Saturday, September 4, 2021

Mia Bonta wins California Assembly seat formerly held by her husband




Bonta is back in the Assembly. Mia Bonta, the wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta, won the special election for the Assembly District 18 seat that used to be held by husband.

On Thursday, Mia Bonta declared victory over her Democratic opponent, progressive attorney 
Janani Ramachandran, after receiving 56% of the vote — More than 63,000 ballots were counted.

Following is Mia Bonta's statement:

“I am honored and grateful that you have put your trust in me to represent our community in Sacramento.

"Rob and I chose to build our life here in the East Bay because we knew this community was special. This is a unique pocket of the world where we celebrate our diversity, where we welcome folks of different backgrounds, where folks are free to speak their mind and stand up against injustice. It is that special East Bay spirit that I plan to represent in the Assembly. I am going to Sacramento to build upon that ethos to help our community thrive.

"How will we do that? Together, we will build more affordable housing so folks can afford to live here. We will invest in our public schools so our students and teachers can reach their full potential. We will invest in clean energy and environmental justice initiatives to protect our health and ensure our future. We will reform our criminal justice system so that folks are not treated differently based on the color of their skin or the dollar amount in their bank account. 

"Our community is strong, and we have all the leadership and potential to make it stronger and better, and that is what I intend to always strive for in the Assembly.

"This was a people-powered campaign. This victory belongs to every volunteer who gave their time to canvassing, calling, and texting voters to get the word out about the importance of voting in this special election. I want to thank everyone who had a hand in getting us here tonight—you inspire me and you are the reason we are going to see real change here in our community.

"I am ready to go to Sacramento and get to work!” she said.

Mia Bonta, president of the Alameda Unified School District Board and the CEO of the nonprofit Oakland Promise, declared her candidacy in April after Gov. Gavin Newsom named her husband as Attorney General, the first Filipino American to hold that post.

In the heavily Democratic district encompassing Alameda, Oakland, San Leandro and Castro Valley, earned endorsements from the California Legislative Black Caucus and the California Latino Legislative Caucus, as well as Senator Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Dolores Huerta, Stacey Abrams, dozens of state legislators, and a score of local East Bay officials.


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