Get to Know Your 2024 Local Candidates January 24, 2024 Advocacy, Legislation 2024 candidates, alameda county candidates, contra costa county candidates, primary election 2024 California Primary Election Open Seat Races – Voter Guide This is a reminder that the 2024 California Primary Election is scheduled for March 5th, 2024. Below please find a list of races and candidates who are running for the following open seat elections: Senate District 7 (Senator Skinner’s Seat), Senate District 9 (Senator Steve Glazer’s Seat), Assembly District 15 (Assemblymember Tim Grayson’s Seat), Alameda County Board of Supervisor District 5 (Supervisor Keith Carson), and Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor District 5 (Supervisor Federal Glover): The ACCMA would like to provide you with an overview of local candidates on the March 5th ballot. SD 7 Candidates City of Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín (CALPAC Supported Candidate) – In 2008, at age 24, Jesse was elected to the Berkeley City Council, where over three terms he worked to expand affordable housing, protect our environment, and revitalize his Downtown. In 2016, at age 32, he was elected Berkeley’s first Latino Mayor, and its youngest in a century. That same night, Trump was elected president. The next four years would be anything but easy: White supremacists marching in our streets. Rising homelessness. Surging housing costs. Pandemic and recession. A reckoning around race and policing. And worsening climate change. But in the face of unprecedented challenges, Mayor Arreguín boldly led his city, becoming one of the Bay Area’s most forward-thinking and effective mayors. In 2020, he was re-elected in one of the biggest landslides in Berkeley history. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.jesse.vote/. CA Labor Federation President Kathryn Lybarger – As President of the California Labor Federation Kathryn has pushed California to be a leader on essential bread and butter issues. For example, in health care Kathryn had a co-worker’s son who had cancer. When their union went on strike, UC threatened to end his son’s health care coverage if they didn’t all come back to work. Kathryn made employer threats like that illegal. While the ACA and Covered California are real progress, there is no reason - other than greed - that California can’t lead the nation in lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Kathryn has won better health care for thousands of working families. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.kathrynlybargerforstatesenate2024.com/. Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb – Dan is a three-term City Councilmember who has led legislative and budget efforts to address the real challenges we face head-on. Dan authored laws to stop ghost guns in our neighborhoods, create an independent police oversight commission, raise tens of millions for affordable housing, protect tenants from displacement, ban coal in Oakland, strengthen the Public Ethics Commission, create a progressive real estate transfer tax, require seismic retrofits of apartment buildings, create a partnership to keep kids in school, and so much more. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.dankalb.net/. Former Richmond Councilmember Jovanka Beckles – Jovanka was appointed by the Richmond Mayor to the Economic Development Commission and years later, she was appointed to the City’s Planning Commission. In 2010, she was elected to the Richmond City Council where she was able to deliver results while actively serving two terms. During this time, in addition to the policies mentioned above, Jovanka was instrumental in raising awareness through education campaigns and holding corporate polluters accountable. Broadening her geographical scope and ability to make a difference for more people, she was elected to the AC Transit Board in 2020. She continues to deliver results for her city, for two counties, for transit riders and transit workers. For more information, please visit their website at: https://jovanka4casenate.com/. Former Assemblymember Sandré Swanson – Before Sandré was elected to represent the cities of Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont in the California Assembly, he served five years as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Sandré started his government service as an entry‐level Legislative Aide, promoted to District Director and Senior Policy Advisor for Congressman Ronald V. Dellums during his 25 years of service. Following his terms in the California Legislature, Sandré served as Deputy Mayor for the City of Oakland during the administration of Mayor Jean Quan. For more information, please visit their website at: https://sandreswanson.net/. Licensed Broker Jeanne Solnordal – Jeanne Solnordal, does not have a website and has not reported any campaign activity. SD 9 Candidates Assemblymember Tim Grayson (CALPAC Supported Candidate) – Since being elected to the Assembly, Tim has authored and passed historic legislation to build more housing that is affordable for working families, establish statewide rent protections to help more Californians stay in their homes, and increase access to effective mental health services for our California firefighters and first responders. Tim passed legislation to put an end to predatory lending and rein in the payday loan industry. He secured $20 million in statewide funding for Family Justice Centers which help connect victims of domestic abuse and interpersonal violence with support from a wide array of state agencies. Grayson was at the forefront of the effort to create a new budget reserve account to complement the state’s constitutionally capped Rainy Day Fund. