photo credit: Ballotpedia
Eli Beckman, Jackie Elward, Eric Lucan

Continuing our ongoing coverage for the June second primary election, we’re bringing you interviews with the candidates on your local ballot for the race for California’s 12th Assembly District.

The first three candidates on the ballot are Eli Beckman, a councilmember and business owner from Corte Madera, Jackie Elward, a Rohnert Park councilwoman and educator and Eric Lucan, a Marin County supervisor from Novato.

This is part one of a two-part feature with the six candidates running for the Assembly District 12 seat. 

They all spoke with KRCB’s Shandra Back.

KRCB: When asked why he's running for the district 12 seat in the California Assembly, Eli Beckman points to housing, cost of living, climate adaptation, and his experience in local government.

BECKMAN:  I'm the founder and CEO of a firm that builds prefab small homes. So I don't just talk about housing, I build it. 

KRCB: He says the cost of living crisis has shaped his own life. 

BECKMAN: I was working as a full-time professional and living with my parents because there was nowhere I could afford to live out of college. I ended up living with my parents until I was 31 years old.

 KRCB: Beckman also describes his work in Corte Madera on finances, infrastructure, housing, and long-term climate planning. 

BECKMAN: We've taken Corte Madera from near bankrupt to AAA credit rating. We've delivered $100 million in new infrastructure for our residents over the last eight years. We have turned a classically nimby community into a real leader on housing. 

KRCB: He says he's running now because he believes the state needs a different approach.

BECKMAN: There's just this overwhelming sense that something is not working in California. It is getting harder and harder to do anything in our state. If we keep electing the same kinds of politicians, we are going to keep getting the same result. 

KRCB: Beckman also highlights what he sees as a key distinction in the race, which is his legislative experience through the League of California Cities.

BECKMAN: I'm the only candidate in this race who understands how the legislative process works, who has a history of working with my future colleagues to directly shape the legislation that affects our families and our communities most. And I'm the only candidate in this race who will enter office already having the experience and built the relationships and the trust with my future colleagues that you need to be able to deliver and start being effective for our communities on day one. 

KRCB: He says his identity will bring new life to the seat.

BECKMAN: I'm proud to be Corte Madera's first openly LGBT mayor and I will be this district's first openly LGBT assembly member. 

KRCB: Next on the ballot is Democrat Jackie Elward, a Rohnert Park councilwoman, educator and mom of three. 

ELWARD: I am an immigrant. I immigrated to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo and learned English after arriving here. 

KRCB: She says her work in local office has focused on housing, mental health response, and clean energy efforts.

ELWARD: I've spent my career focused on expanding opportunities for working families and in the local office I've worked on housing, mental health response, and clean energy including helping move our city to 100 percent renewable power through Sonoma Clean Power. 

KRCB: Elward says that she's running because of what she's seen in her own life and community.

ELWARD: Seeing first hand what happens when people are left out of the system. Like I said, I am the only immigrant running in this race and I bring a lived experience that no other candidate brings.

KRCB:  She says parenting has also shaped her priorities. 

ELWARD: As a mom, I've watched my own children grow up here including supporting my son through being severely bullied and it shapes how I think about safety, schools, and community.

KRCB: Elward says she wants to bring her approach to the state level. 

ELWARD: We can't actually solve hard problems when we focus on people and outcomes. Why not take that work to the state level especially at a time when we need stronger leadership on housing, climate, and protecting our community. 

KRCB: Elward has strong support from labor unions.

ELWARD: People may try to label me as an activist, but my record shows I am someone who delivers results. In Rohnert Park, we didn't just pass a resolution, we built housing, expanded services, and made measurable progress on homelessness.

KRCB:  The third candidate on the ballot is another Democrat, Eric Lucan, a Marin County supervisor who grew up in Nevada. 

LUCAN: My parents were always engaged in the community and they always voted, they always gave back and that inspired me to start giving back from a pretty young age.

KRCB: He began coaching youth soccer in high school and later served on Novato’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Lucan now serves as president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. 

LUCAN: Little did I know that serving on our Parks Commission in 2007 in Novato would lead to the Novato City Council where I spent 11 years on the City Council three times as mayor, the Marin County Board of Supervisors in 2022 where I currently serve as the president of the Marin County Board of supervisors, and now running for the state assembly.

KRCB: He says he's also spent nearly two decades in business and marketing. 

Asked why he's running, Lucan says …

LUCAN: Cost of living and affordability is number one. Every door I knock on, every person I I connect with, I hear that time and time again. 

In this area, we face fires, floods, sea level rise, drought, sometimes all four in the same year. And we really know how vulnerable our infrastructure is.

99 percent of business businesses in California are small businesses, but it's not always easy to be a small business owner here in California. And these small businesses, they're the economic backbone of our cities and towns. 

KRCB: Lucan also highlights regional work on major transportation and rail projects.

LUCAN: The widening of the Marin Sonoma narrows, which after 20 years, I've worked on for 15 years and secured by leveraging our local dollars to make that project happen. And then I've also been on the SMART board of directors since 2011. 

KRCB: He says he wants to continue supporting housing, services for unhoused residents and immigrant communities. 

LUCAN: Ensuring that as local elected leaders, we have the back of our entire community, all members, and we're going to continue to fight for them.

All registered Sonoma County voters should have received their ballot in the mail and can drop off their completed ballot at one of Sonoma County's 23 official drop boxes through June 2nd.