both an Assemblymember and LA Councilmember, and is termed-out from both, meaning CD 2 is an open seat. Nazarian seems to be following the path of Krekorian, whom he served as Chief of Staff with for several years. He first served for 10 years in the State Assembly in the 46th district. In 2022 he retired, announcing he would not run again for assembly but instead run for the LA City Council. With endorsements from state officials like Governor Gavin Newsom, it is clear Nazarian is the frontrunner in this race.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer is running for LA’s Council District 10. Jones-Sawyer has also had a long career in politics. The 67-year-old began his time working in Los Angeles politics as the Assistant Deputy Mayor of the city. After his time serving in that position, he ran and was elected in 2012 to the state Assembly. He is termed out in 2024 and decided to turn his attention back to Los Angeles city politics. He faces several notable candidates including incumbent Heather Hutt. Hutt was recently appointed as an interim for former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas after he was convicted on corruption charges. The discourse around corruption will therefore play a large role in the March primary.
In Los Angeles Council District 14 there are two “boomerang” candidates running to represent the East Los Angeles constituency. Miguel Santiago is a former assemblymember first elected in 2014 who decided not to run for reelection in 2024. He chose to run for CD 14 along with half a dozen other candidates vying to replace the incumbent Kevin De León. De León has been embroiled in controversy since a recording of him and two other, now former, councilmembers making racially insensitive remarks toward the son of another councilmember leaked. De León faced several months of calls to resign, but he refused time and again. Now Santiago, who is endorsed by the County Democratic Party, is trying to sell himself as a stabilizing candidate. Wendy Carillo, another current assemblymember is also running for the seat. She is running for both reelection to the State Assembly and LA City Council. It is unclear which she would put preference for if she wins. The three-term assemblymember has also gained the endorsements of former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had also represented the district in the past. A recent DUI arrest has not stopped her candidacy.
District 5 of the LA County Board of Supervisors is currently held by Kathryn Barger since 2016. Now Chris Holden, a current California assemblymember, is running to replace her on the board. Holden is a “boomerang” candidate that has decided to run for this seat because he will be termed out after his 2022-24 term in the Assembly is complete. California Assembly District 41 encompasses much of the northern San Gabriel Valley area, centering around Pasadena. Therefore, it is logical why Holden is seeking to represent District 5 on the Board, because it covers many of the same areas he has already represented. Barger has not been a particularly unpopular candidate, but does represent the sole Republican voice on the Board. This is why Holden has a very well-funded and endorsed campaign to replace her. If Barger were to lose, then the Democratic Party would represent all 5 seats in Los Angeles County.
Jackie Speier is a former Congresswoman who is running again for District 1 of the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo County. Speier has had a very long and influential career as a national politician in the US House of Representatives. Before she ever got elected to the House, she was a Supervisor in San Mateo County. She first won a seat of the Board in 1980 and then in 1986 was elected to the State Assembly. She was then elected to the State Senate 10 years later, serving until 2006. In 2008 she became a member of the House and retired in 2022. Now after two years out of politics, Speier is running again for the Board of Supervisors in San Mateo County. She faces only one opponent who is a local politician. It is widely expected that Speier will win the March election.
Wide Open Races
We’ve already mentioned a couple of races where there is no incumbent on the ballot – either because of retirement or term limits. But we’re looking at several others as well.
San Diego’s 4th Council District was left vacant by Monica Montgomery Steppe after she was elected to the County Board of Supervisors. In the running is Montgomery Steppe’s former chief of staff Henry Foster III; Tylisa Suseberry, a former executive assistant for the office of former State Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins; and Chida Warren-Darby, who serves as the director of boards and commissions for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. Montgomery Steppe, Council President Seal Elo-Rivera and the San Diego Democratic Party have endorsed Foster. Warren-Darby is endorsed by Mayor Todd Gloria and U.S. Representative Juan Vargas. Currently, the council is split between two factions – one friendly and one unfriendly toward Mayor Todd Gloria. The ultimate winner of District 4 will determine which faction gains more influence over the council’s decisions.
Sacramento Council District 2 is also wide open since embattled Councilmember Sean Loloee is not seeking re-election. The nine candidates are listed below in alphabetical order. Read more about each of them here.
- Alicia Bledsoe, employee with the California Department of Education
- Daryl Collins, retired law enforcement officer
- Kim Davie, retired vice principal for Grant Union High School
- Roger Dickinson, former state lawmaker (2010-2014)
- Ramona Landeros, former member of the Twin Rivers Unified School Board
- Penelope Larry, small business owner
- Mary Russell, rental property manager
- Veronica Smith, Loloee’s former chief of staff
- Stephen Walton, real estate agent and community ambassador for the City of Sacramento
In Sacramento County’s District 4, three candidates are running to replace Sue Frost, who is not running for re-election. The candidates are Citrus Heights City Council member Bret Daniels, political newcomer Braden Murphy, and Folsom City Council member Rosario Rodriguez.
