Tribune endorsement: Former Assemblyman John Laird is best choice for state Senate
As a Democrat running in a reliably liberal district, state Senate candidate John Laird could have coasted through the campaign, especially in San Luis Obispo County, which is at the southern end of a district that stretches as far north as San Jose.
To his credit, Laird has been showing up.
Before the March primary — and before COVID-19 upended everything — he visited SLO County 25 times, touring Diablo Canyon, visiting homeless shelters and food banks, meeting with mayors.
When the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau held a candidates forum via Zoom, he was the only Democrat who took part; congressional candidate Salud Carbajal and Assembly candidate Dawn Addis were no-shows.
Laird has impressive credentials; he’s been mayor of Santa Cruz, served in the state Assembly for three terms, and was Natural Resources secretary for eight years under Gov. Jerry Brown.
His Republican challenger in the District 17 race, Vicki Nohrden, has never before held public office and wasn’t widely known outside her home county of Monterey before the election. Still, she finished first in the primary in San Luis Obispo County, winning nearly 50% of the vote compared to Laird’s 35%.
But Laird came out on top in district-wide results, 44% to Nohrden’s 32%, with Democrat Maria Cadenas placing third with 20%.
Nohrden is an impressive candidate.
In an interview with The Tribune Editorial Board, she was well-spoken, congenial and shared moderate views on issues like climate change, energy and police reform. Plus, bipartisanship is a big theme of her campaign.
“Why does the focus have to be on what ‘side’ you’re on?” she asks on her campaign website. “We’re all neighbors. We want the same things: thriving businesses, job opportunities, safe neighborhoods, and more educational opportunities for our kids.”
In fact, both Laird and Nohrden have run positive campaigns — a welcome contrast to the Assembly race, which has been a nonstop show of back-and-forth sniping.
While we admire Nohrden, her lack of experience in elected office is a liability, especially compared to Laird’s long record of service and his knowledge of the district.
Laird combines idealism with pragmatism. For instance, he supports Proposition 15 — the split roll initiative that would raise taxes on commercial and industrial property — but doesn’t see any chance of ever rolling back Proposition 13 tax protections on residential property.
“I don’t think it’s politically viable. I just don’t,” he told The Tribune Editorial Board.
He has experience dealing with tough issues; he served on the Santa Cruz City Council in 1989 when the deadly Loma Prieta Earthquake struck, and in the state Assembly when the San Simeon Earthquake battered Paso Robles in 2003.
And he knows what it’s like to be in the hot seat. When he spoke to a group of Nipomo Mesa progressives last year, he was blamed for not doing enough to force State Parks to get dust emissions from the nearby OHV riding area under control when he served as the governor’s Natural Resources secretary.
“It wasn’t exactly that I took no action,” he said then. “A lot of things are done behind closed doors.”
He’s since committed to doing whatever it takes to protect public health.
“I believe addressing public health is the number one issue with the Oceano Dunes OHV park, and it must be done in whatever way reduces risk from particulate matter,” he said in response to a Tribune questionnaire.
One final point: If he’s elected, Laird has committed to spending more time in the district and to be accessible to SLO County residents. Good to hear, since his predecessor, Sen. Bill Monning, was seldom seen in SLO County.
John Laird is a smart, effective and experienced legislator who will give SLO County the attention it deserves.
The Tribune strongly endorses John Laird for state Senate.