Termed out Assembly members Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, are competing for the state Senate in the 5th District, which includes South Sacramento County and parts of Yolo, San Joaquin and Solano counties.
In the first television ad of the campaign, the Wolk campaign criticizes Aghazarian, who commutes from his home in Stockton, for collecting $180,000 during his six years in office from a state fund for lawmakers who can't commute home.
The following is a text of the ad and an analysis by Aurelio Rojas of The Bee Capitol Bureau.
The ad
The screen shows a hand holding a hand-held device. As the hand goes through prompts, the viewer is shown a photo of Aghazarian, a map of California, and the route from his home to the Capitol and back.
Narrator: Greg Aghazarian is a Republican assemblyman running for Senate. Aghazarian commutes to the Capitol from here, only 46 miles. Aghazarian takes $170 a day above his salary from a fund meant for legislators who can't commute home. He even takes per diem on weekends. As an assemblyman, Republican Greg Aghazarian took $180,000 he didn't deserve.
Analysis
The ad is an attempt by Wolk to portray Aghazarian as a hypocrite for taking travel money when he commutes to work.
While per diem may have been designed for legislators who travel long distances, all are entitled to augment their $116,208 annual salary with about $35,000 a year for living expenses while on legislative business in Sacramento. That includes weekends, as long the Legislature is not in recess for more than three consecutive days.
The overwhelming majority of state lawmakers claim the tax-free money. Only one senator, Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, does not accept per diem year round. In the Assembly, Wolk is among three Sacramento-area members who do not take the payments. She commutes from her home in Davis.
The 5th District seat is one of the few competitive legislative races. Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, won with less than 53 percent of the vote in both of his elections. Holding the seat would further the Democrats' goal of a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate and allow them to pass a budget without Republican votes.
Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.
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