79th Assembly

VASQUEZ AND PARENT SPEAK OUT AS EARLY RESULTS SHOW THEM LIKELY HEADED TO RUN-OFF FOR ASSEMBLY RACE

By Jessyka Heredia and Miriam Raftery 

March 6, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) -- La Mesa Councilman Colin Parent and Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez are maintaining their first and and second place positions in the primary race for the 79th Assembly district seat. If their leads hold, the two East County elected official will run-off in the November general election, leaving their current council and mayoral positions to be filled in the November election, since both have terms of office ending after this year.

As of 11:30 p.m. on Election night, Parent has 41.01%, Vasquez 31.53% and Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins, County Office of Education’s community engagement specialist and adjunct professor at SDSU trails close behind with 27.43%. 

As last night’s Lemon Grove City Council meeting adjourned, ECM’s  reporter approached the dais to let Vasquez know she was number two in the early voting numbers so far and asked if she would like to give a statement.


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PARENT, VASQUEZ LEAD IN 79TH ASSEMBLY RACE

By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2024  (San Diego's East County)--Incumbency counts. That's the takeaway from tonight's early results in the 79th Assembly district race, where two prominent East County elected officials hold the lead over an educator endorsed by the Democratic Party.  All three candidates are Democrats.

La Mesa Councilman Colin Parent has a hefty lead, with 41.04% of the votes tallied so far.  Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez has 31.53%, while educator LaShae Sharp-Collins has 27.43% of the vote. The top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the November general election.


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ECM TALKS WITH STATE SENATE CANDIDATE DR. AKILAH WEBER ON ISSUES THAT AFFECT LOCAL RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITIES

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch Full Video here

March 2, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Dr. Akilah Weber is no stranger to serving in government. Locally she has served as a La Mesa councilmember as well as in her current role as the 79th State Assembly member. We spoke with Weber via Zoom to find out what her goals are as a State Senator if elected, covering issues including education, healthcare, reproductive rights, disaster response, and projects to help local communities.


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ECM HOLDS IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH ALL THREE CANDIDATES RUNNING IN 79TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, top left to lower right:  Dr. LaShea Sharp-Collins, Mayor Racquel Vasquez, and Councilman Colin Parent.

February 25, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – ECM reporter Jessyka Heredia has done in-depth interviews with all three candidates running in the 79th Assembly District.

All three are Democrats, and each has substantial public service experience.  LaShae Sharp-Collins, PhD, the party’s endorsed choice, is  the County Office of Education’s community engagement specialist, an adjunct professor at SDSU, and former district director for Assemblymember Shirley Weber, PhD.  Racquel Vasquez is Mayor of Lemon Grove and previously served on the city council and planning commission.  Colin Parent is a La Mesa Assemblyman and former director of external affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as past director of policy at the San Diego Housing Commission.

Each has many accomplishments and goals, which they highlight in our exclusive interviews. Vasquez and Parent tout their successful tract records of bringing new housing to their cities, while Sharp-Collins emphasized her expertise in education issues.. All spoke of their approaches to the state’s top issues including housing, homelessness, healthcare and education, as well as commenting on how the state might help the 79th Assembly district prevent future flooding.

Each candidate has faced controversy at times. Parent, who serves as general counsel for Circulate San Diego, has helped raise funds from developers for that nonprofit organization and has drawn criticism for supporting developer/donor interests on the City Council. Vaquez has drawn complaints from some residents over the city’s flood response and  storm drain issues . Sharp-Collins raised controversy, according to the Daily Aztec for a slave persona assignment.

Below are links to our exclusive interviews with each candidate for the March 5 primary election, listed in alphabetical order:

Colin Parent

LaShea Sharp-Collins

Racquel Vasquez


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SHIRLEY WEBER SWORN IN AS SECRETARY OF STATE; SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL HER SEAT WILL BE HELD APRIL 6

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Governor's Twitter feed: Sec. of State Shirley Weber is sworn in by Gov. Gavin Newsom

February 8, 2021 (San Diego) – Former Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, PhD, made history last week when she was sworn in as the first black woman to serve as California's Secretary of State. A special election to fill the 79th Assembly District seat will be held April 6, with several candidates in the running.

“I am excited to be nominated for this historical appointment as the Secretary of State of California. I thank @CAgovernor  for the confidence in me. Being the first Black Woman in this position will be monumental and I am up for the challenge,” Weber posted on Twitter.


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THE BUSINESSWOMAN AND THE TEACHER

How Their Histories Shaped 79th Assembly District Candidates Mary England, Dr. Shirley Weber

Story and photos by Mark Gabrish Conlan

October 12, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--Throughout their adult lives, Republican Mary England has been a businesswoman and  Dr. Shirley Weber, a Democrat, has been a teacher. That’s the most important thing you need to know about the two rival candidates for California State Assembly from the newly created 79th District.

Throughout their interviews for East County Magazine, they kept coming back to their professional backgrounds and how those shaped not only their private lives but also their public ones. On just about every issue, including how to balance Californians’ desires for government programs with their limited willingness to pay for them in taxes, their fundamentally different life histories shape their views.


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WEBER AND ENGLAND HEAD TO NOVEMBER RUN-OFF IN 79TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

 By Miriam Raftery

June 5, 2012 (San Diego)--With 98.4% of precincts counted, the clear winners in the 79th Assembly District race are Democrat Shirley Weber (30.00%) and Republican Mary England (29.67%).

If elected in the November run-off, Weber would become San Diego county's first African-American woman to serve in the Legislature.   England, however, hopes to score an upset win to take back the ethnically diverse district from Democrats in November. 


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LONGTIME COMMUNITY LEADER AND EDUCATOR KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN FOR NEW 79TH


January 6, 2012(San Diego) -- Community leader and educator Pat Washington has announced she is running for the 79th State Assembly seat.

 
“I have worked with San Diegans and for San Diego for a long time to help make this city a better place for us all. Through my leadership and activism, I have helped promote educational access, equity and opportunity for local youth and have bridged communities across the San Diego Region.  I am proud of the work I have done at the local level, and I now want to fight for our hard-working families at the state level.”

 


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