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Marc Berman
Reelect Assemblymember Marc Berman to keep AD-23 on the right track for progress.
Assm. Berman’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that he will continue to be a progressive voice for the constituents of AD-23 and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse district.
Notably, Assm. Berman’s office has been named in a workplace-harassment complaint that was made by a former staffer. The complaint alleged that a supervisor in his Los Altos office consistently made sex-based comments and advances toward female staffers, and provided preferential support to one female member of the staff. Assm. Berman made no staffing changes as a result of the complaint, and has failed to publicly work toward reforming the state legislative workplace-complaint process. Voters should continue to work to hold him accountable for any failures in leadership related to this or other incidents.
Progressive endorsements: Assm. Berman has the endorsement of some progressive groups, including California Labor Federation, California Environmental Voters, Sierra Club, and Equality California.
Top issues: Education and STEM programs, election access and security, health care, and environmental protections.
Priority bills: Assm. Berman’s priorities for AD-23 this year have included 38 bills about election protections, education, and energy and pollution. Of those, 12 have been chaptered into law, four have died, and the rest remain in committee. He scores a Lifetime CS of 94 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting records. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Assm. Berman has supported the most progressive bills that made it to a vote. That said, he failed to support AB 1505, which would empower local districts to evaluate charter-school applications based on economic-impact criteria. This is not surprising, considering he has previously accepted campaign donations from California Charter Schools Association Advocates for Great Public Schools. Additionally, Assemblymember Berman voted to support AB 1366, which would eliminate critical oversight of telecom companies. He has also accepted campaign donations from Verizon, one of the largest telecom providers, in the past.
Committee leadership/membership: Assm. Berman currently chairs the Business and Professions Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California. He also sits on the Governmental Organization, Insurance, and Transportation committees.
Governance and community leadership experience: Assm. Berman has served in this assembly seat since 2016, when he was elected with over 54% of the vote. In 2020, he won his reelection against Republican challenger Peter Ohtaki by 46 points.
Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Assm. Berman served as an elected member of the Palo Alto City Council, supporting significant improvements to the city’s infrastructure and public safety. Assm. Berman is a longtime supporter of voting rights and reform. During law school, he worked as a summer analyst with the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and was an author of the Assembly bill that made California a permanent vote-by-mail state.
Other background: Assm. Berman is from Palo Alto. Prior to his public service, he was an attorney in private practice and worked with a STEM-focused nonprofit organization, Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
The Race
Primary election results: The June 2022 results included incumbent Assm. Marc Berman (D), 76%; and Tim Dec (R), 24%. Assm. Marc Berman and Tim Dec will compete in a run-off in the November 8 general election.
Candidate fundraising and pledges: Assm. Berman’s campaign has raised $700,000 and has received donations from police, real estate, fossil fuel, and corporate PAC donors. His problematic donors include PG&E Corporation, Google, Facebook Inc., California Real Estate PAC, and California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC.
Opposing candidate: Republican Tim Dec
Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Dec’s campaign has raised $5,000 and is primarily funded by individual donors.
The District
Counties in district: California’s 23rd Assembly District includes parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Voter registration: 54% Democrat, 14% Republican, and 28% No Party Preference. Republicans typically hold this district. Since the 2021 redistricting process, AD-23 is 2% less Democratic than it was during the 2020 general election cycle.
District demographics: 9% Latino, 26% Asian, and 2% Black
Recent election results: AD-23 voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 59 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 49 points.
The Position
State assemblymembers represent and advocate for the needs of their district constituents at the California State Capitol. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues within their district.
The California State Assembly has 80 districts. Each represents a population of at least 465,000 Californians. Representatives are elected to the Assembly for a two-year term. Every two years, all 80 seats are subject to election. Members elected before 2012 are restricted to three two-year terms (six years) in the Assembly. Those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years total across both the state Senate or Assembly. This term, Democrats currently hold a three-quarters supermajority of 60 seats in the California State Assembly, while Republicans hold 19 seats and one seat is held by an Independent.
Marc Berman
Reelect Assemblymember Marc Berman to keep AD-23 on the right track for progress.
