Alameda Unified school board member Mia Bonta took the early lead against attorney and political newcomer Janani Ramachandran in Tuesday’s special runoff election for state Assembly District 18.
Bonta picked up 55% of the mostly vote-by-mail ballots in early returns posted Tuesday night.
The more than 47,000 ballots cast by mail represent just over 16% of the total registered voters in the district, according to the results posted Tuesday by Alameda County. All registered voters in the district were sent a mail ballot.
Bonta and Ramachandran defeated six other candidates in the June contest to succeed Rob Bonta, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom as state attorney general. Rob Bonta is Mia Bonta’s husband.
The candidate who wins the election will serve the rest of Rob Bonta’s term and be up for re-election next year.
Mia Bonta was the top vote getter in June but because she didn’t get more than 50% of the vote to win the seat outright, she had to face off against Ramachandran, who came in second place.
The 18th district represents a little more than 500,000 people across much of Oakland and all of San Leandro and Alameda.
Bonta is president of the Alameda Unified School District board and CEO of Oakland Promise, a multifaceted organization that works to increase the number of college graduates from Oakland.
She has received endorsements from U.S. Rep Barbara Lee, D-Oakland and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-California. A slew of labor unions, including the California Teachers Association, United Farm Workers and the Alameda Labor Council, also have thrown their support behind Bonta.
Ramachandran is an attorney who has represented tenants facing eviction and served on the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. She has received endorsements from U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, state Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-San Jose, and the Oakland Tenants Union, among others.
In their bid to represent on of the most progressive districts in the state, the two Democrats have fought hard to distinguish themselves.
Ramachandran has criticized Bonta for accepting donations from real estate developers and the medical industry, arguing she’s susceptible to corporate interests — Ramachandran has vowed she would not take any corporate money for her campaign.
In turn, Bonta has questioned Ramachandran’s ability to work with legislators to achieve her ambitious policy goals.
Ramachandran has urged for a $22-per-hour minimum wage, single payer health care, and to expand and extend the moratorium on evictions that’s set to expire in September.
Bonta wants to explore streamlining the process of building affordable homes and said she supports the idea of creating a statewide rental housing registry to promote housing transparency across the state.
She has also stated the importance of keeping schools open and providing direct assistance to those struggling with unemployment or underemployment during the pandemic.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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Assembly District 18 Election: Bonta takes lead over Ramachandran in early results - East Bay Times
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