SAN DIEGO — This has been a year when numerous women candidates have come to the forefront and our endorsements for the State Legislature reflects that.
To begin with, we are happy to endorse State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) for reelection. There is no arguing the fact that she is a powerful legislator, well respected by her colleagues. When she was in the state Assembly, she was elected Assembly Speaker. Now that she is the Senate, she serves at the President pro tempore. In that position, she is able to make certain that San Diego County receives its fair share of state resources.
In the 71st District, an irregularly shaped district that includes portions of San Diego County and Riverside County, we favor the election of Liz Lavertu, a Spring Valley community planning group member, who emphasizes the need for child care solutions to enable parents of young children to go to work. She also advocates that “Our education system should be reflective of the global economy that we now live in. We should be preparing our children to join the new style of workforce that technology has allowed us. At the same time we recognize the importance of bringing back and highlighting the wonderful paying trade jobs that are great options for careers.” She also has called for more affordable housing options, whether that be for new homeowners or renters.
In the 75th District, our support goes to Kate Schwartz, a Fallbrook Democrat and member of the Jewish community, who serves as one of five members of the elected Fallbrook Regional Health District Board. In the last election, she was both the only Democrat elected and the largest vote-getter. “Together, let’s work on creating a California healthcare system that is accessible and affordable for us all,” she has stated. “It’s time to create affordable housing for North County San Diego. It is time to address the infrastructure improvements needed in our transportation systems, improving public transit and creating a mass transit system for our future. it is time to support our Veterans and prioritize homelessness, and it is time to preserve our green spaces and combat climate change. It is time to fully support our public education system, pre-K through Community College and take care of our children.”
In the 76th Assembly District, the incumbent is Tasha Boerner Horvath of Encinitas, who reflects her coastal city’s concern for the environment. “Climate change is happening, and it’s up to us to do something about it for our children. I have a proven record of working to protect open space, preserve beach access, build new walking and biking paths, and ensure that any new development is compatible with our neighborhoods. As your State Assemblymember, I collaborate to protect our coastline, invest in renewable energy technologies, and advance progressive policies to keep our air and water clean.”
In the 77th Assembly District, Brian Maienschein is the incumbent who deserves reelection. Telling about some of his goals, he recently wrote that he “introduced legislation that would protect children by providing youth sports leagues the authority to conduct criminal background checks on all coaches.” Priorities have included “creating policies that help women suffering from maternal mental health disorders, reduce homelessness and protect animals.”
In the 78th Assembly District, another member of our Jewish community is running for election, and we’re happy to endorse her. Sarah Davis, like Kate Schwartz, brings a health care professional’s perspective to the problems facing us all during the Coronavirus pandemic. She writes: “Budgets are statements of values. As California reels from the budget deficit due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I will fight to protect people over profits. The ‘new normal’ is an opportunity to invest in people and communities that have been historically oppressed. The issues are complex, and we need a values driven Assemblywoman to fight for a fair California.” She adds that a “universal single payer health care system will give families, workers and seniors the quality care they deserve. Health care for all will alleviate the burden for many small business owners, increase productivity, and reduce costly emergency room visits.”
Although there are two well-known incumbents in the 79th and 80th Assembly Districts — respectively Shirley Weber and Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher — we are not ready to endorse either of them because to date, they seem to have been unable or unwilling to hear the Jewish community’s concerns over state-mandated Ethnic Studies curricula that emphasize the experiences of African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Native-Americans, but which conspicuously omits from such studies the experiences of Jewish Americans, and the discrimination and anti-Semitism that our people continue to face.
We hope that both these incumbents would be willing to meet either personally in masked, socially distant situations, or virtually, in the near future with leaders of the Jewish community -(I would suggest the leaders of such groups as the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, the Anti-Defamation League, StandWithUs, and others) to have heart-to-heart discussions on this and other topics of vital interest to our community.
Our endorsements:
39th State Senate District: Toni Atkins
71st Assembly District: Liz Lavertu
75th Assembly District: Kate Schwartz
76th Assembly District: Tasha Boerner Horvath
77th Assembly District: Brian Maienschein
78th Assembly District: Sarah Davis
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com