Assm. Berman’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that he will continue to be a progressive voice for the constituents of AD-23 and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse district.
Notably, Assm. Berman’s office has been named in a workplace-harassment complaint that was made by a former staffer. The complaint alleged that a supervisor in his Los Altos office consistently made sex-based comments and advances toward female staffers, and provided preferential support to one female member of the staff. Assm. Berman made no staffing changes as a result of the complaint, and has failed to publicly work toward reforming the state legislative workplace-complaint process. Voters should continue to work to hold him accountable for any failures in leadership related to this or other incidents.
Progressive endorsements: Assm. Berman has the endorsement of some progressive groups, including California Labor Federation, California Environmental Voters, Sierra Club, and Equality California.
Top issues: Education and STEM programs, election access and security, health care, and environmental protections.
Priority bills: Assm. Berman’s priorities for AD-23 this year have included 38 bills about election protections, education, and energy and pollution. Of those, 12 have been chaptered into law, four have died, and the rest remain in committee. He scores a Lifetime CS of 94 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting records. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Assm. Berman has supported the most progressive bills that made it to a vote. That said, he failed to support AB 1505, which would empower local districts to evaluate charter-school applications based on economic-impact criteria. This is not surprising, considering he has previously accepted campaign donations from California Charter Schools Association Advocates for Great Public Schools. Additionally, Assemblymember Berman voted to support AB 1366, which would eliminate critical oversight of telecom companies. He has also accepted campaign donations from Verizon, one of the largest telecom providers, in the past.
Committee leadership/membership: Assm. Berman currently chairs the Business and Professions Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California. He also sits on the Governmental Organization, Insurance, and Transportation committees.
Governance and community leadership experience: Assm. Berman has served in this assembly seat since 2016, when he was elected with over 54% of the vote. In 2020, he won his reelection against Republican challenger Peter Ohtaki by 46 points.
Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Assm. Berman served as an elected member of the Palo Alto City Council, supporting significant improvements to the city’s infrastructure and public safety. Assm. Berman is a longtime supporter of voting rights and reform. During law school, he worked as a summer analyst with the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and was an author of the Assembly bill that made California a permanent vote-by-mail state.
Other background: Assm. Berman is from Palo Alto. Prior to his public service, he was an attorney in private practice and worked with a STEM-focused nonprofit organization, Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
The Race
Primary election results: The June 2022 results included incumbent Assm. Marc Berman (D), 76%; and Tim Dec (R), 24%. Assm. Marc Berman and Tim Dec will compete in a run-off in the November 8 general election.
Candidate fundraising and pledges: Assm. Berman’s campaign has raised $700,000 and has received donations from police, real estate, fossil fuel, and corporate PAC donors. His problematic donors include PG&E Corporation, Google, Facebook Inc., California Real Estate PAC, and California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC.
Opposing candidate: Republican Tim Dec
Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Dec’s campaign has raised $5,000 and is primarily funded by individual donors.
The District
Counties in district: California’s 23rd Assembly District includes parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Voter registration: 54% Democrat, 14% Republican, and 28% No Party Preference. Republicans typically hold this district. Since the 2021 redistricting process, AD-23 is 2% less Democratic than it was during the 2020 general election cycle.
District demographics: 9% Latino, 26% Asian, and 2% Black
Recent election results: AD-23 voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 59 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 49 points.
The Position
State assemblymembers represent and advocate for the needs of their district constituents at the California State Capitol. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues within their district.
The California State Assembly has 80 districts. Each represents a population of at least 465,000 Californians. Representatives are elected to the Assembly for a two-year term. Every two years, all 80 seats are subject to election. Members elected before 2012 are restricted to three two-year terms (six years) in the Assembly. Those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years total across both the state Senate or Assembly. This term, Democrats currently hold a three-quarters supermajority of 60 seats in the California State Assembly, while Republicans hold 19 seats and one seat is held by an Independent.
Marc Berman
Reelect Assemblymember Marc Berman to keep AD-23 on the right track for progress.
