By Chris Finnie
I know it seems early to be talking about an election in 2020, but due to our earlier March state primary, filing opens in September and closes at the end of 2019. So John Laird has already declared. In the interest of transparency, I should tell you that I’ve known John for more than a decade. While statewide service seems to have changed him from the feisty young mayor of Santa Cruz, I still believe he is deeply committed to this region. And that he has the local and statewide knowledge to represent us well. He also has one challenger already. I’ll tell you a little about both.
John Laird
John has served as a congressional assistant, local government analyst, mayor, city councilmember, transit board member, transportation commissioner, community college trustee, community activist, state assemblymember, and— most recently—as the state secretary for natural resources. As he says, “That role placed me on the front lines in the effort to fight and adapt to climate change, as well as provided me with the responsibility to run a state agency with 25 departments, 19,000 employees and an almost $10 billion budget. “I’m running for the State Senate because I want to build on that leadership to protect and invest in the Central Coast and California during these difficult times–not just in the area of natural resources, but also with critical priorities including health care, education, the economy, and housing.” He has endorsements by statewide elected officials including State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, State Treasurer Fiona, Ma and State Controller Betty Yee. Members of Congress including Jimmy Panetta, Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren, Salud Carbajal, plus former representatives Sam Farr, and Lois Capps have also endorsed him—as has assemblymember Mark Stone.
Neil Kitchens
Neil Kitchens will be running for the Republican nomination for the seat. Although he doesn’t yet have a campaign website, I was able to find some information about him from when he ran for the state Assembly in 2018 to represent district 30. He listed a wide variety of professional experience including a semi-pro football player, horse rancher, lawyer, manager of a forensics program, and owner of mental institutions. He owns rental and residential properties in Los Angeles, Salinas, and North Monterey County. He said he also owns timber land in Arkansas and Georgia. Kitchens said his political involvement began in 2016 when he ran meetings in Monterey for the Republican Party, as part of the Casey Lucius campaign for Congress and the Donald Trump campaign for president. The 2018 contest was his first run for public office. He received a 100% rating and endorsement from the Gun Owners of California, and a 93% rating from the NRA. In a 2018 interview, Kitchens listed his top issues as homelessness, crime, and infrastructure. He also talked at some length about the need for forest management, saying, “It’s very simple. Managing the forest requires several things. First of all, you have to thin out the trees. We don’t have to have Canada dumping all their lumber over here while our loggers, our millworkers are all out of work. You have to do some prescribed burning… It’s controlled burning so you’re burning the underbrush. You also have to be able to build roads into the Ventana Wilderness and into the Los Padres National Forest so when a fire starts you can get your crew in there.” He also described his plans for affordable housing, “I want to address the housing by reducing regulations and reducing taxes. And lowering the cost of building per unit multi-family housing to attract developers.”
John Laird is the Best Choice
I believe John Laird combines a unique set of qualities and experience that makes him an outstanding choice for state senator. He has a deep connection to this area, and extensive experience at the state level. Laird has been holding “kickoff” events around the district. To learn more, or to find an event near you, go to www.LairdforCASenate.com or www.Facebook.com/LairdforCASenate/
