WTF is the Democratic County Central Committee? (And Who Do I Vote For?!)
On March 3, 2020, every registered Democrat in California gets to vote for the members of this important committee. But first, WTF is it?
Mayor Jeffrey Prang has a great answer in Patch.com:
“Every two years on your Primary Election, registered Republican and Democratic party voters (other parties too) see an office on their ballot so obscure and so little understood, almost no one can remember ever having seen it on their ballot or having voted for it previously, despite the fact that it has always been there. That office is called “County Central Committee.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have a “County Central Committee,” and the Green Party has a County Council. These Committees operate as the governing body for the party in the county. They are responsible for making endorsements of candidates and ballot measures and for conducting voter education and registration. The political party committees also coordinate grassroots campaign efforts, including phone banking, precinct walking, and the operation of campaign headquarters. The position does not provide compensation, and the Central Committees generally meet monthly and discuss the important political issues of the day.”
Or as CADEM puts it, “Your County Committee is the gateway to getting involved!”
I’ve provided a list below of all the Democratic candidates, organized by Assembly or Supervisor District.
When you click on the District’s number, it takes you to VotersEdge.com, where you can see everyone’s photos and a brief bio. Also, VoxPublica has a list of “Berniecrat” candidates here.
Unlike my other article (“How to Vote in California’s March 3 Primary & Save Our Democracy!”) this one does not include any recommendations. (Ok maybe just a few, because I happen to know them personally. But otherwise, I recommend that you use their bios to help you decide how to vote.)
Pay close attention to the number of candidates you’re allowed to vote for. The number can range anywhere from 4 to 14, depending on your district.
But first, confirm that you’re registered, what district you’re in, and where/how to vote: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 15 (vote for no more than 8)
Elizabeth Echols / Julie M. Waters / Kathy Neal / Ces Rosales / George Perezvelez / Andy Kelley / Wendy Bloom / James Chang / Nick Pilch / Julie Caskey / Bonnie Wheatley / Dianne Martinez / Soli Alpert / Michael Barnett / Paola Laverde / Barbara “Bobbi” López / Igor A. Tregub / Alfred Twu
Assembly District 16 (vote for no more than 4)
Cheryl Cook-Kallio / Jeffrey Nibert / Roberta Kreitz / Brittni Kiick / Jacqueline Tarin-Rankl / Jody Tomic
Assembly District 17 (vote for no more than 14)
Steven Buss / Austin Hunter / Shanell Williams / Mick Del Rosario / Tami Bryant / Honey Mahogany / Carole Migden / Nima Rahimi / Shamann Walton / Mike Chen / Rafael Mandelman / Victor Olivieri / Tyra Fennell / David Villa-lobos / Kristen Asato-Webb / Rick Hauptman / Bevan Dufty / William “Anubis” Daugherty / Shaun Haines / Sophenia Maxwell / Nancy Tung / Vallie Brown / Gloria Berry / Bivett Brackett / Hillary Ronen / Nomvula O’Meara / Jane Kim / Frances Hsieh / John Avalos / David Campos / Peter Gallotta / Anabell Ibáñez / Kevin Ortiz / Matt Haney / Christopher Christensen
Assembly District 18 (vote for no more than 11)
Tonya D. Love / Guillermo Elenes / Victor Aguilar, Jr. / Robin Torello / L. D. Louis / Corina N. Lopez / Pamela A. Drake / Victoria Fierce / Brendalynn R. Goodall / Brandon Baranco / Diana Prola / Benny Lee / Malia Vella / Stewart G. Chen / Kenneth Maxey / Linda Perry / Abel Guillén / Ellen M. Corbett / Jim Oddie / Victor Aguilar / Andrea Luna Bocanegra / Howard Egerman / Henry Gage III / Iris Merriouns / Jose Carlos Moreno / Pamela Price / Royl Roberts / Austin Tam / Marchon Tatmon
