Election season is drawing nearer, and three incumbents representing the Lamorinda area are seeking a return to their posts.
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has represented California’s District 16, including the Lamorinda area, since 2018. She is seeking another term in the State Assembly, in the running alongside Republican Joseph Rubay.
An attorney and environmental advocate, Bauer-Kahan is also an advocate for reproductive rights. She is former chair of the Committee of Water, Parks and Wildlife, and currently chairs the nation’s first Select Committee on Reproductive Health, which she also created in 2019. Bauer-Kahan has seen some of her bills concerning reproductive access and rights signed into law.
Bauer-Kahan’s legislation concerning the California FAIR Plan, the last resort for homeowners who need fire insurance, aimed to ease the process for policyholders by creating an automatic payment option. That was signed into law last year.
She is chair of the State Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, which has jurisdiction over privacy matters, security of data and more. Among her authored bills signed into law is one requiring social media platforms to show mental health warning labels to users, which goes into effect in January.
On Sept. 10, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Adam’s Law, co-authored by Bauer-Kahan. The law establishes the most nationally comprehensive digital protections for children interacting with AI chatbots.
Among her efforts toward education, Bauer-Kahan has seen the passage of legislation removing income exclusions penalizing families on the CalWORKS assistance program for a student’s scholarships or other help.
Rubay highlights three priorities in his campaign: Public safety, fiscal responsibility and parental rights in education.
Rubay supports better funding for police services, while at the same urging cuts in the state government that he says can come from cutting wasteful programs and auditing state agencies.
He also believes that California needs to become more affordable.
His third focus is getting education back to basics, and giving parents more control over what goes on in the classroom.
Mark DeSaulnier is seeking reelection for California’s 10th Congressional District this November, running against Republican Jeffrey Frese.
Previously serving as a California State Senator and Assemblymember, he represented the state’s 11th District for eight years, and has represented the 10th since 2023, after the state redrew the district boundaries. His district includes much of Contra Costa County.
DeSaulnier works on a bipartisan basis as a Ranking Member in the House Committee on Ethics, and has passed more than 60 legislative efforts since coming to Congress.
He currently sits on the Committee on Education and Workforce, where he serves as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and is also on the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.
He also serves in a handful of subcommittees for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and continues to work towards procuring federal investments for better commutes and connected, sustainable transportation systems.
DeSaulnier also participates in House Caucuses, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.
DeSaulnier’s focus also includes the homelessness crisis and work on the expansion of Bay Area housing, including affordable options, to ease long commutes. He continues to push forward with work on state gun reforms while also heeding the Second Amendment.
Bolstering and expanding the Affordable Care Act, addressing the affordability of prescription drugs and improving access to mental health care are also key areas of focus for DeSaulnier.
Jeffrey Frese sees the position as a chance to focus on what matters to Californians: affordability, high insurance costs and excessive regulation. He also favors eliminating Daylight Savings Time.
Meanwhile, Nancy Kendzierski, incumbent to the Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) governing board, is the only candidate that filed for the Trustee Area 5 seat.
AUHSD’s transition from at-large school board elections to geographic district elections, beginning with this year’s election, was a unanimous decision voted on by the school board in 2025.
“We said explicitly when we were going through this process that we very much hope that board members who are elected under this system recognize that they’re representing the entire district,” said Kendzierski, “and that we’re there to serve the students across the district.”
Incumbents Bauer-Kahan and DeSaulnier pursue another term
