Skip to content

The two candidates competing to represent Marin and a section of Sonoma County in the state Assembly come from very different origins.

“I am a first-generation immigrant,” said Jackie Elward, a member of the Rohnert Park City Council. “Coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, I bring a lived experience.”

Her competitor, Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan, said, “I grew up right here in Novato. It’s my hometown.”

The candidates, both Democrats, reached the Nov. 3 election by topping the six-person field in the June primary. Lucan finished with 28.3% of the vote, Elward with 22.6%.

Elward and Lucan are competing for the District 12 seat being vacated by Damon Connolly of San Rafael, who is running for state Senate. Connolly endorsed Elward.

Elward, 47, was elected to the Rohnert Park council in 2020 and is its first African American woman. She has been mayor and vice mayor.

Elward works as a bilingual educator for the Santa Rosa French American Charter School and has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, Chico.

“I am the only lifelong Democrat in the race,” Elward said, “and the only candidate with a truly progressive platform that aligns with the district.”

Lucan, 45, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University, was the chief marketing officer for Mike’s Bikes for eight years ending in 2022. Before that he was a youth director and finance manager for New Life church and school, and also worked in marketing at Kimpton Hotels.

Lucan’s introduction to public service came when he was appointed to the Novato Parks and Recreation Commission in 2007.

“I wasn’t doing it with an eye to pursuing a career in local government,” Lucan said, “but that is where I got hooked.”

A registered Republican in college, Lucan became a Democrat after being elected to the Novato City Council in 2011. He served on the council until 2022, when he was elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

For political priorities, Elward has several.

“I am here to bring the progressive voice to the table in Sacramento and to be bold and fight against ICE and the Trump administration,” she said.

Elward also said she wants to work on housing affordability; close corporate tax loopholes to make billionaires pay more; move the state to a single-payer healthcare system; cap utility company rates; enact a state moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centers; and protect abortion rights.

Lucan said his top priorities are the high cost of living, climate resiliency and bolstering the local economy.

“We pat ourselves on the back and say California is the fourth-largest economy in the world,” Lucan said, “but when you look at things like job creation, we are far behind our neighboring states.”

Lucan said he is the candidate with more experience in office. Aside from his city and county posts, he said he has been named board chair of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the Transportation Authority of Marin and the First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission.

“I’m a consensus builder,” he said. “I think it shows by the broad group of folks that are supporting me, both across Sonoma and Marin County.”

Although Elward cited housing affordability as one of her top priorities, she expressed concerns about large developments such as the 17-story, 200-apartment building approved for 700 Irwin St. in San Rafael.

“I strongly believe that developers have too much power,” Elward said. “I strongly believe that people and local governments need to have local control. I will seek a local solution that is not a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Lucan said, “I’m proud of the fact that the housing element that the county of Marin passed paved the way for 5,000 new homes.”

However, Lucan said state laws need to be changed where they grant developers density bonuses for housing that is only technically affordable for the county at large, not the location for which they’re being proposed.

Lucan added that he would welcome the return of redevelopment agencies to help fund legitimately affordable housing.

“We have projects that can be built, but many of them are not able to finance,” he said. “If we can put some financial tools back into the hands of our local jurisdictions, that would give them the authority to choose which projects they want to support.”

On artificial intelligence, Elward wants to pursue “a statewide moratorium on new AI, especially data centers.”

“Our constituents are clear and loud,” she said. “They do not want it. We do not need it.”

Lucan said artificial intelligence offers “tremendous opportunity,” but also risks.

Lucan said the state needs to take a leading role in creating guardrails, particularly around the interaction of chatbots with young people. But he said the state needs to move cautiously to avoid clashing with the federal government on the issue.

On wealth distribution, Elward says she supports Proposition 40 on the November ballot. It would enact a one-time, 5% tax on the accumulated wealth of taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion.

“I was the only candidate that was on the ground collecting signatures for Prop. 40,” she said. “They need to do their fair share.”

Lucan says he is against Prop. 40. He said the top 1% of earners provide 40% to 50% of the state’s tax revenue, and that reliance means steep declines when the stock market drops.

“I am very concerned about the long-term impacts to the state of California, to our budget, and to the services that we provide,” he said.

Both Elward and Lucan repudiated the efforts of Grow California — a political committee founded by Chris Larsen and Tim Draper, a pair of cryptocurrency billionaires — to influence the June primary election. It spent more than $500,000 on negative ads against Elward.

“I was the only immigrant, the only person of color running that took every single punch,” Elward said. “It didn’t deter me. I will defend our constituents’ needs in a bold way based on the lived experience I bring from the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Lucan said, “I myself have never engaged and never will engage in negative campaigning. We don’t need outside money influencing our local elections. It’s a disservice.”