With the November 5 General Election just a few weeks away, KSBY News reporter Juliet Lemar met up with the two candidates running to represent State Senate District 21.
"I'm very proud of the fact that, you know, I led and authored the law to create more pay transparency — the only elected official in the country to be able to move policy forward that helps workers," said candidate Monique Limón.
Limón, a Democrat, has served in the state legislature for the past 8 years and says 80% of her authored bills were bipartisan. She says her top concerns are the environment, the economy, schools, and healthcare.
"Being able to work with our medical community to provide assistance and greater access to resources for families has been very significant, and I've been proud of that work that I've done. Additionally, in the legislature, I've done work to reduce the cost of cancer medication," Limón said.
At 19 years old, Republican Elijah Mack is the youngest candidate running for the Senate in California.
"I'd like to see an environment in which our legislators work towards the ideal goal of crafting an environment in which our economies, our culture, our environment, they can survive and thrive organically with less dependence on or corruption by a bloated, overbearing government and private interests," Mack said.
He has experience as an activist and is running a grassroots campaign focused on what he calls truly free markets, lifestyle liberty for all, wild nature, and strong inter-dependent communities.
"I will ultimately want to fix how our system produces goods, how our communities operate, and how we interact with our natural world. So, like I said, I'm an advocate for nuclear energy, introducing more regenerative agriculture, forming more localized circular economies, and preserving our wilderness," Mack said.
District 21 includes all of Santa Barbara County, part of southern San Luis Obispo County, and 60% of Ventura County.
