They both sit on the San Fernando City Council. And they both are running for the same seat in the state Assembly this November.
That may be where the similarities end. The two candidates share very different views.
In the race for Assembly District 43, Mayor Celeste Rodriguez, a Democrat, is pitted against fellow council member Victoria Garcia, a Republican. Their approaches to issues are quite different.
For example, Rodriguez, supports gun-control measures, while Garcia advocates tougher sentencing laws. On climate change, Rodriguez wants to pass legislation encouraging renewable energy while phasing out fossil fuels in cooking systems. Garcia will encourage planting more trees for shade. On education, Rodriguez wants to reduce student debt and for schools to hire more diverse faculty. Garcia wants parental rights strengthened.
This seat is held by Luz Rivas, a Democrat, who is vacating the seat to run for Congress. This is one of two open state Assembly seats in the San Fernando Valley. Rivas has endorsed Rodriguez.
Assembly District 43 has a high Democratic registration and a large demographic of Latino residents and it includes the communities of Pacoima, Mission Hills, Sylmar, Arleta, Sun Valley, Panorama City, Lake View Terrace, Valley Glen, Van Nuys and the city of San Fernando.
As of July 5, 2024, the numbers of registered voters equals 251,206. Of those, 136,135, or 54.19%, are registered Democrat; 37,483, or 14.92%, are registered Republican; “no party preference” voters equal 61,001 or 24.28%, according to the latest numbers available from the California Secretary of State’s website. Those who don’t belong to a party are almost double the number of Republicans in the district.
Though the district has gone through boundary changes, it would be considered a “safe Democratic Latino seat,” Mark Gonzalez, chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, said on Jan. 31, before the March primary.
In the primary, only the two top vote-getters…
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