[ From: "Candidates Test Waters for 35th Seat," By Katie Tullsen, DAILY NEXUS, April 13, 2009 ]


Though still a year and half away, the race for the 35th District State Assembly seat is heating up as two former political allies prepare to square off...

Environmentalist Susan Jordan, the wife of current Assemblymember Pedro Nava, was the first candidate to publicly announce...

Jordan will likely face Santa Barbara City Councilman and UCSB alum Das Williams for the Democratic nomination, but Williams has yet to make an official declaration concerning his rumored candidacy.

“I have not made an official announcement,” Williams said recently of his intentions in the race. “But I am not denying that I am in the race.”

... Though they have been fervent allies on the Santa Barbara political scene in recent years, Jordan and Williams maintain that they offer voters two distinctive candidates with very different professional backgrounds.

Jordan, for her part, comes with many years of experience in both business and non-profit work. She co-founded the Vote the Coast organization and has been active in California Democratic politics since 1996.

“My strengths are thirty years of nonprofit advocacy in women’s issues and the environment,” she said. “I will bring a background of both business and advocacy together. These two skills best qualify me to fight for the people in this district.”

Williams, meanwhile, worked for a few years in the Sacramento legislature and has six years experience serving as a member on the Santa Barbara City Council. Williams, who grew up in and around Santa Barbara, said he believes that a true understanding of the community is key.

“I stay really close to grassroots,” he said. “I know what’s going on in our community and the community next to us, and I know what’s important to both.”

Jordan and Williams have slightly different political platforms, yet they both agree that the environment is one of their top three priorities. If elected, Jordan also plans on focusing on healthcare and education, and says that she is concerned with the economy and its effects in this district...

For his part, Williams’ top three priorities are the environment, public safety and education. He says that he fears that the public education system is being destroyed.

“I was going to school in 1996 it was $4,000 per quarter,” he said. “And depending on the school district, eight to ten percent of teachers are being pink-slipped. We are underestimating what it will do to our ability to educate kids and have an educated work force. I believe it’s going to take strong leadership to help avoid total destruction of public education system.”

... Williams says that his reputation for putting action to his words will aid him in this election.

“I think I’ve been effective at not being a wishy-washy politician,” he said. “I’ve really pushed hard, and been an advocate and activist myself, rather than just a wishy-washy politician.”

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For full text, please go to:

DAILY NEXUS: Candidates Test Waters

Labels: 2010, 35th Assembly District