Candidates gear up in the race for the state Senate hot seat.
Once again, California’s 5th Senate District, which includes Tracy, will be a center of attention come Election Day.
If you remember 2004, Stockton’s mayor, Gary Podesto, ran against Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, in what turned out to be a $10 million race, setting a national record for spending in a state legislative contest.
Machado terms out this year after eight years in the Senate, and, if they win in the June primary, two top-notch Assembly members will likely face off in a race that both parties will finance heavily before November.
Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, is well-known in the region, as he serves Stockton, Turlock, Manteca, Modesto, Ceres, Patterson, Ripon and Escalon. But his opponent, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, is a virtual stranger in these parts.
Already considered the front-runner in the Democratic race, where she faces Stockton businesswoman Jennet Stebbins in the primary, Wolk has a bounty of endorsements, from Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez on down.
In a recent visit with the editorial board, Wolk told us about her background as a former teacher, Yolo County supervisor and two-time Davis mayor. She talked about her legislation for seniors and the challenge of getting transportation resources.
She’s obviously passionate about public service and has some expertise on water issues. As chairwoman of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, she is leading efforts to provide greater flood protection to the Central Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. Her proposals provide a balance of major funding for levee repairs and stronger land-use policies to reduce risk to homeowners.
Her Assembly Bill 2502 would buy a stretch of Delta properties owned by the federal government and a nonprofit land trust to create a recreation area for boaters, bird-watchers, hunters and hikers. It would also create an endowment fund to help restore marshes and levees, which would help fish and waterfowl habitat.
As for long-term water policies for California, Machado has started the ball rolling with his $6.8 billion bond proposal. It contains new provisions on water storage and Delta protection and promises to jumpstart legislative talks over how to supply the state’s water needs and protect its drinking water.
The 5th Senate District includes much of the ecologically troubled Delta, the single largest source of California’s water. Regardless of the state’s huge budget deficit and which Senate candidate wins in the November election, we can’t give up on finding a solution for our water woes.
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