Assm. Berman’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that he will continue to be a progressive voice for the constituents of AD-23 and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse district.
Notably, Assm. Berman’s office has been named in a workplace-harassment complaint that was made by a former staffer. The complaint alleged that a supervisor in his Los Altos office consistently made sex-based comments and advances toward female staffers, and provided preferential support to one female member of the staff. Assm. Berman made no staffing changes as a result of the complaint, and has failed to publicly work toward reforming the state legislative workplace-complaint process. Voters should continue to work to hold him accountable for any failures in leadership related to this or other incidents.
Progressive endorsements: Assm. Berman has the endorsement of some progressive groups, including California Labor Federation, California Environmental Voters, Sierra Club, and Equality California.
Top issues: Education and STEM programs, election access and security, health care, and environmental protections.
Priority bills: Assm. Berman’s priorities for AD-23 this year have included 38 bills about election protections, education, and energy and pollution. Of those, 12 have been chaptered into law, four have died, and the rest remain in committee. He scores a Lifetime CS of 94 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting records. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Assm. Berman has supported the most progressive bills that made it to a vote. That said, he failed to support AB 1505, which would empower local districts to evaluate charter-school applications based on economic-impact criteria. This is not surprising, considering he has previously accepted campaign donations from California Charter Schools Association Advocates for Great Public Schools. Additionally, Assemblymember Berman voted to support AB 1366, which would eliminate critical oversight of telecom companies. He has also accepted campaign donations from Verizon, one of the largest telecom providers, in the past.
Committee leadership/membership: Assm. Berman currently chairs the Business and Professions Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California. He also sits on the Governmental Organization, Insurance, and Transportation committees.
Governance and community leadership experience: Assm. Berman has served in this assembly seat since 2016, when he was elected with over 54% of the vote. In 2020, he won his reelection against Republican challenger Peter Ohtaki by 46 points.
Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Assm. Berman served as an elected member of the Palo Alto City Council, supporting significant improvements to the city’s infrastructure and public safety. Assm. Berman is a longtime supporter of voting rights and reform. During law school, he worked as a summer analyst with the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and was an author of the Assembly bill that made California a permanent vote-by-mail state.
Other background: Assm. Berman is from Palo Alto. Prior to his public service, he was an attorney in private practice and worked with a STEM-focused nonprofit organization, Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
The Race
Primary election results: The June 2022 results included incumbent Assm. Marc Berman (D), 76%; and Tim Dec (R), 24%. Assm. Marc Berman and Tim Dec will compete in a run-off in the November 8 general election.
Candidate fundraising and pledges: Assm. Berman’s campaign has raised $700,000 and has received donations from police, real estate, fossil fuel, and corporate PAC donors. His problematic donors include PG&E Corporation, Google, Facebook Inc., California Real Estate PAC, and California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC.
Opposing candidate: Republican Tim Dec
Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Dec’s campaign has raised $5,000 and is primarily funded by individual donors.
The District
Counties in district: California’s 23rd Assembly District includes parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Voter registration: 54% Democrat, 14% Republican, and 28% No Party Preference. Republicans typically hold this district. Since the 2021 redistricting process, AD-23 is 2% less Democratic than it was during the 2020 general election cycle.
District demographics: 9% Latino, 26% Asian, and 2% Black
Recent election results: AD-23 voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 59 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 49 points.
The Position
State assemblymembers represent and advocate for the needs of their district constituents at the California State Capitol. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues within their district.
The California State Assembly has 80 districts. Each represents a population of at least 465,000 Californians. Representatives are elected to the Assembly for a two-year term. Every two years, all 80 seats are subject to election. Members elected before 2012 are restricted to three two-year terms (six years) in the Assembly. Those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years total across both the state Senate or Assembly. This term, Democrats currently hold a three-quarters supermajority of 60 seats in the California State Assembly, while Republicans hold 19 seats and one seat is held by an Independent.
Marc Berman
Reelect Assemblymember Marc Berman to keep AD-23 on the right track for progress.
Assm. Berman’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that he will continue to be a progressive voice for the constituents of AD-23 and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse district.
