Sacramento County’s suburban voters should consider this Republican candidate for Assembly

California’s new 7th Assembly District is politically competitive, its boundaries redrawn to encompass much of the old 8th District and additional, more conservative communities on the eastern edge of Sacramento County. Many of these communities are unincorporated, but the new 7th also includes the cities of Rancho Cordova, Folsom and Citrus Heights.

Democratic Assemblyman Ken Cooley has represented parts of the new district for the past decade. The Bee’s Editorial Board has endorsed Cooley before, stating that he had “done nothing to disqualify himself” from reelection.

In 2022, however, doing nothing doesn’t cut it. Voters should consider Republican Josh Hoover, an experienced legislative aide and Folsom Cordova school board member.

A longtime Folsom resident, Hoover has lived in the region since 1999. He currently serves as chief of staff for Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who is running for Congress.

Hoover said he wants better transparency from California government and has detailed, commonsense ideas for reaching that goal, such as an audit of state spending on homelessness programs that have been largely ineffective.

“We also need to identify the programs that aren’t working and make sure we’re not funding programs that aren’t working,” Hoover said when asked about homelessness. “We need to expand mental health treatments and make sure that it’s possible for people to get the treatment they need. We need to get people substance abuse treatment for drug-related issues.”

If he wins, Hoover will be in the Republicans’ shrunken and powerless legislative minority, which needs more sensible members if it ever hopes to have any bearing on policy again.

Of all the Sacramento area legislators in the Capitol, Cooley easily has the lowest profile. The first mayor of Rancho Cordova, he describes himself as a fiscal conservative who strongly supports property-tax limits and has been bold enough to oppose the state’s powerful labor unions.

With more conservative voters from suburban and unincorporated areas in his district, Cooley could face a tougher election this time around. He seems to recognize this but had trouble making a substantive case for another term, often resorting to general appeals to kindness and decency. That’s a fine sentiment, but it’s unsatisfying as a case for serving in the California Legislature at a consequential time.

In what may have been a misguided attempt to avoid alienating more conservative voters during an interview with the Editorial Board, Cooley struggled to clearly condemn rival candidate Eric Perrine, an avowed Proud Boy who was ousted from a position with the Sacramento County Republican Party last year. In the endorsement interview this spring, Hoover mustered a categorical denouncement of such extremism, telling the Editorial Board that he was “absolutely happy to denounce the Proud Boys” and that “we can’t have someone like that representing us.”

Since that conversation however, it was revealed that Cooley may have purposefully used his campaign advertising budget to lift Perrine’s name over Hoover’s in the consciousness of voters, in hopes of picking his opponent, and an easier victory in the general election.

Perrine has said he intends to use the visibility he gained from Cooley’s advertising to win a seat on the San Juan Unified School District Board of Education, a frequent target of his policy protests.

“I figured I could utilize the name recognition, and the same people will vote for me in November (for school board),” Perrine told The Sacramento Bee in a previous story. Cooley’s suspicious attempt to knock Hoover out in the primary by promoting Perrine’s name may have long-lasting consequences in the district.

On climate change, Hoover is against government mandates that force businesses and consumers to switch to greener options, a position that will appeal to more conservative constituents but falls short of acknowledging the extent of the crisis. On that and several other issues, however, Cooley passed up the opportunity to meaningfully distinguish himself from the Republican, noting vaguely that he doesn’t “like putting all my eggs in one basket when I have a suspicion that there’s actually a couple other baskets out there that are not being looked at.”

Hoover is offering voters better-reasoned and more thoughtful proposals. That could make him a more effective representative of this competitive and politically moderate suburban district.

This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 11:06 AM.