Candidate Spotlight: Senate District 13

Voting is an essential part of civic engagement, but it can be confusing, especially in local elections. There are some hyper-local issues that we’re deciding on in the upcoming primary election on March 5th.

TechEquity Collaborative does not endorse candidates, but we are summarizing their backgrounds and platforms on our issue areas to provide some insight into the 2020 ballot. Palo Alto Online has published an in-depth interview series with the candidates and a summary chart of their positions if you’d like additional information on the candidates. You can find which Senate district you’re in here.

What’s the background on the race?

Current District 13 Senator Jerry Hill has been in office since 2012 but is ineligible to run for re-election because of California’s term limits. As a Senator, Hill has been in the center of the Senate Democratic Caucus ideologically. The candidates vying for the open seat fall across the political spectrum, including Democrats, a Republican, and a Libertarian.

Josh Becker (Democratic Party)

Josh Becker is the founder of Full Circle Fund, a philanthropic fund that donates to nonprofits in the Bay Area. Previously, he unsuccessfully ran for state Assembly in 2010 and ended a 2016 Assembly campaign due to a family illness. If elected, Becker’s first bill would create incentives for reducing or removing carbon from the atmosphere.

The centerpiece of Becker’s housing platform is a requirement that tech companies with more than 1,000 employees contribute to an affordable housing fund with each additional hire. He also supports using state money to supplement this fund and seeks a permanent expansion of the state’s low-income housing tax credit. Becker opposed SB 50, Senator Scott Weiner’s zoning reform bill, citing the time gap between legislative approval and the beginning of new housing production. Becker supports protections for workers in the gig economy, and views AB 5, last year’s bill targeted at reducing worker misclassification as independent contractors, as well-intended but also notes the potential for unintended consequences.

Becker’s endorsements include Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Jerry Hill, San Jose Mercury News, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, Assemblymember David Chiu, the California Labor Federation, and SEIU. See his full list of endorsements here.

Sally Lieber (Democratic Party)

Sally Lieber is a former state Assemblymember and Mountain View city council member. Currently, she is an environmental advocate. If elected, Lieber’s first bill would be an anti-poverty measure focused on children living in poverty.

On housing, Lieber prioritizes preserving the housing people are currently living in. She favors funding nonprofits that buy affordable housing and offering legal services to households at risk of displacement. She also wants the state to look into using public land for affordable housing. Lieber opposed SB 50 because she did not believe it would create sufficient affordable housing. She aims to add teeth to the Regional Housing Need Allocations (RHNA) by tieing transportation funding to affordable housing production levels and fining cities that do not meet their goals. Her platform also calls for investments in rail transit to reduce commute times between the Peninsula and East Bay. Lieber supports AB 5 but thinks it will need further legislative adjustments.

Lieber’s endorsements include Assemblymember Kansen Chu, labor activist Dolores Huerta, National Nurses United, SEIU, National Union of Healthcare Workers, and Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America. See her full list of endorsements here.

Shelly Masur (Democratic Party)

Shelly Masur is a Redwood City councilmember and CEO of the public education nonprofit, Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation. Masur hasn’t stated what her first legislative action would be but hinted that it would likely involve school financing.

Masur supports the 3 P’s housing program (protection, preservation, and production) created by the Casa Compact. She aims to facilitate the use of federal and state tax credits for affordable housing construction, and also wants to utilize inclusionary zoning, taxes on Airbnb rentals, and commercial development impact fees to spur affordable housing production. Masur supported SB 50 after amendments to give cities time to develop their own plans for more housing. Masur supported AB 5, but has concerns about unintended consequences and would like to see exemptions for certain jobs like court reporters and freelance writers. She also wants to make sure that workers are still able to find opportunities in the gig economy.

Masur’s endorsements include State Senator Scott Weiner, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, the California Teachers Association, several trade unions, the CA Labor Federation, and California YIMBY. See her full list of endorsements here.

Mike Brownrigg (Democratic Party)

Mike Brownrigg is a former mayor and current city councilmember for Burlingame. He also works in social impact investing following a career as a venture capitalist.

Brownrigg seeks to add housing by offering cities state infrastructure funding and creating a fund to aid nonprofits purchasing affordable housing. He is also interested in revisiting the state’s redevelopment program, which provided local governments with a financial option for affordable housing before it was shut down in 2011. Brownrigg opposed SB 50, calling it “bad policy and bad politics,” instead he supports “responsible” local control over housing decisions. He feels that AB 5 was passed too quickly, and despite good intentions needs more flexibility for certain jobs. Brownrigg does support full-time employees receiving full-time benefits.

Brownrigg’s endorsements include San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa,

Central County Firefighters, IBEW Local 617, and California Refuse Recycling Council Northern District. See his full list of endorsements here.

Annie Olivia (Democratic Party)

Annie Olivia is a city councilmember for Millbrae and a realtor. If elected, her first bill would help first-time homebuyers by providing downpayment assistance.

Olivia wants to expedite approval processes for housing construction by streamlining permitting and design approvals. She also supports reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s landmark environmental protection law, to make it easier to build new housing by reducing the opportunities for filing lawsuits in objection to new projects. Olivia opposed SB 50, believing that housing decisions should be made at the local level. She supports AB 5 but is open to amending the law with a priority on addressing workers’ concerns.

Olivia has not listed her endorsements.

Alexander Glew (Republican Party)

Alexander Glew is an engineer and serves on the Design Review Commission in Los Altos.

Glew wants more regional planning for housing, with an emphasis on placing job growth in areas with land and capacity for that growth. He believes that cities should turn down job growth if they cannot support the housing infrastructure for those new workers. He opposed SB 50, claiming it created “central planning at the state level.” Glew also opposed AB 5 because he views it as violating workers’ rights to choose how they work.

Glew’s endorsements include the California Republican Party as well as the San Mateo and Santa Clara County Republican Parties.

John Webster (Libertarian Party)

John Webster is an engineer. He emphasizes letting the free market decide most issues. Webster supports making zoning easier to change so the free market can address the housing crisis. He does not have a position on SB 50 or AB 5.

Webster has not listed his endorsements.

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