Assembly District 20 (vote for no more than 7)
Terry Sandoval / John R. Smith / Elisa Marquez / James Paul Farley, Jr. / Lance Kwan / Deneen Ogbeide / Sybil Smith / Mark Williams / Vinnie Bacon / Austin Michael Bruckner / Frank Burton / Vanessa Sadsad / Melissa Shuen-Mallory / Barisha Spriggs / Cullen Tiernan
Assembly District 24 (vote for no more than 6)
Emily Thurber / Mariam Ghazvini / Bill James / Prameela Bartholomeusz / Joe Simitian / Peter Y. Chiu / Alyson L. Abramowitz / Gilbert Wong / Cari Templeton / Margaret Okuzumi / Johannes Muenzel / Emily Ann Ramos / Stephen Chessin
Assembly District 25 (vote for no more than 6)
Michael Vargas / David Cohen / David Donaldson / Christopher R. Stampolis / Deepka Lalwani / Anthony Phan / Dianna Zamora-Marroquin / Clarence Madrilejos / Tim Orozco / Martha Kreeger / Alex Lee / Michelle Hua
Assembly District 27 (vote for no more than 6)
Frank Ponciano Reyes / Diego Alfredo Martinez / Allie Hughes / Emilie G. Gatfield / Claudia Shope / Andres Quintero / Jean Cohen / Richard L. Wong / Maya Esparza / Roxanne / Carol Garvey / Gina Marie Gates / Peter Ortiz / Omar Torres
Assembly District 28 (vote for no more than 6)
Justin Lardinois / Michael Melillo / Pamela Schure / David Bini / Heidi Owens / Angelica Ramos / Helen Chapman / James Kim / Shay Franco-Clausen / Herb Engstrom / Pierluigi Oliverio / Patrick Ahrens / Adrienne Grey / Jessica Matthew / Jesse Hoefer / Ruben Navarro / Ava Chaio / Olivia Navarro
Assembly District 33 (vote for no more than 6)
Barbara James Dew / Valentin Godina, Sr. / Lizet Angulo / Mike Curran / Roger La Plante / Blanca A. Gomez / Doug N. Olson / Elise M. Brown / Lionel M. Dew / Denise Wells / Leslie Irving / Kareema Abdul-Khabir / Sean Swoboda
Assembly District 36 (vote for no more than 7)
Bob Forshay / Andy Giest / Suzann L. Reina / Arthur James Calloway / Isaac Lieberman, RN / Margaret Finnstron / Wade Alexander / Ruth Sanchez / Jerry Vlach / Gina Whipple
Assembly District 38 (vote for no more than 7)
Marily Grunwald / A. Lysa Simon / Jim Hilfenhaus / Stacy L. Fortner / Kyle McCormick / Michael R. Kulka / Seymour Amster / Michelle H. Elmer / Logan Smith / Veronica De Lara / Steve Boyd / Patty Sulpizio / Lynne Plambeck
Assembly District 39 (vote for no more than 7)
Chris Anderson / Rosemary Jenkins / Joana Reyes / Andres Sandoval / Sean Michael Rivas / Noel Barajas / Christine Jerian / Juan Solorio, Jr. / Robert C. Gonzales / Imelda Padilla / Amy Sue Fall / Angélica María Dueñas / Robyn Michelle Sumners / Rohana Barden / Sheri Lynn Treanor
Assembly District 41 (vote for no more than 7)
Victor Castellano / Karen M. Wingard / Kathy Patterson / Kevin Cordova-Brookey / Vickere Lee Blackwell Murphy / Karen K. Suarez / Mitchell Tsai / Velma J. Butler / Joseph Salas / Debi A. Evans / John C. Harabedian / Patrice S. Marshall McKenzie / Jonathan C. Horton / Erik Nakano / Kenneth Adam Armstrong / Mindy Pfeiffer / Jordan Vannini / Steven Gibson / Todd J. Jones / Jacinta Lincke / Sean Abajian / Suzie Abajian
Assembly District 42 (vote for no more than 6)
Judy Rice / Nancy Sappington / Patrick Weiss / Lanny Swerdlow / Doris Foreman / Nancy C. Gall / Mary Ann Andreas / Joseph Brinson / Vanessa Castro Scott / Kelly Graziano / Francisco A. Ramos
Assembly District 43 (vote for no more than 7)
Shanna Ingalsbee / Steven J. Fisher / Ana Guerrero / Juliet Minassian / Renee Nahum / Paul Neuman / Laurie Collins / Malcolm P. Johnson / Kathy Kensinger/ Luke H. Klipp / Elen Asatryan / Susan Mastrodemos / Jennifer Chang / Angel Izard / Nicholas James Billings / Summer Block Lizer / Ingrid Gunnell* / Linda Perez*
*I know Ingrid and Linda and highly recommend them both!
