Democratic faction rivalry defines Assembly District 20 race

This November two candidates representing disparate factions of the Democratic party are fighting for control over California Assembly District 20, which stretches from Hayward in the west to the more-Conservative Dublin in the east.

Elizabeth Ortega-Toro, who serves as the executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council, is backed by many of the state’s largest labor rights organizations, like United Auto Workers, and has the endorsement of the state’s Democratic party.

Dublin City Councilmember and Navy veteran Shawn Kumagai is backed by large corporations like DaVita healthcare and pro-trade organizations like the California Chamber of Commerce.

The seat is being vacated by assembly member Bill Quirk, who announced his plan to retire last December after representing the district in Sacramento for 10 years.

For now, the race appears to be Ortega’s to lose.

Ortega took the lead in the district’s primary, garnering 32.2% of the vote. Kumagai, came in second, with 23.9% of the vote.

The candidates diverge on some of the thorniest issues, which pervade California politics, from housing policy to mental illness treatment.

One issue the two candidates are split on — CARE Court. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month signed the law on one of his signature programs that permits courts to force people experiencing a mental health crisis into mandatory treatment.

Ortega, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 3, says she opposed CARE Court because she fears it will levy disproportionate penalties on the most vulnerable Californians.

“We are penalizing mental health and homelessness, which is what I’m afraid of when I hear ‘court,’” she said.

Kumagai, who is gay and whose father immigrated to the U.S. from Japan, says he was an early supporter of the CARE court initiative. He says that it should be one of an assortment of tools in the state’s arsenal to combat a homelessness crisis, which is only worsening.

Kumagai also says he favors streamlining regulations that govern new housing projects through tweaks to the environmental review process required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He says that environmental impact reports, which currently must be preformed for every new housing project, should instead be conducted for entire geographic regions, like cities or counties.

“Protecting the climate, protecting the environment, and protecting housing are not mutually exclusive things,” Kumagai said.

Ortega vociferously disagrees.

“I’m not willing to fast-rack housing on the backs of communities who often bear the brunt of the environmental impact,” she said.

Voters have until Nov. 8, Election Day, to return their ballots.