Northern California lawmaker to say farewell to the Legislature, won’t seek final term

Andrew Sheeler
·5 min read

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

WOOD WON’T SEEK FINAL TERM

Northern California is losing one of its most prominent voices in the Assembly.

Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, announced last week that he will not seek a sixth and final term next year.

Instead, the lawmaker — whose district comprises Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity and northern Sonoma County — will bow out in order to care for his mother, who is in declining health.

Wood was eligible for another two years in office before becoming term limited.

“Deciding not to run for my final term was one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in many years,” Wood said in a statement. “I can make a case to continue my work, but I believe now is the right time for me to change my focus.”

Wood, a dentist by trade, was first elected to office in 2014. Prior to that, he served on the Healdsburg City Council, including a term as mayor.

“The district is vast in geography, but smaller in population, and includes more than 300 miles of spectacular coastline. I have been an outspoken advocate for rural communities, regularly reminding my colleagues that in a state as large as California, solutions cannot be one-size-fits-all,” Wood said.

Wood’s Assembly resume includes service on the Assembly Health Committee, which he took over in 2016 and where he has served as chair ever since.

“I’ve taken on virtually every entity within the expansive health care industrial complex, and always with the end goal of improving the quality of health care and making it affordable and accessible for Californians. And although we have accomplished a lot, especially the creation of the Office of Health Care Affordability, there is still more work to be done and I plan to continue that work in 2024,” Wood said.

UNIONS ENDORSE UPCOMING BALLOT MEASURES

On Monday, a pair of powerful California unions announced their support for propositions that will appear on the ballot next year.

The Service Employees International Union California endorsed Proposition 1, the Gov. Gavin Newsom-backed ballot measure that would channel billions of dollars into moving unhoused people off the streets and into mental health or substance abuse treatment centers.

“SEIU members are on the frontlines of the homelessness crisis as mental health workers who know well that housing and healing go hand in hand. We are also librarians, hospital, and parks workers whose jobs have become a de facto extension of an overwhelmed mental health system,” said SEIU Executive Board Member David Green in a statement.

SEIU California counts 700,000 members in the state, including nurses, healthcare workers, janitors, social workers, security officers, in-home caregivers, school and university employees, court workers, airport workers, and city, county and state employees.

California voters will decide on Proposition 1 during the state’s March 5, 2024 primary election.

Also issuing an endorsement Monday was the California Federation of Teachers, representing 120,000 teachers, faculty and school employees. The CFT threw its support behind ACA 5, the November 2024 ballot measure that would amend the state Constitution by removing 2008’s Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in the state.

“Although Proposition 8 was deemed unconstitutional, its hateful language is still present in California’s Constitution. Hate has no place in California and it’s time that voters come together to demand that LGBTQ+ Californians have the same right to safety and inclusion as every other person in the state. As a proud gay man and educator, I join my union in calling for Californians to vote YES on ACA 5,” said CFT President Jeff Freitas in a statement.

CALIFORNIA ANTI-HATE HOTLINE RECORDS HUNDREDS OF HATE ACTS

The newly created California vs Hate hotline recorded more than 500 reports of acts of hate in its first six months of operation, according to a statement from the California Civil Rights Department.

That includes 233 phone reports and 280 reports made through the department’s online portal.

More than three-quarters of California’s 57 counties were represented in the data, up from 40% in the hotline’s first month of operation.

Nearly half (45%) of reported incidents were race-or ethnicity-related, according to the statement, while 13% of incidents related to religion and 11% to sexual orientation.

One in six reports was made by a witness or advocate, while the majority of reports came from individuals who said they were the target of an act of hate.

The report was timed to coincide with the launch of the sixth annual United Against Hate Week.

“During United Against Hate Week, we encourage all Californians to take advantage of existing resources — like California vs Hate — to push for change from the ground up for all our communities. Whether it’s because of conflict abroad or here at home, it takes real strength to stand in solidarity in the face of bias and discrimination,” said CRD Acting Director Mary Wheat in a statement.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I study the breakdown of democracy, and I don’t know how to say this more clearly: We are sleepwalking toward authoritarianism.”

- Political scientist Brian Klaas on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” discussing former President Donald Trump’s decision to emulate Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini by referring to his political enemies as vermin in a recent political speech and social media post.

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