Assembly District 45 (vote for no more than 7)
Richard M. Mathews / Leah K. Herzberg / Cecile S. Bendavid / Jeff Daar / Elizabeth Badger / Raymond J. Bishop / Marcos De Jesus Sanchez / Scott Abrams / Noah Sachartoff / Betty Doumas-Toto / Jason C Small / Michelle R Verne / Yessica Marissa Manabe / Christine Marie Shimizu / Rebecca L Wolfersburger / Christopher R Manabe
Assembly District 46 (vote for no more than 7)
Paul Kujawsky / Dan Lopez / Jerilyn V. Stapleton / Joyce M. Rubin / Carolyn M. Hoff / Jaye “Bonnie” Shatun / Alton F. Reed / David Alan Hyman / Jose Sandoval / John Bryan Alford / Brandon (Don E. Ford) Nelson
Assembly District 48 (vote for no more than 7)
Jorge A. Marquez / Denaee Alexa Amaya / Florencio Briones / Jazmin M. Lopez / Ashley Victoria Lopez / Rosa Beatriz Hernandez / Alma Nunez / Veronica Marquez / Hector Delgado / Cesar Andres Garcia / Gene Hurd / Denis Recendez
Assembly District 49 (vote for no more than 7)
Adele Frances Andrade-Stadler / John Kraft / Jeff Schwartz / Rosemary Riedy / Thomas Wong / Marcella Cortez / Alton Wang / Melissa Michelson / Alysse Stepanian / Roshan Akula / Paul Cole Padilla / Philip Mantione / Sasha Renée Pérez
Assembly District 50 (vote for no more than 7)
Steve Bott / Mark R. Edwards / Ilissa B. Gold / Murtaza Mogri / Paul Koretz / Jeff Ebenstein / Nick Greif / Rachel Pearl Bracker / Susan D. Sheu / Deana Igelsrud / Eddie Mendoza / Mike Soloff / Alison R. Stern-Simrad / Dorothy Reik
Assembly District 51 (vote for no more than 7)
Mary Rose Ortega / Theresa Montaño / Nilza Serrano / Francisco “Franky” Carrillo / Michael Lee / Jessica Craven* / M. (Mia) Livas Porter* / Justin Bregman / Vicky A. Martinez* / Koreen A. Cea / Frances Torres / Luis Lopez / Adrian Vazquez / Karen Linares / Andie Lopez / Seamus M. Garrity / Christopher B. Arellano / Ron Birnbaum / Jeanine Rohn / Jonathan Klein / Cliff Olin / Belinda Luck / Tina-Desiree Berg / Rocío Rivas*
*I know Jessica, Mia, Vicky, and Rocío and highly recommend them all!
Assembly District 52 (vote for no more than 7)
John Mendoza / Debra M. Martin / Frank Carlos Guzman / Arturo Jimenez / Ronald Gonzales-Lawrence / Jacqueline Lissette Escobar / Denise Marquez / Robert Torres / Marisol “Sol” Guerra / Erik M. Sanchez
Assembly District 53 (vote for no more than 7)
Peter J. Rudinskas / Luis Antonio Melchor / Ben Seinfeld / Marco Flores / Samuel Sukaton / Jonathan Underland / Rafael C. Chagoya / Linda F. McShan / Lara Morrison / Jasmyne A. Cannick / Karina Macias / Godfrey Santos Plata / Veronica Casarez / Jackie Kim / Erick Jesus Martell / Leslie R. Shim / Dulce Vasquez / Barbara Steelman / Rafael F. Nadal / Connor Rohan
Assembly District 54 (vote for no more than 7)
Jimmie Woods-Gray / Robert Leahy / Rosa M. Russell / Jacquelynn “Jackie” Hawthorne / Lindsay G. Carlson / Mary Grace A. Barrios / Connye L. Thomas / Hannah Cho / Jeanna Harris / Ronnie Jayne Solomon / Khin Khin Gyi / Sara Roos*
*I know Sara and highly recommend her!
