One experienced veteran stood out in the race for North Bay’s State Senate seat | Opinion

The 3rd district in the California State Senate is one of the body’s most regional seats, with no dominant urban population center. It bridges the populous Bay Area to the wine countries of Sonoma and Napa counties, across to the Central Valley with the state’s great estuary, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Its leader necessarily brings a unique and important voice to the state’s business. We believe that voice should be Christopher Cabaldon’s.

It’s hard to imagine a “rookie” state senator better positioned to instantly become one of the body’s most veteran policy minds than Cabaldon, who took a once-ministerial job as mayor of West Sacramento in 1998 and held the position for most of the subsequent 22 years. He emerged as one of the Sacramento region’s most dominant voices on transportation, land use and education before pivoting into numerous education and resource roles.

The math for a legislative seat coming from the modest-sized city of West Sacramento has not favored Cabaldon in two previous attempts for posts in the California Assembly. He faces the same challenge this time. The former mayor finds himself in what appears to be a three-way race with two accomplished local leaders in their own right, whose own backgrounds are both impressive and inspiring.

Jackie Elward is a city councilwoman from Rohnert Park in Sonoma County. A first-generation American from the Republic of Congo, her sense of duty and community becomes immediately clear as soon as she speaks, and her passion for the people of this area is clear.

Rozzana Verder-Aliga is also a first-generation immigrant, a mental health professional from the Philippines who became Vallejo’s first city councilwoman originating from the country. She has capably served Vallejo for eight years and seeks to channel her passion for mental health in her political life.

This is one of those races on a busy ballot where the voter can feel truly honored to be making a no-lose choice. But Cabaldon stands out in this race with his breadth, knowledge and experience. He’s simply that ready for the job.

The candidates have similar views on some key issues: In Solano County, for example, they all express suspicion about a proposed new city in the Montezuma Hills known as “California Forever.” All expressed concern about how the approximately 50,000 acres were quietly amassed by wealthy interests based in Silicon Valley over several years.

In the Delta region, they all oppose Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed Delta Conveyance Project and seek, instead, to promote the region’s agriculture and improve flood protection. In the wine countries of Sonoma and Napa, property insurance and wildfire challenges concern residents and an industry needing effective representation.

Cabaldon respects how this district has no center but rather a series of mid-sized cities like Fairfield, Vacaville and Woodland as well as iconic communities like Rio Vista, Calistoga and St. Helena. Any winner will have come from a different corner of the vast district, but Cabaldon is best positioned to represent them all, both on local and statewide matters.

Cabaldon’s resume spans the gamut of California, and that’s what makes him unique in this race. He was an accomplished chair of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, served to oversee the state’s community college system and also a regional water board. He is a member of the state Democratic Party’s LGBTQ caucus and a professor at Sacramento State.

The Legislature desperately needs veteran leaders like Cabaldon who have weathered tough financial cycles before and know how to make tough budget decisions. He seeks to serve on the Senate Budget Committee for that reason and possibly on the body’s other powerhouse slot: the Appropriations Committee.

It is this financial committee where the Legislature conducts some of the most important reality checks on policy bills that have been sailing through the chambers with the Democrats in the majority failing to ask hard questions. Cabaldon’s encyclopedic knowledge of California public policy would make him a valuable backstop.

Cabaldon is uniquely gifted to translate our collective fight against climate change into rational local responses when it comes to advancing housing and transportation solutions that can work. The governor and this Legislature simply have not turned the ship, nor found the keys to building more of the housing desperately needed for working and low-income Californians.

Hopefully, the third time seeking a seat in the Legislature is finally the charm for Cabaldon, this district and all of California.

This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "One experienced veteran stood out in the race for North Bay’s State Senate seat | Opinion."