SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Councilmember Angelique Ashby has announced her intent to run for State Senate in 2022.
"I've spent my career fighting for families — and I’m ready to take that fight to the capitol to represent communities across the Sacramento region in Senate District 6," Ashby said in a Twitter post.
Ashby has been a member of the Sacramento City Council since 2010 representing District 1, which encompasses North Natomas.
She said she learned a lot in her time on the city council and has worked closely over the years with the outgoing senator, Dr. Richard Pan, to be able to hit the ground running if she is elected.
"My life experience is such that I can wed what I’ve learned in my leadership roles at city hall with the partnerships that I have had with Dr. Pan and the legislature. And I believe that I will really be able to bring resources and policy to Sacramento in a way that my opponents cannot,” she said.
The senate district for which Ashby intends to run is opening up after Dr. Pan's term limit expires. It encompasses much of Sacramento County, stretching from Elk Grove to Arden-Arcade, and includes West Sacramento in Yolo County
Fellow Sacramento councilmember Eric Guerra also announced a run for the senate seat in February 2021, as did Sacramento activist Dr. Tecoy Porter. Attorney and director of the Center for Law, Energy and Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law Dave Jones has also announced his intent to run.
Dr. Pan endorsed Ashby on Wednesday. It was something Ashby said means a lot for her campaign, but means even more to her personally.
“Set aside politics. In life in general my wish for everyone is that they have someone like Dr. Pan in their life. He is sincere and genuine and earnest and smart. And I am so honored to call him a friend," she said. "But to have his endorsement, too, there are almost no words to describe how that feels. But for me, to have that kind of support is affirming. For me personally, it gives me courage and conviction.”
According to her official State Senate campaign website, Ashby was the only woman on the Sacramento council for six years and was the first to give birth while in office.
If elected, Ashby would be the first woman to serve in the State Senate from Sacramento in nearly 20 years. It is a fact that is central to her decision to run.
“It’s extremely difficult to envision yourself in these positions when no one in these seats look like you. Diversity of representation is extremely important," she said. “I want to make sure that the little girls of today enter the workforce of tomorrow receiving equal pay to their male counterparts. And that is a big part of my life’s mission and something I will be fixated on in the California State Legislature.”
She is a business owner and neighborhood activist, according to her website. Ashby is also a graduate of Sacramento High School and an alumnus of UC Davis, with a law degree from University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law.
Ashby identifies key issues she would focus on if she were elected to California State Senate. She focuses on responding to COVID-19, economic and community development, police reform, education, environment, and housing, and homelessness among other issues. She backs her commitment to these issues by detailing some of the solutions she has championed during her time on the Sacramento City Council.
"We need reliable child care, universal preschool, well-funded schools, modern libraries, internet access in every home, safe parks, and a well-trained workforce to lead our future," Ashby said in a statement on her website.
She also lists her desire to see equal wages for women and men in the workplace.
"California has always been the place where people dream big, strike gold, invent the impossible, tell the story, experience majestic beauty and make history — one courageous fight at a time," Ashby said.