Assembly District 57 (vote for no more than 7)
Ronald Lozano / Jaime López / Oscar Valladares / Steven K. Alari / Elena Lopez Bocca / Rosaelva Lomeli / Gary Mendez / Ruben D. Hoyos / Marta Samano / Henry Huerta / Zenaida Huerta / Roberto Alvarez / Cynthia Talmich / Stephanie Terrazas
Assembly District 58 (vote for no more than 7)
Johncito Peraza-Romero / Delta Elaine Duvali / Edgar Omar Estrada Santos / Evelyn Merie Nuño / Luis E. Melliz / Maurina M. Cintron / Tammy E. Ashton / Mercedes Nieves / Arturo Chacon / Barbara Contreras Rapisarda / Juan Manuel Martinez / Frine Medrano
Assembly District 59 (vote for no more than 7)
Bobbie Jean Anderson / Sharon Ann Rogers / Miguel Martinez / Arturo Flores / Wendy Ruiz / Delia Acedo / Kennia Lizet Nava Escareno / Julio Esperias
Assembly District 62 (vote for no more than 7)
Patricia “Patt” Sanders / Jessica Vazquez / Paulette C. Francis / Aba Ngissah / Gloria D. Gray / Michele Sutter / Cara Robin / Damien Petty / Kirsten Magnuson / Carolyn Fowler
Assembly District 63 (vote for no more than 7)
Andres Ramos / Franbert Calderon / Mary Louise Zavala / Jose Luis Solache / Antonio Chapa / Maria Estrada / Linda Bassett / Elizabeth Castillo
Assembly District 64 (vote for no more than 7)
Jasper Jackson / Irene Huerta / Rashina Young / Wilma Maria Wilson / Brandi S. Willams Murdock / Barbara Jean Calhoun / James Hays / Jim Dear / Janice Schaeffer / Monette “Maria” Gavino / Jawane Hilton / Vera Robles Dewitt / Barbara Jean Evans / Charles Davis / Jesus-Alex G. Cainglet / Daniel Lomeli Valdez / Joseph Luis Piñon / Julian D. Burger
Assembly District 65 (vote for no more than 6)
Ada Briceno / Eric Barlow / Bruce W. Johnson / Patricia Tutor / John Vassiliades / Mirvette Judeh / Arnel Dino / Andy J. Lewandowski / Mike Rodriguez / Ed Lopez / Jose Paolo Magcalas / Marisol Ramirez / Jose Trinidad (“Trini”) Castaneda
Assembly District 66 (vote for no more than 7)
Connie Sullivan / Stacey Spagon Golden / Nichelle M. Henderson / Ray L. Waters / Richard Thomas Vaughn / Bobbi Buescher / Paul Seo / Margie Hoyt / Angelica Scherp / Chris Johnson
Assembly District 68 (vote for no more than 6)
Tina Arias Miller / David R. Sonneborn / Tammy Kim / Naz Hamid / Meredith Marquis / Monica Barranco-Leon / Joe McLaughlin / Ken Wyant / Florence Orea Hoffman / Bridget R. McConaughy / Melissa Fox / Bill Honigman / Beatriz “Betty” Valencia / Laura Villa / Nathaniel Fernandez Epstein / Mani Kang / Ted Perle / Eugene W. Fields
Assembly District 69 (vote for no more than 6)
Veronica Chavez / Ariana Arestegui / Janelle M. Welker / Luis Aleman / Giovanni Chavez / Thai Viet Phan / Avelino Valenica, III / Jessie Lopez / Martin Lopez / Isuri S. Ramos / Manny Escamilla / Jose F. Moreno / Juan Gabriel Alvarez
Assembly District 70 (vote for no more than 7)
Tony Reyes Uranga / Chris M. Wilson / Maria D. Norvell / Shannon Ross / Janet D. Foster / Jacob Lee Haik / Pat Stanyo / Uduak-Joe Ntuk / Joan V. Greenwood / April Marie O’Connor / David Seth Lewis Rosen / Cory Wayne Allen / Christopher P. Robson / Christopher J. Duvali / Carrie T. Scoville / Anne Sullivan / Andrew Swetland / Abigail Mejia / Naida C. Tushnet
Assembly District 72 (vote for no more than 6)
