It’s a race to determine who will represent California’s 38th State Assembly District in Western Ventura County.
A longtime community leader is being challenged by a former actress, and book industry executive for the seat representing Ventura, Oxnard, Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore, and part of Camarillo.
Democratic incumbent Steve Bennett is facing Republican Deb Baber.
Bennett was a teacher who became a Ventura City Councilman in 1993. He was one of the authors of the county’s SOAR initiative, which put a plan in place to preserve open space in the county. He was elected to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 2000, and served five terms.
Bennett was elected to the Assembly in 2020, and is now seeking his third term.
Why is he seeking-re-election?
"The reason I decided to run again is after being there for four years, I see how many problems have been left to fester in California," said Bennett. "They're hard to tackle for political reasons. We're overpumping our groundwater, making the transition from fossil fuels to carbonless economy. Wildfire prevention. We just have many issues that fester, and we don't come up with the hard political solutions to them, and I'm trying to be one of those people that just rings the bell, and starts really speaking out about those issues."
Bennett talked about his top priorities if re-elected. "The overpumping of groundwater in California has been the number one thing I've been focused on," said Bennett. "And, wildfire prevention. Wildfires are devastating to our communities, also devastating to our environment and climate change, and leading to this home insurance problem. So, I am the chair of the budget committee that deals with all the agencies that deal with natural resources, and so I've tried to really grow those agencies to stay on top of groundwater pumping, and wildfire prevention."
Bennett is being challenged by Republican Deb Baber.
She left college to work as an actress for more than a decade. Baber returned to school, and graduated with a degree in political science. She started working for a major East Coast based book publishing company, spending more than two decades there, and becoming its vice president.
Why is she seeking the state assembly post?
"I lived in New York City for over 34 years, and I moved out here to Ventura County in 2014, to live full time," said Baber. "I'm on a fixed income, and I can't afford to live here if it continues the way it is. So, I decided to get into the race, and because Donald Trump is going to need people like me in state assemblies to get the job done."
Baber talked about her top priorities if elected.
"When I get into office, there are five things. The action would be legislate physically from my county, my district, and virtually in Sacramento, so the boss, my constituents, would be seen in the broadcast sitting behind me," said Baber.
"I would also introduce four bills. I call them Poison Pill Bill, putting money back in the pockets of the taxpayer. The Floodlight Statute, which would reveal, and make transparent the money that is being spent by the elected officials. The third one is called Cap and Trade, and it would cap the amount of legislation were are going to consider so it forces politicians to actually focus on what really matters, and the last one is Words Matter, and that would make measures in the State of California accessible, and comprehensive, to a fifth grader."
So, how does Bennett think he differs from his opponent?
"Her campaign signs have a picture of her, and a picture of former President Trump, and she's trying to align herself completely that way," said Bennett. "I think that's really helpful for me, because I can't think of anybody that I align with less than former President Trump."
Deb Baber talks about how she differs from her opponent.
"The choice on this ballot is between world view. Is your world view a big G or a little G?," said Baber. "A big G is God, moral authority at the center of all things. A small G is government. My opponent governs for narrative...does not govern for reality. He's very big on climate change. The climate has been changing since the world began. How many human beings were that when the dinosaurs died? It's an absurd notion that somehow...it's actually kind of arrogant in some ways to believe that human beings are so massively influential that they are going to change the world's climate."
This is part of KCLU’s series on races, measures, and issues on the November 5 ballot in the Tri-Counties.