Frost was criticized during her tenure for peddling COVID misinformation and assisting extreme right organizations, including an anti-vax group and the so-called Freedom Truckers Convoy. Frost has endorsed Rodriguez, even though Daniels describes himself as the “Conservative” choice for voters in this election. The Sacramento Bee is also supporting Rodriguez, who describes herself as a “moderate Republican.” According to the Bee, Daniels “may be even more extreme than Frost.”
Two former and current state legislators are vying to replace Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has declined to seek a third term. Among the six candidates seeking to succeed him as mayor are California Assemblymember Kevin McCarty and former State Senator Dr. Richard Pan. Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen is also on the ballot.
Two newcomers–Sharifa Batts and Tunua Thrash-Ntuk–are vying to replace termed-out Councilmember Al Austin in Long Beach’s 8th District. Austin has endorsed Batts, a small business owner. Thrash-Ntuk is president and CEO of a nonprofit. The central issues in this race are housing, homelessness, and public safety.
After 12 years on the board, Riverside County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Jeffries is not seeking re-election in his newly-redrawn district. Among the four candidates hoping to replace him are Jose Medina, who served in the State Assembly until 2022, and State Senator Richard Roth. Unlike Jeffries, both of them are Democrats. Medina represented Assembly District 61 from 2012-2022. He is a former teacher and member of the Jurupa Valley Unified Board of Education, as well as the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees. Roth represents the 31st Senate District. He’s a practicing attorney and veteran of the US Air Force. The two other candidates on the ballot in District 1 are Western Municipal Water District board member Gracie Torres and community activist Debbie Walsh.
Half of the seats on the San Jose City Council are on the ballot and two of them are currently held by termed-out incumbents.
In District 2 the candidates are Vanessa Sandoval, Chief of Staff for District 2 Councilmember Sergio Jimenez; Babu Prasad, a small businessman and employee of Kaiser Permanent; Pamela Campos, Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Policy Advisory Council; and retired deputy sheriff Joe Lopez. The Santa Clara Democratic Party, as well as the incumbent, are behind Sandoval. Prasad has a number of big labor endorsements.
In District 6, currently held by Dev Davis, four candidates are running. Among them is labor-backed Olivia Navarro and Michael Mulcahy, who is endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Matt Mahan.
Alameda’s longtime District 5 supervisor, Keith Carson, announced his retirement late last year after more than three decades in office. That announcement prompted a mad dash for control of District 5, where eight candidates are on the ballot:
- Ben Bartlett, Berkeley City Councilmember
- Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember
- John Bauters, Emeryville City Councilmember
- Ken Berrick, Alameda County Board of Education member
- Omar Farmer, Member of the Oakland Safety and Services Oversight Commission and Veterans Affairs Commission
- Gregory Hodge, former Oakland Unified School District trustee
- Chris Moore, businessman and East Bay Rental Housing Association board member
- Gerald Pechenuk, community member
- Lorrel Plimier, President of Piedmont League of Women Voters
You can read about each of the candidates here.
Finally, we have the two-woman race to replace Debbie Arnold in San Luis Obispo’s 5th District. Both Heather Moreno and Susan Funk are members of the Atascadero City Council. Moreno currently serves as mayor, and Funk is mayor pro tem. Moreno’s top priority is public safety. She is endorsed by Arnold and the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party. Funk points to homelessness as her top priority. She has been endorsed by the county’s Democratic Party, as well as supervisors Bruce Gibson, Jimmy Paulding, and Dawn Ortiz-Legg.
Revenge of the Moderates
Moderate politicians are continuing their march across the state, and could make more inroads in places like Los Angeles.
One of the state’s most progressive district attorneys, Los Angeles County DA George Gascón, is facing a tough battle for re-election. He has 11 challengers in the March 5th primary:
- Eric Siddall, prosecutor
- Maria Ramirez, lead deputy district attorney
- John McKinney, supervising district attorney
- Jonathan Hatami, prosecutor
- Lloyd "Bobcat" Masson, prosecutor
- Nathan Hochman, former U.S. assistant attorney general
- Jeff Chemerinsky, assistant U.S. attorney
- Dan Kapelovitz, criminal defense attorney
- Debra Archuleta, Los Angeles County Superior Court judge
- Craig J. Mitchell, Los Angeles County Superior Court judge
- David S. Milton, retired Superior Court judge
The large pool of candidates is a testament to Gascón’s vulnerability, but it also works to his advantage. A candidate needs over 50% of the vote to win outright, otherwise the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November. With so many challengers, a runoff is almost inevitable.