Mark Anthony Paredes / Michelle Misha Houser / Libby Frolichman / Kathia Canlas / Louise Larsen / Mary Tromp / Sergio Escobar / Karen Hinks / Victor Valladares / Oscar D. Rodriguez / Shayna Lathus / Jaci Iannello
Assembly District 73 (vote for no more than 6)
Denise Penn / Deborah Cunningham-Skurnik / Jenna Beck / Anne Cameron / Anita Narayana / Danna Lewis / Lara Horgan / Emma Jenson / Lulu Hammad / Sudi Farokhnia / Alan Fenning
Assembly District 74 (vote for no more than 6)
Jane Stoever / Bethany Webb / Janice I. Burstin / Andrew Gallagher / Jill Nelke / Lauren Johnson-Norris / Boris Gresely / Jonathan Adler / Becky Visconti / Kalvin Alvarez / Aarti Kaushal / Anne Mohr / Marleen Gillespie / Dean Inada / Samila Amanyraoufpoor / Iyad Afalqa / Mary Carter
Assembly District 75 (vote for no more than 6)
Gary Bland / Tiffany E. Boyd-Hodgson / Armando J. Telles / Vanessa Valenzuela / Robert “Bob” J. Hamilton / Pam Bland / George Van Hasselt / Wayne Lu / Antonio R. Robles / Michael F. Summers / Nicolle Leeds / Valentine Richard Macedo / Theresa Terry Corrales / Gloria R. Conejo / Heather Roberts / Georgine Tomasi / Gibhran Jimenez
Assembly District 76 (vote for no more than 6)
Valentine Macedo, Jr. / Kyle Bright / Robert “Rob” Howard / Sheri Sachs / Linda Sue Slater / Kyle Krahel / Luke Tesluk / Bill Fowler / Michael Bullock / Esther C. Sanchez / Daniel R.F. O’Donnell / Cecily “Cess” Resnick / Kevin Sabellico / Francine Busby / Marie “Maria” McEneany / Meg Ley / Sarah Spinks / Dinah Poellnitz / Marguerite (Marge) Kealey
Assembly District 77 (vote for no more than 6)
Jason M. Bercovitch / Torrey Powers / Terry Norwood / Danny Jackson / Esther “Sunny” Escovedo / Lori Saldaña / Zubair Ahmad / Lauren Bier / Ryan Trabuco / Indroneal Banerjee / Octavio Aguilar / Ria Otero / Melinda K. Vásquez
Assembly District 78 (vote for no more than 6)
Bryan Pease / Codi Vierra / Wendy Levy Batterson / Becca Taylor / Cynara Kidwell / Pratima Gupta / Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi / Chyann-Marie Cox / Gretchen Newsom / Rick Bates / Bernadette M. Butkiewicz / Oren Robinson / Ramón Espinal / Zach Bunshaft / Will Rodriguez-Kennedy / Jonathan “Cody” Petterson / Kevin Lourens / Huy “Jean-Huy” Tran / Loxie Gant / Sarah K Davis
Assembly District 79 (vote for no more than 6)
Taisha Brown / Eduardo Reyes / Brandon Coopersmith / Miriam Kanter Plotkin / Angela Joseph / Andrea Beth Damsky / Danny Ortiz / Samantha Jenkins / Jehoan Jovanny Espinoza / Nidia Castañeda / Steve Padilla / Donnetta E. Moore / Jesus Cardenas / Connor P. Nesseler / Kathryn Meyer / David Myers / Shane Parmely / Temika M. Cook / Evlyn Andrade / Max Cotterill / Dan Shook Castillo
Assembly District 80 (vote for no more than 6)
Delfina Gonzalez / Eddie Padilla / Sara S. Kent / Gretel Rodríguez / Victoria A. Barba / Brenda Aguirre Arnold / Andrea Cardenas / Jose G. Sanchez / Steve Castaneda / Christopher Gris / Genoveva Aguilar / Travis Knowles / Roberto C. Alcantar / Jóse F. Cerda / Todd Voorhees / Jonathan “Johnny” Swanson / Cathie Hyatt / David Alvarez / Nathan Fletcher / Vivian Moreno / Christopher A. Vallejo / Judith Nuñez / Kelvin H. Barrios / Christina Griffin-Jones / Kate Bishop / Angelica “Angel” Godinez / Rafael A. Perez / Rickie Brown
