More than 315,000 Ballots have been mailed out for the special Assembly District 63 general election, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters (ROV) announced Monday. The August 26 election will determine who will take over the seat vacated by Republican Bill Essayli, who was appointed interim U.S. Attorney for Southern California in April.
The June 24 primary whittled down the field from four candidates to two: Republican Natasha Johnson and Democrat Chris Shoults.
Johnson, who received 26,735 votes in the primary, said the biggest issues facing residents in the district were California’s high cost of living, public safety, homelessness, the impact of regulations on small businesses, parental rights and education.
“There’s such a laundry list of things that need to be fixed,” she said in an interview with The Riverside Record. “But, you know, I’m a realist.”
Johnson, who was the child of a service member, said her experience as a mom of three sons, a small business owner and an involved member of the Lake Elsinore community where she has been on the city council for the last 12 years informs her approach to governance.
“I don’t have all the solutions, but I know what’s broken, and I know where we need change,” she said. “And so advocating for that change from being on the front lines is really important, and that’s the kind of leadership I want to bring to Sacramento.”
Johnson, who said she was no stranger to fighting for what she believes is right even when it’s not popular, said she would use her existing relationships with those in Sacramento to spark conversations and find areas of compromise to address the issues facing the district if elected.
“I’m a mom with a heart, and I have a sense of urgency, and I’m fighting not just for us, but I’m fighting for our future,” she said. “This isn’t politics for me. This is really personal, and I’m here because I’m fighting for home.”
Johnson has been endorsed by Essayli, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), State Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta), Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel along with a number of other local officials.
Stay up to date with the latest from The Record. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter today!
Shoults, who received 25,557 votes in the primary, said he felt the biggest issues facing residents in the district were affordability and the need for economic diversification and investment in education, both of which he said were tied to cost of living issues in the state.
“People want to be able to not just survive their daily lives, and a lot of folks are struggling to do that, they want to be able to live,” he said in an interview with The Riverside Record. “They want to be able to get a leg up, and that affordability piece is there on so many different fronts.”
Shoults, who was raised on a farm in Southeastern Wyoming, said his experience as a teacher, union leader, small business owner and father to three sons informs his approach to governance.
“I just have a varied body of experience that gives me a lot of different lenses to look at problems through,” he said.
Shoults, who calls himself an “incremental pragmatist,” said he would take that approach to Sacramento if elected to focus on solving root causes of the issues facing Californians instead of trying to mitigate the impacts.
“It’s really about this first principles thinking and getting back to solving for the root causes of our problems [not] symptoms of problems,” he said. “And I don’t care whether that’s the budget, I don’t care whether that’s economic development, I don’t care whether that’s education, that’s the approach that we need to take to start getting these things done.”
Shoults has been endorsed by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Riverside County Supervisor Jose Medina along with a number of local officials and unions from across the district.
While Election Day is four weeks away, ballot drop boxes are open across the county. Those who prefer to vote in person can do so at the ROV’s office during regular business hours.
A full list of vote center and drop box locations, including dates and operating times, can be found here on the ROV’s website. All vote centers and ballot drop boxes will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on August 26.
More information about the special election can be found here on the ROV’s website.
The Riverside Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet providing Riverside County with high-quality journalism free of charge. We’re able to do this because of the generous donations of supporters like you!
Comments are closed.