State Assembly Race Heats Up in Healdsburg

The race to take Healdsburg politician Jim Wood’s second district seat in the California State Assembly, which covers large swaths of rural NorCal, has been seriously heating up in recent weeks. The seat will be up for grabs in November, because Wood has decided to bow out of state politics to take care of his aging mom. Our local candidate here in Healdsburg is recent mayor Ariel Kelly, who just released the first TV ad for her campaign. She promises in the video: “I’ll create better-paying jobs and bring down the cost of living; reduce homelessness in every community; and address the growing climate crisis and wildfires.” Kelley is up against a pretty tough lineup of six competitors — one Republican and the rest Democrat. They include Wood’s pick, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks; and State Sen. Mike McGuire’s pick, Santa Rosa City Councilmember Chris Rogers. (For her part, Kelley did nab a big endorsement recently from Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the Assembly’s majority leader.) A couple of weekends ago, Rogers showed up at Black Oak Coffee here in town for an hour plus of “fast-paced, comprehensive and focused discussion with a handful of local residents about his candidacy,” reports Christian Kallen, the Healdsburg Tribune’s news editor. He writes that “beneath a colorful Rima Makaryan mural of coffee and its mythos, Rogers engaged a core group of locals who listened closely to his words and asked pointed questions. Topics ranged from water supply and the impact of drought, electric vehicles and renewable energy, opioids and mental health response to emergency calls, climate change and fire.” The two candidates who get the most votes in the primary election on March 4, regardless of party, will go on to grace the November ballot. You can read more about both Kelley and Rogers’ campaigns, and the race in general, in the Trib. A local showdown for the ages! (Source: Healdsburg Tribune & Ariel Kelley via YouTube & Ariel Kelley via Facebook)