The Bee Editorial Board endorses a veteran prosecutor for the California Assembly | Opinion

The race to replace Sacramento Assemblyman and current mayoral candidate Kevin McCarty was a crowded one — ten candidates were vying for the position in March — until the primaries churned out the final two headed to the general election: Democrat Maggy Krell and Republican Nikki Ellis.

In March, this Editorial Board endorsed a more progressive candidate, Paula Marie Villescaz, who served three years as assistant secretary for the California Health and Human Services Agency at the height of the COVID pandemic. But Villescaz finished fourth with 13% of the primary vote, behind Krell with 25%, Ellis with 15%, and Republican candidate Preston Romero with 14%.

The Bee is now endorsing Krell in the general election.

Krell’s experience is a standout

Krell is deeply qualified for the job.

The Sacramento-area prosecutor is a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice under Attorney General Rob Bonta. Previously, she was the Chief Legal Counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. She was also a supervising Deputy Attorney General under the current presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney.

Krell was also instrumental in helping to break apart Backpage, a website often used by sex traffickers, by prosecuting its former owners, Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, in 2016. She wrote a book about her experience in 2022.

District 6, which sits entirely within Sacramento County, has been well represented by McCarty, who now endorses Krell’s candidacy. (McCarty did not endorse a replacement in the primaries.) The district encompasses much of Sacramento’s northeastern suburbs, stretching to the Sierra Nevada in the east, rural farmlands in the west and the city’s urban core in the southwest.

In a candidate questionnaire provided by Krell to The Bee, Krell said that if elected, her main priorities would be “funding childcare, funding schools, funding healthcare, making college affordable and career technical education much more accessible.”

“I will prioritize improvements to our foster care system to provide safety and opportunity to California’s most vulnerable young people,” Krell wrote.

On the statewide crisis of homelessness, she called it “a disaster in so many small ways.”

“It’s one person, one eviction, one addiction, one mental illness,” Krell wrote. “We have 180,000 people who need a place to live in California. 7% of them are kids who are on their own…. Our first priority should be their safety and well-being.”

Regarding the state’s related fentanyl and retail theft crises, Krell supports Prop. 36, which would overturn a previous California ballot proposition and re-allow felony charges and increased sentences for certain drug and theft crimes.

“As a prosecutor who has handled these cases and as Planned Parenthood’s general counsel tasked with improving access to healthcare, I understand the importance of both holding offenders accountable and treating sick people,” Krell has said.

“The legislature must ensure access to treatment for those suffering from drug addiction and real consequences to those who are pedaling poison,” she wrote. “We should give law enforcement the tools to hold serial thieves and those who are ransacking our businesses accountable. The legislature hasn’t adequately addressed the issues, causing serious harm to people.”

If elected, Krell’s law experience, regional knowledge and connections in the legislature could make her a valuable voice at the Capitol.

This story was originally published October 10, 2024 at 11:48 AM.