Gascón has faced heat over his progressive criminal justice policies since assuming the post in 2020. Critics blame his “soft-on crime” approach for a spike in organized retail thefts and shootings in the county. At a recent debate, Gascón appeared to be a man on an island. Every one of his challengers said they would pursue prosecutorial enhancements for gang-related crimes, for instance. Only Gascón stood by the no-enhancement policy he implemented after assuming office.
In defending his position, Gascón told the crowd: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.” It was a peculiar choice of words from someone running for re-election to a second term.
A turf battle between the Left and the center is also taking place in Los Angeles City Council District 4. The incumbent, Nithya Raman, is one of the Council’s most progressive members. But constituents have soured on some of her positions, like opposing homeless encampment buffers around elementary schools, supporting unconstrained development, and declining to crack down on catalytic converter theft – instead blaming Toyota for the spike in crime. Because of recent boundary changes, Raman is also overseeing a district that includes many constituents who never voted for her before.
Raman’s challengers are engineer and neighborhood councilmember Levon “Lev” Baronian and deputy city attorney Ethan Weaver. Between the two challengers, Weaver has drawn the most cash. He has formidable backers in the business and public safety sectors. He supports increasing police and cutting red tape to encourage more housing development. Overall, he has portrayed Raman as too extreme for CD4.
A similar fight is playing out in Sacramento’s 4th Council District where Katie Valenzuela is running for re-election. Valenzuela is a Democratic socialist and the Council’s most Left-leaning member. Her challenger, former Planning and Design Commissioner Phil Pluckebaum, is a moderate Democrat. The two diverge on multiple issues from rent caps and bridge shelter locations to police funding. Valenzuela has strong support from labor unions. Pluckebaum has picked up endorsements from Sheriff Jim Cooper, County Supervisor Phil Serna, Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, the Sacramento Association of Realtors, and the Sacramento Bee. Because there are only two viable candidates in this race, we’re going to have an outright winner with no runoff.
Political moderation cuts both ways and, in Republican-heavy Shasta County, there is an effort to temper right-wing extremism. It’s coming in the form of a recall measure against County Supervisor Kevin Crye, who won his seat two years ago by just 90 votes. Crye is an election denier and conspiracy theorist who has consulted with My Pillow CEO turned “Stop the Steal” sponsor Mike Lindell about election integrity in the county. Crye led the effort to implement hand-counting in local elections – a costly endeavor that was ultimately blocked by the state.
Recall organizers say Crye has turned Shasta into a national embarrassment and cost the county millions of dollars. If Crye is ousted, organizers could succeed in moderating the board.
Other Notable Races
Local government veteran and former Pasadena Mayor Rick Cole is running for Pasadena City Council District 2. The incumbent, Felicia Williams, has served on the council since 2020. The race has gotten contentious at times, with Cole supporters accusing Williams of putting out a “hit piece” mailer on her opponent.
In Pasadena’s 3rd District, there is a special election taking place, prompted by the sudden death of Councilmember John Kennedy in 2022. The Council had appointed Justin Jones to fill the seat temporarily, and he’s now running to keep it. Nonprofit director Brandon Lamar, who was also considered for the appointment, is running against Jones.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is running for re-election in a tough political environment. Rising housing costs recently earned San Diego the title of most expensive city in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Homelessness reached crisis levels last year, prompting a camping ban that divided Democrats. Four candidates are running against Gloria:
- Jane Glasson, special education assistant
- Geneviéve Jones-Wright, attorney and social justice advocate
- Dan Smiechowski, triathlete and mental health advocate
- Larry Turner, San Diego police officer
This race is likely headed for a runoff in November. Gloria’s strategy has been to boost the profile of Glasson, a Republican who would have a time tough winning in a one-on-one matchup. Polls show Turner and Jones-Wright would be a bigger headache for Gloria in the fall.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is challenging Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer in San Diego County’s 3rd District. Faulconer, a Republican, and Lawson-Remer, a Democrat, have different views on the best way forward for San Diego. This is an important race. If Faulconer were to win this seat, it would flip the balance of power on the board.
Last but not least, public safety advocates are pushing to oust two judges in San Francisco that have been deemed too lenient on repeat criminal offenders. The effort is led by Stop Crime Action, which has been employing courtwatching to foster a justice system that is tougher on crime. The targets are San Francisco Superior Court Judge Michael Begert and Judge Patrick Thompson. Begert is facing a challenge from Albert “Chip” Zecher, a corporate lawyer and board member of UC Law San Francisco. Thompson is being challenged by Deputy District Attorney Jean Myungjin Roland. A defeat for Begert and Thompson would be one more nail in the coffin of criminal justice reform in San Francsico, and a sign that the backlash against progressive crime policies is growing. If this courtwatching trend continues, progressives fear it could influence judges’ sentencing decisions, leading to more incarceration.
For more information on California elections, including how to track your ballot, click here.
Happy voting!