Members-

The dust is starting to settle after last night's election in California. Here's a breakdown of what transpired in critical Assembly and Senate races around the State.  

If the current results hold (at this hour, some races are too close to call) the net result of the state level races across California indicate that the industry will face a difficult political calculus over the next two years.  The Democrats have secured the Supermajority status in the Assembly, but even more troubling for trucking is the net loss of 4 pro-industry seats. If the results hold, 3 Republicans will have lost their re-election battles including Eric Linder in Riverside County (currently too close to call), Young Kim in Orange County (currently too close to call), and David Hadley in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. Also facing defeat in an intraparty battle was Democrat Cheryl Brown. Brown was a strong ally to the industry and her defeat is harmful on many fronts.

 

In the Senate, if current results hold, the net result could be a wash in terms of its partisan makeup with Democrats holding 26 seats. Senate Democrats will need just one more vote to achieve the supermajority status. In Senate District 29 (Walnut, Diamond Bar, Chino Hills) Republican Ling-Ling Chang currently holds a lead of a little under 4,000 votes over Democrat Josh Newman. It could be a while before this one is settled with provisional and late ballots left to be counted.

 

What do these defeats ultimately mean to our advocacy efforts here in Sacramento? It only takes the Assembly Democrats 41 votes to pass 99% of bills that threaten the industry including employment and environmental concerns. Before the election, the Democrats were at 52 seats, so on a good day we have needed to hold all Republican votes and then secure 12 Democrats to vote with us to stop or amend bad legislation. With the 2016 election now over, the Democrats netted an additional 3 seats. With Cheryl Brown's defeat, the end result means a net of 4 potentially harmful votes coming to the table. With those additions we will now need 15 Democratic votes to stop or amend bad legislation in the Assembly. In the Senate we face similar dynamics, where we need 6 Democratic votes to stop or amend bad legislation in that house.

Despite these numbers, staff will continue to do everything possible to solidify relationships in the Capitol to ensure that the industry's voice continues to be heard in the halls of the Legislature. Below you will find a breakdown of the key races of importance to the industry. Please let me know if you have any questions in regards to your local election results. Thank you.

 

Patty Lopez

Democrat

32,238

38.9%

 

Raul Bocanegra

Democrat

50,577

61.1%

 

Marc Steinorth

Republican

51,960

52.3%

 

Abigail Medina

Democrat

47,430

47.7%

 

Cheryl Brown

Democrat

34,258

46.7%

 

Eloise Gomez Reyes

Democrat

39,092

53.3%

 

Eric Linder

Republican

40,350

47.8%

 

Sabrina Cervantes

Democrat

44,103

52.2%

 

Young Kim

Republican

48,084

49.2%

 

Sharon Quirk-Silva

Democrat

49,626

50.8%

David Hadley

Republican

61,489

47%

 

Al Muratsuchi

Democrat

69,410

53%

 

Ling Ling Chang

Republican

108,779

50.9%

 

Josh Newman

Democrat

104,892

49.1%