Mary England, the president and CEO of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce and longtime member of the Lemon Grove City Council, confirmed today for the FlashReport that she is running for the open 79th State Assembly District seat.  England is the first Republican to enter the race.

“As a city councilmember and a small business owner, I have grown increasingly frustrated with the fiscal mismanagement and political game-playing in our state capitol,” England said.  “The politicians in Sacramento continue to increase the tax and regulatory burdens on California businesses, seemingly unconcerned about the harm it does to our state’s employment rate.”

Recently reconfigured during the redistricting process, AD 79 includes the cities/communities of La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and some of Spring Valley, as well as portions of the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista, including Bonita and Otay.  Party registration in the district is about 43 percent Democratic and 29 percent Republican, with just under 23 percent decline-to-state. Assemblyman Marty Block (D), who lives in the area, is running for Senate, making this year’s open seat race a potential barn-burner.

Democrats already announced for the seat include Chula Vista Councilmember Rudy Ramirez, Sid Voorakkara, on leave from The California Endowment, Pat Washington, a member of the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission, and former San Diego Unified school board trustee Shirley Weber.  La Mesa Councilmember Dave Allan announced as an independent in November of last year, but subsequently had a change of heart.

England also provided a formal statement:

“I believe that our state urgently needs leaders with real world experience and the strength to make the tough decisions necessary to restore the luster of our Golden State.  After much consideration, I have decided to step up and join the reform effort by entering the race for the 79th State Assembly District.

“My priorities will be to encourage private sector job growth, balance the state budget without raising taxes and reform of the state’s public pension system.  Fixing California so that it works again for all citizens is a daunting task.  But it’s a challenge that I am prepared to meet.

“My experiences as a businesswoman, as a member of the Lemon Grove City Council and my role as a chamber of commerce executive have given me valuable perspective on what we need for a healthy, vibrant economy.

“I will formally announce my candidacy for Assembly in a few weeks, but I am working already to build a successful campaign to bring common sense and real world experience to our state capitol.

“I hope you will join me in that fight.”

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This also appears at SD Rostra.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 10:43 am and is filed under Blog Posts.