Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund Endorsements

State Senator Holly Mitchell is a third-generation Angeleno and continues to live in Los Angeles, where she serves as a State Senator for California's 30th Senate District. According to campaign materials, Mitchell is running to represent District 2 on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in order to meet the real needs of local communities in Los Angeles County -- the largest county in the nation, with over 10 million residents.

Senator Mitchell was elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and moved to the Senate in 2013. She is currently serving her final term as a State Senator, where she serves as Chair of the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. During her tenure, Senator Mitchell proposed a set of criminal justice reforms that were signed into law. Together, these 10 laws reduce barriers for Californias impacted by the criminal justice system by reducing sentence enhancements for low-level drugs, removing court fees for the innocent, sealing arrest records for people not convicted, ending the sentencing of juveniles to life without parole, and other advancements. She has been a notable progressive influence in other areas as well, including homelessness, mental health, children’s rights, and job protections. 

In office, Senator Mitchell has scored an overall 98 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of a legislator's progressive voting record. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Senator Mitchell has consistently shown great courage advocating for the needs of constituents and facing down corporate lobbyists and interest groups that exploit Californians. Most recently, Senator Mitchell has taken a stand on a problematic statewide housing bill, working with a coalition representing low-income communities to demand stronger protections for low-income people, people of color, and other vulnerable people most strongly affected by the housing crisis. 

Senator Mitchell is running against Herb Wesson, president of the Los Angeles City Council, and Jan Perry, a former council member who once ran for mayor. Other candidates include Jorge Nuño, Albert Robles, Rene Rigard, and Jake Jeong. In a crowded field, Senator Mitchell is the best progressive choice because of her track record as a champion for underrepresented and marginalized communities in California and her reputation as an unapologetically progressive legislator.

Voting for Senator Mitchell is an opportunity to elect a transformational leader as supervisor, one who will courageously represent the perspective and priorities of her district in LA County. One day she would make an excellent candidate for Governor of California. Courage California strongly endorses Senator Mitchell for Supervisor.
 

Ellen Beraud is challenging incumbent Debbie Arnold for District 5 Supervisor in San Luis Obispo County. Beraud is running on a platform to address the housing crisis--particularly addressing the needs for workforce housing--as well as the promotion of renewable energy, sustainable groundwater management, sensible cannabis regulation, improving infrastructure, and job growth. She has resided in San Luis Obispo County for 20 years. 

Beraud has been critical of the board’s inaction on a variety of issues. She is calling for a transparent groundwater use plan as communities have been negatively impacted by drought. She wants the county to provide more funding to address the homeless crisis, including providing mental health and addiction services. 

While campaigning, Beraud has expressed concerns about potential local job losses with the closure of Diablo Canyon. She supports sensible cannabis regulation to provide stable jobs for the county, as well as investments in renewable energy and infrastructure, including off-shore wind farms and exploring the use of Diablo Canyon for renewable energy generation. 

Beraud has a long history of public service. She is a former Atascadero mayor and City Council member. Prior to her election to the city council in 2006, she served on the Atascadero Planning Commission. She is also a registered dietician, working at local hospitals, and she and her husband own a small electrical contracting business. As a council member and mayor, she opposed the expansion of a Walmart Supercenter, citing the harm it could cause to local businesses. 

District 5 includes Atascadero, Creston, Pozo, and Santa Margarita, as well as portions of Templeton and San Luis Obispo. While this is a non-partisan race, this seat has been referred to as the “swing seat” on the board, as this district is the most evenly split in the county, with roughly 1,100 more registered Republicans than Democrats. Beraud is a registered Democrat and the incumbent, Arnold, is a registered Republican. 

Based on her track record of public service, commitment to address the housing and homeless crisis, and progressive stances on a range of issues, Beraud is the strongest choice for this office. 
 

Supervisor Joan Hartmann has lived in Santa Barbara for over 20 years. She is the incumbent, having served in this position since 2017. According to campaign materials, she is running for re-election to maintain the quality of life and scenic beauty of Santa Barbara County for future generations.

On the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors, she has helped enhance disaster response, fought for the expansion of mental health facilities and clean energy programs, and advanced government transparency and accountability. Prior to her election, she served as a Special Advocate in the foster care system, as a professor at Oberlin College, Claremont College and USC, and helped restore coastal rivers and wetlands with the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project.

Supervisor Hartmann is being challenged by Karen Jones, Jessica Alvarez Parfrey, and Bruce Williams. Hartmann is the best progressive choice due to her environmental vision for Santa Barbara County and her track record of people-first policy in regard to public safety, health care, and energy.

According to our analysis, Hartmann is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.
 

Nithya Raman lives in the Silverlake neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles. According to campaign materials, she is running to represent District 4 on the City Council to build a more inclusive and just Los Angeles.

