June Primary Has New Districts, New Rules, New Candidates

On June 5, Californians for the first time will vote in an open primary.

The top two vote-getters in a race will move on to the November general election, whether or not they are from the same party.

In addition, this will be the first election with the new congressional, state Senate and state Assembly districts approved last fall by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. They officially take effect in January. You can compare the old and new electoral districts at a Web site produced by the Los Angeles Times.

The Contra Costa elections department Web site is here. Below are the local races that voters in El Cerrito and Kensington will see on their June ballot, in additon to the primary votes for U.S. President and the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Dianne Feinstein.

CONGRESS

11th District

The new district is primarily in Contra Costa and includes El Cerrito, Kensington, Richmond, San Pablo, part of Martinez, Concord, Clayton, Lamorinda, Pleasant Hill, Danville, Alamo and Walnut Creek. El Cerrito and Kensington are currently represented by Congresman John Garamendi in the old, soon-to-be-reconfigured 10th District. 

Here are the four candidates in the race for the new 11th District, in alphabetical order:

Democrat John Fitzgerald is a Concord resident who lists himself as a contractor. On his website, Fitzgerald is quoted as saying global warming is a scam and further investigations are needed into the Sept. 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Republican Virginia Fuller is a registered nurse who lives in Pinole. She lists herself as an advocate for children’s health who wants to build jobs in inner cities and offer school choices to parents.

Democratic Congressman George Miller was first elected to Congress in 1974. He is a lifelong Contra Costa County resident who is outspoken on  environmental and health care reform issues.

Democrat Cheryl Sudduth is a Richmond resident who lists herself on the ballot as a director of contracts and compliance. No website could be found for Sudduth.

STATE SENATE

9th District

The new district includes El Cerrito, Kensington, San Leandro, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole and Hercules. El Cerrito and Kensington are currently represented by state Senator Mark DeSaulnier in the old, soon-to-be-reshaped 7th District.

There's only one candidate in the election for the new 9th District:

Democrat Loni Hancock was elected to the state Senate in 2008. Prior to that she served as assemblywoman and mayor of Berkeley.

ASSEMBLY

15th District

This district includes El Cerrito, Kensington, Berkeley, Richmond, Piedmont, Emeryville, San Pablo, Pinole, El Sobrante and Hercules. El Cerrito and Kensington are currently represented by Nancy Skinner in old District 14, which is being redesigned so that most of Skinner's old district is now in the new District 15.

Democrat Nancy Skinner is the only candidate running in the new 15th District.

COUNTY SUPERVISOR

El Cerrito and Kensington are both in the old District 1 and the reconfigured District 1, both of which are represented by John Gioia. His seat on the five-member Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is not among the three that are up for election this year. 

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly said that Pinole is in the new 11th Congressional District. It's in the new 5th District. It has been corrected.