Yesterday, voters of the 80th Assembly District voted on a new Assemblymember. The seat was vacated by Lorena Gonzalez who resigned to become the president of the California Labor Federation. The results will not be fully announced until April 14th but it looks as if voters of the 80th and some voters of the 79th will have a rather confusing ballot in June.
Because of redistricting, there will be a newly drawn 80th district. The new 80th will include all of Chula Vista. Currently, Chula Vista is split between the 79th and 80th. The special election that took place yesterday is for the current 80th district, not the new 80th. Currently, no candidate has above 50%. Two Democrats, David Alvarez and Georgette Gomez, have about 38% of the vote each with Alvarez having about a 500 vote lead. A third candidate, perennial candidate Lincoln Pickard, has 24.5% of the vote. Pickard has run for the 80th three times: 2016, 2018, and 2020. All three times, Pickard was beaten badly and never eclipsed 35,000 votes. Pickard had been a member of the Republican Central Committee but was removed after making abusive comments to other members and getting violent towards them as well. Since no candidate has more than 50%, the seat will remain unoccupied until June 7th. This is where it gets confusing for voters.
On June 7th, voters of the old 80th will vote for the top two candidates from the April election. However, also on the ballot is the primary election for the new 80th. Voters will be voting for the old seat and the new seat. Chula Vista voters that are currently not in the 80th and in the 79th will be voting for the new 80th seat primary and not in the top two election. Voters in the current 80th and the new 80th will be voting in a new Assemblymember and voting in a primary election. Currently, there are four candidates in the primary for the new 80th. Alvarez, Gomez, and Pickard have all filed to run again, regardless of the April election. There is also a fourth candidate who has filed, John Vogel Garcia. Vogel Garcia beat out Pickard in the 2020 primary and garnered almost 50,000 votes in the general election. Vogel Garcia has also been endorsed by the Republican Party of San Diego County.
Photo Cred: Third Avenue Village Association/ ABC 10