If you do not see your Assembly District listed above, it’s possible that your committee members are chosen by Supervisor District instead.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 1 (vote for no more than 5)
Gabriel Quinto / Genoveva Calloway / Maria Alegria / Mister Phillips / Champagne Brown / Michael Nye / Uche Justin Uwahemu / Y’Anad Burrell / Cesar Zepeda
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 2 (vote for no more than 6)
Katie Ricklefs / Renée Zeimer / Diddo Ruth Clark / Brodie Hilp / Connor O’Neill / Susan H. Hildreth / Sarah G. Butler / Eric Fackrell
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 3 (vote for no more than 4)
Raymond Dapo Odunlami / Debra Vinson / Thuy Daojensen / Warren Lutz / Nichole Gardner / Tony Tiscareno
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 4 (vote for no more than 5)
Ed Birsan / Ena Silva / Rebecca Jeanne Yamada Auerbach / Kenji Auerbach Yamada / Sue Hamill / Victor R. Ortiz / Melanie Seton Smith / Charles F. Carpenter
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 5 (vote for no more than 4)
Courtney Masella-O’Brien / Nadine Grace Peyrucain / Anamarie Avila Farias / John Stevens / Ryan H. Apperson / Richard “Rich” Verrilli
FRESNO COUNTY
SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 1 (vote for no more than 4)
Simone Cranston-Rhodes / Janet Miller / Espiridion “Espi” Sandoval / Dorothy “Dottie” Smith / Jose Ornelas / Emily Brandt / David Paredes / S. Adrian Rivera / Stacy Williams
Just FYI, this list of supervisor districts is incomplete. I will be updating it as soon as possible. Please bear with me.
HOW/WHEN/WHERE DO WE VOTE?
Everyone in California must vote by March 3, 2020.
People who vote-by-mail received their ballots on Feb. 3 and (if you live in Los Angeles), we have new vote centers which are open from Feb. 22 — March 3.
You can check your voter status here: https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.
You can register to vote here: https://registertovote.ca.gov
You can find your polling place here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place/
You can find your nearest L.A. vote center here: LAVote.net/locator.
Just to be clear, if you live in L.A., this means you‘ll probably no longer be voting at your traditional polling place. But the advantage is that you can now pick any voting center you want. It can be the one closest to your work, or your kid’s school, or wherever is most convenient.
You can find your L.A. precincts here: https://lavote.net/apps/precinctsmaps
Sources for This Article
Just to be clear, citing the above people and publications does not mean that we are affiliated. Also, this article is not a complete list of all the candidates I support, nor do I work for any of their campaigns. I am just a particularly passionate supporter, and lifelong Democrat.
If you’re looking for recommendations on how to vote on the rest of your ballot, please read my article: “How to Vote in California’s March 3 Primary & Save Our Democracy!”
If you’d like help finding candidates in other states besides California, please read my article: “How the Hell Do We Save Our Democracy?”
I hope you find my recommendations helpful when it comes to choosing your own candidates. Because this year will literally determine whether or not our democracy survives.
So, no matter what, PLEASE VOTE BLUE!