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.graysonforca.com/. San Ramon Councilmember Marisol Rubio – Marisol Rubio is a Home Health Care Provider and former Original Research Mentor and Bilingual Science Teacher. Marisol is a San Ramon City Councilmember where she brought about the first ever Ad Hoc Climate Action Council and Climate Action Task Force to help establish a standing Sustainability Advisory Committee and where she has been an ardent, successful advocate for disability and senior rights and for inclusionary affordable workforce housing. San Ramon was the first city in Contra Costa County to have their Housing Element approved without delays. For more information, please visit their website: https://www.marisolforca.com/. AD 15 Candidates Former Contra Costa County BOS Karen Mitchoff – Karen Mitchoff was elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in 2010 and has twice been re-elected by substantial margins. Karen has a long and varied career in public service and is known for her straightforward style and effective constituent service. In her 12 years on the Board of Supervisors, Karen worked to improve water quality and save the Delta, championed aging issues, improved public safety, expanded access to County healthcare, and fought for transportation improvements. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.karenmitchoff.com/. Antioch Councilmember Monica Wilson – Four-term Councilmember Monica Wilson was the first African American woman elected to the Antioch City Council where she champions police reform and safe neighborhoods; solutions to homelessness; expansion of mental health response teams; and bans on new liquor stores. Monica is a regional and statewide leader in the fight against human trafficking, serving as a Program Manager for a Bay Area nonprofit battling exploitation – and also worked closely with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office to create the County’s Human Trafficking Task Force. For more information, please visit their website at: https://monicaforassembly.com/. Contra Costa County Board of Education Trustee Anamarie Avila Farias – In 2012, she was the first Latina to be elected to the Martinez City Council, and in 2020 she was elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Education where she serves as one of only two Latinas elected to a state or county position in Contra Costa. She also chaired and served on the Martinez Planning Commission for nearly a decade and served on the Parks & Recreation and Marina Commission for 5-years. In 2015, Anamarie was appointed by former Governor Brown to the Board of Directors of the California Housing Finance Agency. Anamarie was re-appointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board in 2021 by Governor Newsom. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.anamarie4assembly.com/. Realtor Sonia Ledo – Sonia’s personal experiences have shaped her perspective and drive to advocate for policies that support families like hers, and she is committed to being a voice for all members of our community. She is dedicated to making tough decisions to improve our quality of life by addressing our increased crime, taxes and cost of living that continues to drive people and business away. She will represent you with fairness, transparency, and a strong work ethic on all issues ensuring that the voices of our community are heard and valued. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.sonialedo.com/. Al. Co. BOS District 5 Candidates Emeryville Councilmember John Bauters – John J. Bauters is a progressive leader serving on the Emeryville Council since 2016. John brings a combination of professional and lived experience in addressing many of the issues facing residents in the East Bay to his role as a council member. John has been fighting the structural and societal causes of poverty for over 20 years. A former disaster relief director and eviction defense attorney, he currently works as a public policy and finance expert on the issues of homelessness, criminal justice reform, and community-based mental health services. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.bautersforsupervisor.com/. Berkeley Councilmember Ben Bartlett – Ben ran for Berkeley City Council in South Berkeley in 2016 and won. Ben is a nationally recognized policy leader, known for his collaborative and effective leadership style, focusing on innovation and inclusion. This is why he has been able to pass over 100 pieces of legislation in Berkeley, improving the lives of its residents. We need Ben’s visionary leadership to unlock the promise of Alameda County for all of us. Ben was inspired to study environmental law while working for the Obama campaign. He worked on major initiatives like helping launch Cap and Trade in California and designing electric vehicle finance programs. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.ben2024.vote/. Oakland Councilmember/President Nikki Fortunato Bas – Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is a lifelong community organizer, nonprofit director, Filipina-American, and working Mom guided by her lived experiences as the daughter of immigrants whose struggles inspired her to lead coalitions fighting for a living wage, an end to food insecurity, and access to affordable healthcare and housing. leads the fight for an East Bay where every family is healthy, safe, and housed. She led efforts to help secure $350,000,000 for up to 2,400 housing units for homeless and working families; established a $14,000,000 Fund to assist low-income housing insecure tenants to purchase homes; expanded violence prevention and anti-sex trafficking programs; and launched Fire Department mobile crisis teams to address mental health and 911 calls. For more information, please visit their website at: https://nikki4supervisor.com/. Alameda County Board of Education Trustee Ken Berrick – Over 30 years ago, Ken founded Seneca Family of Agencies right here in District 5. Seneca was founded with an unwavering commitment to unconditionally support children, families, and communities through the most difficult times in their lives. Throughout his career, he focused on creating and promoting policy that bring opportunities and life-improvements for children and youth, including mental health, child welfare, education, and juvenile justice – and the unique part of his work has been the integration of all these systems. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.berrickforsupervisor.com/. Community Volunteer and Accountant Chris Moore – As an accountant, Chris has worked with the City of Berkeley, Port of Oakland, and other municipal entities to balance their budgets while protecting workers and services. He has been a community volunteer mentoring youth, supporting mom-and-pop rental owners, and organizing neighbors to win community policing dollars from cities. Over the past decade, he has worked closely with local legislators to implement policies supporting small housing and immigrant providers, recognizing the disproportionate challenges they faced during the pandemic. For more information, please visit their website at: https://chrismooreforsupervisor.com/. Non-Profit Executive Greg Hodge – Greg has been the lead facilitator of the African American Response Circle Fund (the AARC Fund), established by the Brotherhood of Elders Network in partnership with the East Bay Community Foundation. The AARC Fund was created as a response to the public health and economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on African Americans of Alameda County, a community that was among those hit the hardest during the pandemic. So far, the fund has raised over $1.1 million for local non-profit organizations that serve African American communities. Greg has been the Chief Network Officer of the Brotherhood of Elders Network, an intergenerational network of African American men who are leveraging resources and relationships in the Black community to foster environments where Black boys and young men of Oakland are empowered to flourish. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.hodgeford5supervisor.com/. US ARMY Veteran and Attorney Lorrel Plimier – Lorrel is proudly endorsed by the national VoteVet PAC. In the Army, she led a platoon of soldiers providing communications in Germany and was deployed to Turkey where she led a joint Army and Air Force communications team that supported the mission of enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq. When she got out of the Army, she went to law school and then practiced patent law for 15 years. For years she advocated for progressive policy in Alameda County as a board member and President of the League of Women Voters of Piedmont. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.lorrel4bos.com/. Alameda County Veterans Affair Commissioner Omar Farmer – Omar Farmer does not have a website. Alameda County GOP Central Cmte. Member Gerald Pechenuk – Gerald Pechenuk does not have a website. Contra Costa County BOS District 5 Candidates City of Pittsburg Mayor Shanelle Scales Preston – Shanelle Scales-Preston was elected to the Pittsburg City Council in 2018 and served as Mayor 2023. Her priorities have been to strengthen youth programs and improve city services to create a strong and vibrant community. Shanelle has extensive regional experience. She is Chair of the Board for MCE, the local electricity provider, is Chair of TransPlan which coordinates regional transportation projects and transit services in East County and is President of the League of California Cities East Bay Division. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.shanelle4supervisor.org/. Antioch Councilmember Mike Barbanica – While serving on the police force, Mike worked his way up the ranks from cadet all the way to lieutenant. He ran a street level narcotic and crime unit that was credited with slashing crime by 23%. He cracked down on sexual assault and crimes against women and children as a detective and ran the department’s traffic unit where he investigated fatal crashes in order to keep families safe on the roads. In 2020, Mike ran for the Antioch City Council and took down a two-term incumbent with over 53% of the vote. For more information, please visit their website at: https://mikebarbanica.com/. City of Pittsburg Vice Mayor Jelani Killings – Jelani is a champion for government accountability, public safety, and economic development, and will work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the residents of Contra Costa County. Jelani was appointed to serve 4 terms on the League of California Cities' Government, Transparency, and Labor Relations Policy Committee to make recommendations on state laws impacting cities. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.jelanikillings.com/. Realtor Iztaccuauhtli “White Eagle” Hector M. Gonzalez – Iztaccuauhtli Gonzalez grew up in Contra Costa County from the age of 5. Having his roots in the county he established himself as a small business owner with over 25 years of experience serving the community. He was elected President of the first Latinos Unidos Club where he initiated the 1st ever multi-cultural event. He also worked with students in conflict resolution and communication. Some of his contributions included organizing a trip for students to visit a local university, mentoring ELD Students, but more importantly he paved the way for future generations. For more information, please visit their website at: https://whiteeagle.info/. Please reach out to Mr. David Lopez, ACCMA Director of Advocacy and Governance, at dlopez@accma.org for any questions.