Raman is a trained urban planner who is running on a strongly progressive platform that promises to center the voices and needs of underserved communities in Los Angeles. Her knowledge of policy is clearly demonstrated in her platform, which focuses on addressing housing and homelessness, responding to the climate emergency, and bringing Angelenos into the lawmaking process to increase transparency and accountability in city policymaking.

She is a co-founder of SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, a local neighborhood-based organization formed in response to the city’s inaction on homelessness. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s Homelessness Committee since 2017. Raman recently served as executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment, the women’s rights movement furthering equity and safety for women in the entertainment industry. Raman’s relationships in entertainment are strong, and her campaign is based on partnering with artists and performers as a rallying force for its organizing efforts.

Raman is running against David Ryu, the incumbent who has failed to fulfill supportive housing commitments in the district. Other candidates include Sarah Levy. Raman is the strongest progressive choice because of her strong understanding of the challenges facing the city of Los Angeles as detailed in her policy platform, her track record of leading the way in standing up for communities under attack, and her ability to connect with and engage people currently outside of the political process.

According to our analysis, Nithya Raman is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.
 

Aura Vasquez was born and raised in Colombia before moving to the United States with her family. She worked nights and weekends as an undocumented student to put herself through college. According to campaign materials, she is running to represent District 10 on the City Council to be a bold leader who will focus on creating a more sustainable and equitable future for Los Angeles. 

Vasquez has a deep background in community organizing and public service. She worked with the city of Los Angeles and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign to make L.A. coal-free by 2025 and helped establish the Feed & Tariff Initiative, the largest rooftop solar program in the country. Based on her work in environmental justice, Vasquez was appointed by Mayor Garcetti to the Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Vasquez was also a member of the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council where she was the only non-Korean American to serve on the board. Vasquez, who identifies as Afro-Latina, also brings accomplishments in supporting students experiencing poverty and institutionalized racism to avoid dropping out of school in New York and fighting against the targeting of immigrants driving without a license in Orange County. 

Vasquez’s policy platform is informed by her organizing and advocacy experiences in Los Angeles. Her priorities include helping transition Los Angeles to 100% renewable energy, protecting the health of families by ending neighborhood oil drilling and reducing pollution, and making city services more responsive to residents. She also supports progressive economic solutions like tuition-free community college and a public bank that can inject investments back into neighborhoods. 

Vasquez is running for an open seat, as incumbent Councilmember Herb Wesson has served the maximum terms for the position. Other candidates include Channing Martinez, Melvin Snell, Grace Yoo, and Mark Ridley-Thomas. Notably, Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is currently on the LA County Board of Supervisors, has also termed out, and he and incumbent Wesson are running for each other's seats to maintain their hold on power. Ridley-Thomas is a longtime elected official who has been repeatedly investigated for misuse of campaign and taxpayer funds. 

Nearly 20 percent of Vasquez’s campaign funds come from donations of $100 or less, which far exceeds that of any other candidate in the race. In a crowded field of progressives, Vasquez is the strongest choice because of her track record in successfully advocating for progressive policy changes that reduce barriers and improve lives for many communities inclusively.

Loraine Lundquist was raised by a career army soldier and a middle school math teacher, living all over the country before settling in Northridge nine years ago. According to campaign materials, she is running to represent District 12 on the City Council to tackle the challenges of the district and the city as a whole. 

Loraine is a neighborhood council member, environmental activist, and astrophysicist. Currently, she is a Faculty Associate at the Institute for Sustainability at California State University, Northridge where she runs a program to provide science and sustainability education to local K-12 schools. She also serves on the advisory panel for LADWP long-range planning, and has testified before the California State Senate and Assembly. Lundquist served as the co-chair of the homelessness committee of Northridge East Neighborhood Council and was a founding member of the West Valley Neighborhood Alliance on Homelessness. 

Lundquist’s policy platform centers on taking action on homelessness, holding the DWP accountable, and resisting special interests. Lundquist says she voted for local measures to raise taxes to pay for housing and services to help ease homelessness and wants to use that money to build more homeless housing and shelters. She also wants comprehensive reform of the LA transit system that will balance the needs of commuters with the needs of local communities, and more investment in local water infrastructure. 

Lundquist is running against John S. Lee, the incumbent who has failed to fulfill supportive housing commitments in the district, and whose campaign has received funds from the fossil fuel industry. Lundquist lost to Lee, who is a Republican and was the chief of staff to the previous councilmember, in a special election held last year. This election presents an opportunity to elect a progressive champion to serve the district. Lundquist is the strongest progressive choice because of her commitment, expertise, and strong endorsements from progressive organizations and leaders. 

According to our analysis, Loraine Lundquist is the strongest choice for progressive leadership in office.