Notably, Assm. Berman’s office has been named in a workplace-harassment complaint that was made by a former staffer. The complaint alleged that a supervisor in his Los Altos office consistently made sex-based comments and advances toward female staffers, and provided preferential support to one female member of the staff. Assm. Berman made no staffing changes as a result of the complaint, and has failed to publicly work toward reforming the state legislative workplace-complaint process. Voters should continue to work to hold him accountable for any failures in leadership related to this or other incidents.
Progressive endorsements: Assm. Berman has the endorsement of some progressive groups, including California Labor Federation, California Environmental Voters, Sierra Club, and Equality California.
Top issues: Education and STEM programs, election access and security, health care, and environmental protections.
Priority bills: Assm. Berman’s priorities for AD-23 this year have included 38 bills about election protections, education, and energy and pollution. Of those, 12 have been chaptered into law, four have died, and the rest remain in committee. He scores a Lifetime CS of 94 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting records. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Assm. Berman has supported the most progressive bills that made it to a vote. That said, he failed to support AB 1505, which would empower local districts to evaluate charter-school applications based on economic-impact criteria. This is not surprising, considering he has previously accepted campaign donations from California Charter Schools Association Advocates for Great Public Schools. Additionally, Assemblymember Berman voted to support AB 1366, which would eliminate critical oversight of telecom companies. He has also accepted campaign donations from Verizon, one of the largest telecom providers, in the past.
Committee leadership/membership: Assm. Berman currently chairs the Business and Professions Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California. He also sits on the Governmental Organization, Insurance, and Transportation committees.
Governance and community leadership experience: Assm. Berman has served in this assembly seat since 2016, when he was elected with over 54% of the vote. In 2020, he won his reelection against Republican challenger Peter Ohtaki by 46 points.
Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Assm. Berman served as an elected member of the Palo Alto City Council, supporting significant improvements to the city’s infrastructure and public safety. Assm. Berman is a longtime supporter of voting rights and reform. During law school, he worked as a summer analyst with the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and was an author of the Assembly bill that made California a permanent vote-by-mail state.
Other background: Assm. Berman is from Palo Alto. Prior to his public service, he was an attorney in private practice and worked with a STEM-focused nonprofit organization, Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
The Race
Primary election results: The June 2022 results included incumbent Assm. Marc Berman (D), 76%; and Tim Dec (R), 24%. Assm. Marc Berman and Tim Dec will compete in a run-off in the November 8 general election.
Candidate fundraising and pledges: Assm. Berman’s campaign has raised $700,000 and has received donations from police, real estate, fossil fuel, and corporate PAC donors. His problematic donors include PG&E Corporation, Google, Facebook Inc., California Real Estate PAC, and California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC.
Opposing candidate: Republican Tim Dec
Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Dec’s campaign has raised $5,000 and is primarily funded by individual donors.
The District
Counties in district: California’s 23rd Assembly District includes parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Voter registration: 54% Democrat, 14% Republican, and 28% No Party Preference. Republicans typically hold this district. Since the 2021 redistricting process, AD-23 is 2% less Democratic than it was during the 2020 general election cycle.
District demographics: 9% Latino, 26% Asian, and 2% Black
Recent election results: AD-23 voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 59 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 49 points.
The Position
State assemblymembers represent and advocate for the needs of their district constituents at the California State Capitol. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues within their district.
The California State Assembly has 80 districts. Each represents a population of at least 465,000 Californians. Representatives are elected to the Assembly for a two-year term. Every two years, all 80 seats are subject to election. Members elected before 2012 are restricted to three two-year terms (six years) in the Assembly. Those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years total across both the state Senate or Assembly. This term, Democrats currently hold a three-quarters supermajority of 60 seats in the California State Assembly, while Republicans hold 19 seats and one seat is held by an Independent.
Alex Padilla
Reelect US Senator Alex Padilla to keep California on the right track for progress.
Sen. Alex Padilla’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that he will continue to be a progressive voice for the constituents of California and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse state.
