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Tag: state assembly

  • Rep. Julia Brownley announces she will not seek reelection

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    Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat who has represented swaths of Ventura and Los Angeles counties for more than a decade, announced Thursday that she would not seek reelection.

    “Serving our community and our country has been the honor of my lifetime. Every step of this journey has been shaped by the people I represent, by their resilience, their determination, and their belief that government can and should work for the common good,” Brownley said, touting her efforts to expand access to healthcare, support veterans, fight climate change and other policy priorities, as well as constituent services. “We … never lost sight of the simple truth that public service is about showing up for people when they need help the most.”

    Brownley, 73, did not say why she was choosing not to seek reelection, but she joins more than 40 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have announced they are not to running for their seats again in November. Other Californians not seeking reelection are Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), who is running for governor.

    Brownley served on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education and in the state Assembly before successfully running for Congress in 2012. At the time, the district was nearly evenly divided between Democratic and Republican voters. But in years since, the district has grown more liberal.

    In 2024, when the 26th Congressional District included Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Westlake Village and a portion of San Buenaventura, the congresswoman won reelection with 56.6% of the vote over GOP businessman Michael Koslow, who received 43.4% of the ballots cast. At the time, the voter registration in the district was 42.5% Democratic, 29.6% Republican and 20.4% independent.

    The district grew more Democratic after the passage of Proposition 50, the redrawing of congressional maps California voters approved in November to counter President Trump’s efforts to boost the number of Republicans elected to Congress from GOP-led states. Simi Valley was excised from the district, while Hidden Hills, parts of Palmdale, Lancaster and nearby high-desert areas were added to the district.

    For Republican candidates had already announced plans to challenge Brownley this year, including Koslow, who called Brownley “out of touch” with the district’s voters.

    “The voters of the 26th Congressional District need a representative who isn’t afraid to vote his conscience in Washington,” Koslow said in a statement. “They can count on me to bring common sense to Washington.”

    On Thursday, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Brownley’s seat hours after the congresswoman announced she would not seek reelection.

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    Seema Mehta

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  • California elections officials say Assemblymember Vince Fong can't run for Congress in Bakersfield

    California elections officials say Assemblymember Vince Fong can't run for Congress in Bakersfield

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    California’s chief elections officer said late Friday that Bakersfield Republican Vince Fong cannot appear on the ballot for a Central Valley congressional seat because he is already running for reelection to the state Assembly — a decision the state lawmaker vowed to challenge in court.

    When Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) this month announced his retirement, Fong, 44, said he would stay in his job in the 32nd Assembly District and would not run for Congress. Days later, Fong changed his mind and filed paperwork to enter the race, prompting complaints from other candidates that he was trying to run for two offices at once, which is prohibited by state law, they said.

    Fong’s paperwork to run for Congress was “improperly submitted,” the office of Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said late Friday. The office said Fong “will not appear on the list of certified candidates for Congressional District 20 that our office will transmit to county election officials on candidates on Dec. 28.”

    Fong’s campaign released a statement vowing to file a lawsuit “imminently” and calling the secretary of State’s decision an “unprecedented interference in the candidate filing process.”

    County elections offices have “full jurisdiction to qualify candidates for the ballot,” while the secretary of State “simply has a ministerial duty to certify the candidate lists and include ALL qualified candidates,” the campaign said.

    Fong was sworn in as a candidate for the congressional race Monday at the Kern County Elections Division office in Bakersfield.

    “I will fight the Secretary of State’s misguided decision and do whatever it takes to give voters in our community a real choice in this election,” Fong said in a statement.

    Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School, said California is “not at all alone in making a policy choice that candidates should only run for one office at the same time.

    “Given that there are a number of state laws that do appear to have bans on running for two different offices in the same election, and California appears to have such a ban, this does seem to be an appropriate decision,” Levinson said.

    But, she said, she wondered whether Fong could challenge as outdated a section of the state law that reads: “No person may file nomination papers for a party nomination and an independent nomination for the same office, or for more than one office at the same election.”

    In 2010, California voters rewrote the state’s primary system, scrapping party nominations in favor of a system in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

    Fong, 44, has been widely seen as the front-runner in the congressional race and has secured McCarthy’s endorsement. Born and raised in Bakersfield, Fong began his career working for McCarthy’s predecessor, then-Rep. Bill Thomas, then worked for nearly a decade as McCarthy’s district director.

    Fong was elected in 2016 to the state Assembly, where he has largely focused on public safety, water and fiscal issues, generally eschewing the culture wars that dominate factions of the GOP. He carried bills attempting to pause a tax on gasoline that funds road repairs and direct money away from high-speed rail, both of which were unsuccessful.

    Fong has served as vice chairman of the Assembly budget committee, a perch he has used to advocate for conservative fiscal policies, even though Republicans have little power to influence decisions in the state Capitol.

    Fong was the only candidate who filed to run for the 32nd Assembly district seat. The filing deadline for the race was Dec. 8.

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    Laura J. Nelson

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  • Bakersfield Assemblyman Vince Fong will run to replace Kevin McCarthy in Congress

    Bakersfield Assemblyman Vince Fong will run to replace Kevin McCarthy in Congress

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    Bakersfield Assemblymember Vince Fong said Monday he is entering the race to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy in Congress, becoming the best-known Republican vying for the Central Valley seat in the House of Representatives.

    When McCarthy announced last week that he planned to retire by the end of the year, Fong, 44, said he would not run for the seat in California’s 20th Congressional District. But on Monday morning, Fong said he had changed his mind.

    “It is my strong belief that the Central Valley must continue to be represented by proven, conservative leaders in Congress,” Fong said. “In light of recent developments and in an attempt to unite our community in this critical moment in our nation’s history, I have decided to run for Congress in 2024.”

    He added: “I have spent my career fighting for Central Valley families. I am eager and ready to take that fight to Washington and deliver meaningful results for our community.”

    Fong, who was born and raised in Bakersfield, began his career working for McCarthy’s predecessor, then-Rep. Bill Thomas, then worked for nearly a decade as McCarthy’s district director. Fong was elected to the state Assembly in 2016.

    It’s a path that mirrors that of McCarthy, who began his political career in Thomas’ office, then served four years in the state Assembly before running for Congress.

    In Sacramento, Fong has largely focused on public safety, water and fiscal issues, generally eschewing culture wars that dominate some parts of the GOP. He carried bills attempting to pause a tax on gasoline that funds road repairs and direct money away from high speed rail, both of which were unsuccessful.

    Fong has served as the vice chairman of the Assembly budget committee, a perch he has used to advocate for conservative fiscal policies even though Republicans have little power to influence decisions in the state Capitol.

    Fong currently represents about 60% of the voters in California’s 20th Congressional District, his campaign said.

    In Washington, Fong said he would aim to “defend the Central Valley’s water and energy resources,” focus on border security, and oppose “new taxes and the reckless spending that has fueled inflation and caused our cost of living to soar.”

    Fong’s announcement came hours after California Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), seen as a front-runner for the seat, said she would not run.

    In a statement late Sunday, Grove said “after prayerful consideration and thoughtful discussions” with her family, she had decided to finish serving her California Senate term, which ends in 2026.

    “I will honor my commitment to those who elected me to the California state Senate, and I will continue to fight for the needs of Central Valley residents,” Grove said. “Our district feeds and fuels the nation, and I intend to continue fighting for those interests! As one of only 40 Senators in the state, there is still much work that lies before me.”

    Candidates have until Wednesday to enter the race for McCarthy’s seat.

    Times Sacramento bureau chief Laurel Rosenhall contributed to this report.

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    Laura J. Nelson

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