Incumbent Michael Allen and San Rafael Councilman Marc Levine are squaring off over who will represent Assembly District 10, which includes Sonoma and Marin counties.
On Wednesday, both candidates will be in Petaluma for a debate organized by American Association of University Women and League of Women Voters of Sonoma County. The event will be held at Springfield Place, a senior living community, located at 101 S. Ely Blvd, starting 7pm.
Thirty-eight year old Marc Levine casts himself as a reformer who can fix Sacramento’s broken political culture. He has been critical of pension reforms passed by Gov. Jerry Brown, saying they didn’t do enough to reduce spending. He is also a vocal critic of cuts to education saying that it must be the last place cuts are made. He also favors legislation to reduce the influence of special interests in Sacramento and increasing transparency and accountability.
Levine is endorsed by Petaluma Councilmen Mike Healy, Mike Harris, Gabe Kearney and Chris Albertson as well as the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, North Bay Leadership Council and North Coast Builders Exchange.
Allen, who is 65 years old, has been a vocal critic of genetically modified food and pesticides and is the author of numerous “green bills” including legislation that would make it easier for farmers to convert to organic methods and a bill that pushed for a study showing that composting reduces water use and greenhouse gas emissions.
He also helped Solar Sonoma County, a group that promotes local access to renewable energy, and is an advocate for more mental health programs (one of his first jobs was a psychiatric nurse). He is endorsed by the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, Petaluma Mayor David Glass and Councilwomen Tiffany Renee and Teresa Barrett.
Wednesday’s debate starts at 7pm.
