Written by Michael Palomba
The 79th Assembly District seat, formerly occupied by Shirley Weber, is now empty following her appointment to Secretary of State.
A special election was certain, but the date of the election was unknown, until now.
Governor Newsom announced Tuesday that June 8th will be the day, with the primary election taking place on April 6th.
The 79th District encompasses southeastern San Diego and parts of Chula Vista, Bonita, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and National City.
Weber represented the district since 2012 and won her last election in 2018 by 31 points. At the time she was running against Republican John Moore.
The contest for the seat is already getting crowded, with multiple candidates throwing their name into the ring. In terms of Democrats, Dr. Akilah Weber, Weber’s daughter, along with Leticia Manguia, and Aeiramique Glass Blake have expressed intent to run.
On the Republican side, Marco Contreras has officially announced his campaign.
Contreras was born in San Diego but raised in Tijuana due to financial struggles in his family. He eventually achieved his dream when he was able to attend high school in San Diego and play football. Contreras went on to graduate from UC San Diego and start his own business, which experienced “exponential growth.”
“I know what it’s like to be an immigrant. To start from the bottom. To build, to work, to grow, to contribute. This is the American Dream. This is why I love our country,” he said in a campaign video.
Marco wants to work on healing some of the divide that was created in 2020. He knows there are issues we can all agree on like safer neighborhoods, better education, and the opportunity to thrive.
To learn more about Marco Contreras and his campaign, visit his website at marcocontreras.us.
