By Charlie Riley
I am excited to be starting a new column for AADC. This column will feature candidates running for national, state, and local offices. These candidates will be hoping to represent voters living in the Auburn Areas of Placer, El Dorado, and Nevada Counties. Each month I will highlight folks running and supporting our party values, and I will relay information on related events and also on opposition activities.
This month I want to highlight Neva Parker. Neva has recently announced her run for the California State Assembly District 5. Many of us were fortunate enough to hear her speak recently at an AADC Meeting at the General Gomez Center in Auburn.
Neva lives with her husband in Roseville. She has been a resident there for 22 years. Her experience includes working for the California State Legislature for over 25 years as a non-partisan staff member. She is an active volunteer with the Placer Food Bank and the Assistance League of Greater Placer. She was recently appointed Commissioner with the Roseville Grant Advisory Commission.
When asked why she was running, Neva shared that she wanted all voters in Assembly District 5 to be represented. In the past, elected representatives often haven’t supported what the voters in the district backed. An example Neva gave was California Proposition 1, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment (2022). This amendment won in the November 2022 election with a yes vote of 67% statewide, and in District 5 with a clear majority voting yes.
On this subject, Neva shared, “As a woman, I’m grateful to the legislature and for the people of the state of California for passing Proposition 1, and thereby enshrining a right to choose in the Constitution. But as the constitutional amendment was making its way through the legislature, my representative voted no at every step of the process. He voted against the wishes of the majority of his constituents.”
Neva pointed out that this was a clear case where a majority of the voters in District 5 supported the right to choose in contrast with the representative for District 5 at the time.
Neva then highlighted other areas where she has a strong passion and focus. These include climate change, finding and maintaining fire insurance policies, wildfire management, forest and land management, access to trails and parks (including accessibility for everyone), and the cost of education.
Our conversation then turned to the opposition candidate she is running against. She noted that the current District 5 representative has already opened a Campaign Committee for 2024, and that the Republican Party has demonstrated their willingness to support their candidates with donations, even in races where they appear to have had a strong position in the past, such as races in District 5. She went on to say that in the last election, the Republicans raised over $680,000 for their candidate.
Neva discussed with me that fund raising will be key in the election, and that she is actively seeking supporters to hold House Parties to kick off the campaign fundraising effort. She shared that her first House Party is scheduled in Lincoln for August 5th. She asked that anyone willing to help please contact her campaign through her website at www.nevaparkerforassembly.com. There is a need for people to host a House Party. And of course, always a need for donations.
My personal take is that Neva Parker is a strong candidate who has started early in the race and has an excellent chance of success with our support. I will look forward to sharing updates on her campaign in the future.