As the general election draws near, people are closely studying the candidates and their intentions.
Democrat Dawn Addis is running against Republican Vicki Nohrden for election to the California State Assembly’s District 30.
"It's where our family is and it's really where our home is, so it's really important to me to represent the people of the Central Coast," said Dawn Addis, Assembly District 30 candidate.
Addis raised her children on the Central Coast. They attended the local schools where Addis taught for more than a decade and served as an educational program developer for more than two decades.
"So it's important to me to bring the voice of the people to Sacramento to get the resources that this community needs," Addis said.
Some of her top priorities include housing, healthcare and education.
"We do face true struggles with housing being a coastal district with climate, with jobs and the economy, and making sure people can afford to be here," Addis said.
She plans to address the lack of affordable housing on the Central Coast.
"The Central Coast truly is expensive enough so one of my priorities is to make sure that we pair economic development with housing and a focus on our environment and climate," Addis said.
Vicki Nohrden has lived in Monterey County for almost 40 years but also has close ties to the San Luis Obispo area.
"We bought a timeshare when we came down to visit San Luis Obispo 20 years ago, my husband and I," Nohrden said.
One of Nohrden's top priorities is to get education back on track post-pandemic.
"With the COVID and the kids not being able to be in school and getting behind on math and getting behind on reading, I think the parents are very concerned moving forward for the two years that were lost," Nohrden said.
She also plans to improve the energy infrastructure on the Central Coast.
"Energy prices are some of the highest in the nation so moving forward we need to have our energy infrastructure in place before we start closing things down," Nohrden said.
Improving water storage throughout the state is another one of Nohrden's goals.
"We have to talk about affordable housing, we have to talk about water, we have to talk about energy, we have to talk about roads and when you talk to your government officials at the city and county levels, those are things that I will be working closely with them on," Nohrden said.
District 30 includes most of San Luis Obispo County, excluding Nipomo, and stretches north along the coastline to Santa Cruz.
The General Election will be held on November 8.
