MorganHillTimes.com | Six candidates vie for 27th Assembly seat

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Six candidates vie for 27th Assembly seat

May 5, 2008
By Natalie Everett

Six contenders, including two Morgan Hill residents, have stepped up to fill the seat of popular State Assemblyman John Laird, who's termed out in the 27th District.

Proposition 93, which failed Feb. 5, would have increased term limits to 12 years in the senate and assembly. If it would have passed, Laird would have been allowed to remain in office another six more years.

Instead, six candidates are running for the vacated spot, including Democrats Stephen Barkalow, Bill Monning, Emily Reilly and Barbara Sprenger and Morgan Hill residents Republican Robert Murray and Libertarian Mark Hinkle.

Assembly District 27 covers most of Santa Cruz County and portions of Monterey and Santa Clara counties, including Morgan Hill.

The state primary will be June 3. The general election will be Nov. 4. Mail-in ballots were starting to be sent out Monday. The last day to apply for mail-in voting is May 19, and mail-in ballots have to be received by June 3.

Morgan Hill Councilman Larry Carr has endorsed Monning, while councilman Greg Sellers has endorsed Sprenger. Former mayor Dennis Kennedy has also endorsed Sprenger.

Sprenger, a former twice-elected San Lorenzo Valley school board member, said she's got the ability to look creatively at solutions and to build a constituency.

"At the bottom of all (California's issues) is the budget crisis," Sprenger said. "We have to deal with that in order to deal with other concerns."

Sprenger said the environment is a top concern of hers, as well.

Monning said his main priorities are education funding, as the state is faced with a $4.8 billion funding cut.

"California is the 46 or 47th in per student spending," the self-described community activist said. "It's a tragedy. (The cut) shouldn't be tolerated by the people of California."

Barkalow, a chiropractor, said he's watched the decline in health care for 30 years through his practice, and realized change wasn't going to happen unless someone got into the legislature and made a change from the inside out. Barkalow has never held elective office.

"It would be really nice to put someone in the legislature who understands at least one system really well," he said. "Many don't have enough single knowledge in one in one area to make an effective difference."

Emily Reilly is a current Santa Cruz councilwoman and served as mayor for two years, in 2003 and 2007. She said her work as the owner of a bakery has given her the skills to hold a state office.

"I respect and trust my employees, which translates to trusting and respecting my staff and being responsive to constituents," she said. "It's so important to have someone who understands consequences of their decisions at a state level. I always try to remember the person who's not in the room."

Murray, a lawyer, said two issues he'd like to focus on are budget reform and education. Litigation reform is another issue he'd like to tackle, he said.

Murray, like Barkalow, has never held office, or run for political office. But, he drafted legislation supported by taxpayer associations that was passed unanimously in both houses, he said.

This is Hinkle's seventh campaign, and fifth for the assembly district. Hinkle is running on principle, saying he won't win but has a duty to bring issues to light that Democrats and Republicans usually don't want to talk about, like the budget.

"The state budget has grown faster than population growth," he said. "We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem."

Reilly has been endorsed by several organizations and people including San Martin Neighborhood Alliance President Sylvia Hamilton, several current and former council members around District 27.

Assembly members can serve up to three two-year terms for a total of six years.

Natalie Everett
Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.