Progressive endorsements: Sen. Padilla has the endorsement of many progressive groups, including California Environmental Voters, Equality California, NARAL Pro-Choice California, Giffords PAC, and many labor unions. He is also endorsed by a broad coalition of federal and local elected officials, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Karen Bass, Rep. Katie Porter, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and many California mayors.
Top issues: Voter protections, economic growth, police reform, immigration, environmental protections, education, consumer and worker protections, homelessness and housing, and water conservation.
Priority bills: This year, Sen. Padilla’s priorities for California have included 50 bills about environmental and water protections, the economy, immigration, and child welfare. Of these, nearly all are currently in committee or referred to committee. In his brief time in the Senate, Sen. Padilla has signed on as a sponsor of the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, and has been a strong supporter of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. He has also secured federal funding for housing, infrastructure, education, and employment projects in Southern California, and over $11 million for statewide health-care facilities and mental-health services.
Committee leadership/membership: Sen. Padilla currently serves on five committees, including Judiciary, Budget, and Environment and Public Works. He serves as chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety.
Governance and community leadership experience: Sen. Padilla was appointed to the Senate by Governor Gavin Newsom in January 2021, which will make this his first general-election campaign for the seat. He was previously elected to serve as the California’s secretary of state in 2014, winning his 2018 reelection bid over Republican Mark Meuser by 29 points.
Prior to his appointment, Sen. Padilla served Californians in several elected roles, including two terms each on the Los Angeles City Council, in the state Senate, and as the California secretary of state. Sen. Padilla is a longtime supporter of environmental justice, and credits his parents with introducing him to activism around this issue in the Los Angeles community where he was raised. Sen. Padilla has also been a longtime supporter of voting rights and democratic protections, which was the cornerstone of his work as secretary of state. In the Senate, he co-authored the Freedom to Vote Act, and was a strong supporter of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Other background: Sen. Padilla, a longtime public official, is from the San Fernando Valley. He grew up in a tough and underserved neighborhood of Los Angeles, and his public service was inspired by his community and his parents, who engaged him in the organizing process at a young age.
The Race
Primary election results: The June 2022 results to fill the last few months of the current term had ten candidates, and the results included incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla (D), 55%; Mark Meuser (R), 22%; James Bradley (R), 7%; and Jon Elist (R), 6%.
The June 2022 results to seat the next full six-year term had 27 candidates, and the results included Sen. Alex Padilla (D), 54%; Mark Meuser (R), 15%; Cordie Williams (R), 7%; Jon Elist (R), 4%; Chuck Smith (R), 4%; James Bradley (R), 3%; and Douglas Howard Pierce (D), 2%.
Sen. Alex Padilla and Mark Meuser will compete in a run-off in the November 8 general election in both the current-term and next-term races.
Candidate fundraising and pledges: Sen. Padilla’s campaign has raised $10.6 million and is not funded by police interests. His problematic donors include Mortgage Bankers Association PAC, Google LLC, FedEx Corporation PAC, Edison International PAC, and Comcast Corporation. He has also received donations from defense contractors, including Employees of Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC and Lockheed Martin Employees’ PAC.
Opposing candidate: Republican Mark Meuser
Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Meuser’s campaign has raised $495,000 and is funded almost entirely by individual donors.
The District
State: California is the most populous state in the United States, and includes 58 counties and 331 million residents.
Voter registration: Of the 22 million registered voters in the state, 47% are Democrat, 24% are Republican, and 23% have no party preference. Democrats have held the lieutenant governor seat since 2011.
District demographics: 39% Latino, 16% Asian, and 7% Black
Recent election results: California voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 29 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 24 points.
The Position
Members of the Senate represent and advocate for the needs of their state constituency and share legislative responsibility with the House of Representatives. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues of national importance. Senators have the exclusive responsibility of providing advice and consent to the executive branch on treaties, and on the nomination and approval of cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, and federal judges. The Senate also has the sole authority to bring and try an impeachment of a high official, up to and including removal from office with a two-thirds majority vote.
Each state, regardless of population, is represented by two senators. Senate elections are statewide, and senators are elected to serve a six-year term. There is no term limit for this position.
