... Mike Stoker has embraced [Tony Strickland's] spending cap scheme and intends to hammer it after he launches his candidacy for the 35th District, which he planned to formally announce May 29. Democrat Nava is termed out and has announced plans to vie for state attorney general, and his wife, Susan Jordan, is running for his seat.

Jordan faces a Democratic primary challenge from Das Williams, a Santa Barbara city council member who jumped in the race after state regulators reversed an offshore drilling compromise between environmentalists and an oil firm after Nava – and Jordan – raised objections.

Stoker told the Business Times he sees an opportunity to take the 35th District into the GOP column.

“There’s a big split in the Democratic party between the labor wing and the environmental wing,” he said. “The labor wing likes jobs. The labor wing doesn’t support [economically costly environmental] policies, and the labor wing is what you find in Ventura.”

-- "Assembly fights get serious," by Stephen Nellis, PACIC COAST BUSINESS TIMES, May 29, 2009

Labels: 35th Assembly District, Mike Stoker