Sacramento is getting its first competitive Assembly race in a decade. Here’s who is running

Sacramento voters will cast ballots this spring in an Assembly race that’s wide open for the first time in a decade.

Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty will not seek a sixth term representing the city in the Capitol, meaning the race will lack an incumbent for the first time since he won election in 2014.

Instead, McCarty is running for mayor of Sacramento, leaving a vacant Sixth District Assembly seat that has drawn at least nine candidates. The primary on March 5 will narrow the group to two finalists ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.

The field is a diverse one. At least four who have filed to run identify as members of the LGBTQ community. Seven are Democrats in a district where about 51% of voters are registered with the party, and 20% are Republicans, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Here’s who is running:

Emmanuel Amanfor

Age: 35

Neighborhood: Natomas

Profession: Administrative manager for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s community re-entry services

Previous offices held: Chair, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission. Vice chair, Sacramento Civil Service Personnel Board

Amanfor is the only Black candidate in the race. He served as a witness for a 2021 bill from Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, that would have required more diversity on state boards and commissions and would have altered the civil service system to increase opportunities for people of color and reduce discrimination.

The Legislature approved the bill, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it.

Sean Frame

Age: 55

Neighborhood: Sierra Oaks

Profession: Multimedia design specialist and union steward, Sacramento County Office of Education

Previous offices held: Trustee, Placerville Union School District Board of Trustees

Before moving to Sacramento, the election of former President Donald Trump inspired Frame to become active in El Dorado County progressive politics.

He ran for the U.S. House from the 4th Congressional District in 2020 before withdrawing from the race.

Rosanna Herber

Age: 66

Neighborhood: Curtis Park

Profession: Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) board president

Previous offices held: Elected to SMUD board in 2018, re-elected in 2022

Herber, a 20-year SMUD employee before retiring, was the first openly LGBTQ person to serve on the SMUD board of directors. Prior to that, she was chief of staff to former City Council member Kim Mueller.

Maggy Krell

Age: 45

Neighborhood: Land Park

Profession: Deputy attorney general, California Department of Justice

Krell, a prosecutor specializing in sex trafficking prevention, launched a campaign for Sacramento mayor earlier this year before dropping out to run for Assembly.

She previously served as deputy District Attorney in San Joaquin County, supervising deputy Attorney General and legal counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. She ran for Sacramento County District Attorney in 2014, losing to Anne Marie Schubert.

Carlos Marquez

Age: 39

Neighborhood: Southside Park

Profession: Small business owner, strategic planning consulting firm

Marquez is former executive director of American Civil Liberties Union California Action. He identifies as gay, and he told KCRA in July he resigned from the ACLU to run for Assembly.

Kevin Martinez

Age: 30

Neighborhood: Midtown

Profession: Union representative

Martinez, who is running as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party, is the only third party candidate in the race.

Evan Minton

Age: 42

Neighborhood: Midtown

Profession: Senior California policy manager, Voices for Progress

Previous offices held: Served as an appointee to the Sacramento County Mental Health Board and the Sacramento Fair Housing Human Rights Commission

Minton would become the first openly transgender lawmaker in California. He transitioned genders while working for the Legislature, and he was the first openly transgender person employed at the Capitol.

Minton successfully sued Dignity Health with help from the ACLU Foundation of Northern California after a Carmichael hospital canceled his hysterectomy.

Preston Romero

Age: 32

Neighborhood: Watt Corridor of Arden Arcade

Profession: Policy analyst, California State Senate

Previous offices held: Commissioner, Sacramento County Adult and Aging Commission

Romero is the only Republican in the race. He is president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Sacramento, an organization that promotes LGBTQ interests within the GOP.

Paula Villescaz

Age: 34

Neighborhood: Arden Arcade

Profession: Associate director of member engagement, County Welfare Directors Association of California

Previous offices held: Board member, San Juan Unified School District Board of Education

Villescaz is a former assistant secretary for California’s Health and Human Services Agency. In 2022, she ran to represent the Sixth District in the state Senate, losing to Republican Roger Niello.