Endorsement: Aguiar-Curry for State Assembly

Unincorporated Sonoma Valley is about to get a new 4th District state Assembly representative, as incumbent Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has his sights set on the state Senate seat of Lois Wolk, who’s being termed out.

The top two vote getters from the Assembly primary in June, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Charles Schaupp, emerged from a field of five to face off for the privilege of representing not only unincorporated Sonoma Valley, but also all or parts of Napa, Lake, Yolo, Solano and Calusa counties, which collectively compose the 4th District.

Both Curry and Schaupp are from dusty ag lands of Yolo County. While Yolo and Sonoma certainly share plenty of cross-district concerns, such as housing and transportation, there are still clear differences in identity – Yolo, nor any of the other regions in the district, have anywhere near the wine industry and tourism economies of our corner of the 4th. It’s a North Bay vs. Delta difference.

City of Winters Mayor Cecilia Aguiar-Curry is running for Assembly to “get things done.” And, by that, she means “protect our natural resources, water and open space, support agriculture, provide good jobs.” Aguiar-Curry, who with her brothers runs an 80-acre walnut farm, puts job creation, agricultural conservation and education at the top of her priorities list.

In a statement from her campaign, she says she will, “protect our natural resources, water and open space; support agriculture; provide good jobs; and give our kids the tools they need to get ahead in a competitive world.”

She also told us recently that places like Winters and the Sonoma Valley share many similar concerns – affordable housing, traffic and the need to protect open space.

A retired Marine Corps lieutenant, Charles Schaupp hails from five generations of agriculture families and is running on a platform of fewer regulations for farms and more tax breaks for new businesses. His slogan is “Let’s Make California ‘Golden’ Again,” a nod to the Donald Trump campaign which, given recent headlines, perhaps is no longer such a good idea.

Schaupp, 61, was the lone Republican in the June primary and managed to snare enough conservative support to emerge with the overall highest percentage of votes (29.1 percent) when his four opponents split their support among Democrats. (Aguiar-Curry was second with about 28 percent.) A similar result occurred when Schaupp ran in 2014, eventually losing to Dodd by 23 percent in the general election.

Frankly, that’s a likely scenario once again in the 4th District, which registers 45 percent Democrat and only 26 percent Republican.

And, ultimately, that would be for the best in the 4th District, especially where Sonoma Valley is concerned. Despite Schaupp’s good intentions, deregulation of the farming industry is not among the region’s most pressing concerns.

Aguiar-Curry’s emphasis on education, she says, is really about tackling income inquality through job training and career readiness; she’s currently pushing for district-wide broadband access so people of all ages can utilize 21st century technology and information systems.

She also stresses the need to protect agriculture and public lands – she’s against the state’s Delta tunnels project – and says a drought-tolerant water supply can be achieved through conservation and recycling.

If Aguiar-Curry goes on to win the seat, we hope she doesn’t rely too heavily on the concept that Sonoma Valley is similar to the rest of the Delta-heavy district. We’re very much part of a different region of the Bay Area, and Aguiar-Curry should take the time to learn about and enjoy the unique qualities of the Valley, its people, its concerns and what it expects in its representation in the state Legislature.

We recommend Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for the 4th District State Assembly.

– Jason Walsh, editor

– John Burns, publisher