[ From: "Assembly race already heating up," By Eric Lindberg, DAILY SOUND, March 12, 2009 ]


It’s still 20 months away, but the race for the State Assembly’s 35th District seat is already stirring up interest in the political community, particularly on the Democratic side of the ticket...

In recent days, Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams has started testing the waters with an exploratory committee and statement of intent to enter the race, allowing him to start raising funds to bankroll a possible campaign...

Williams preferred not to discuss the potential primary showdown with [Susan Jordan], adding that he doesn’t even want to set a date certain for when he’ll officially enter the race or back down.

“I think it’s just really important right now to concentrate on some of the problems in the city itself and I don’t want to be distracted by the assembly race when we’re dealing with things like the budget and gang violence,” he said.

Nonetheless, Williams said the pinch of the state’s budget nightmare is starting to be felt locally, describing how he visited a school yesterday where a large percentage of teachers had received pink slips.

“I’m pretty passionate about what’s happening — the destruction of our public education system,” he said. “It’s definitely made me even more serious about running.”

The councilman is also feeling out how his potential bid sits with a handful of voters in the district, which sprawls across a huge chunk of the Santa Ynez Valley and South Coast, as well as a portion of Ventura County.

Williams said he is speaking with 100 people from “all walks of life” throughout the district to get feedback...

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For full text, please go to: DAILY SOUND: Assembly Race Heats Up

Labels: 2010, 35th Assembly District, education, oil