State Assembly, District 23

Why does this race matter? 

This is a liberal district with some of the nation’s most expensive ZIP codes, such as Atherton and Los Altos Hills. Lydia Kou’s sharp critiques of incumbent Marc Berman, a fellow Democrat, could turn this race into a referendum on policies passed by Democrats in Sacramento.

What does a state Assembly member do?

State Assembly members represent their communities at the California Legislature in Sacramento. The 80 members of the state Assembly write and vote on state bills, serve on policy committees and vote on the annual state budget. The winner of this race will serve a two-year term.

Candidates

Marc Berman
Marc BermanState Assembly MemberDemocrat
Lydia Kou
Lydia KouCity Council Member, Palo AltoDemocrat

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Berman

  • Gavin Newsom, governor, California 
  • Alex Padilla, U.S. senator, California 
  • California Democratic Party
  • Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte

For Kou

  • Liang Chao, City Council member, Cupertino
  • Ed Lauing, vice mayor, Palo Alto
  • Stan Mok, mayor, Los Altos Hills
  • Greer Stone, mayor, Palo Alto
 

Positions on Key Issues
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

What do you make of the state government’s push for local governments to approve more housing? Has the Legislature gone too far? Not far enough?

Berman voted for zoning reform laws to streamline housing approvals at the local level, such as Senate Bill 35 in 2017 and Senate Bill 423 last year, which extended that law. He says the housing and homelessness crises stem from “decades of inaction and decades of failure, frankly, at every level of government to build the housing that we need to support the really robust economy that we have.”
Kou opposes the zoning reforms passed by the state, arguing that they undermine local control. She says as a council member, “I find it harder and harder to represent my constituents — mostly because of the state laws and state mandates that come forward that have really usurped our local land use and zoning laws.” Kou supports more state funding to preserve and maintain existing affordable housing.

What would you do to improve public safety for residents? Do you support Proposition 36, the November ballot measure that would enact new felonies for theft and drug crimes by rolling back pieces of the voter-approved Proposition 47?

Berman opposes Proposition 36, citing estimates that the measure will cost the state tens of millions of dollars in increased prison and court costs. “It will lock people up for stealing remarkably low-cost items,” he says. This year, Berman wrote a law allowing store owners to obtain a restraining order against anyone who has repeatedly stolen from or vandalized their businesses.
Kou supports Proposition 36, arguing that current law “incentivizes people to go and say ‘I’m not responsible for anything and … I'm just going to go and [take] it from the store.’” Kou points to her record on the Palo Alto City Council, where she voted for police reforms, like banning chokeholds and requiring de-escalation techniques.

How would you approach regulation of the tech industry, and specifically artificial intelligence, as a member of the state Assembly?

Berman wrote the nation’s first law regulating the use of deepfake technology in elections. This year, he wrote legislation to outlaw child sexual abuse material created by AI. “We actually had law enforcement agencies who saw the work that I’ve done around AI over the past five years, they came to us and they said, ‘We are arresting people that have sexually explicit material of children, but those images were created by technology.’”
Kou supports regulations to mitigate the harms of social media and artificial intelligence on youth. She wants state mandates requiring a portion of employees to work remotely, to ease demand on housing and transportation. Kou also wants to encourage companies to operate outside of the district. “Make some incentives for companies to have their headquarters other places versus just all gathered here,” she says. “Why is it only focused on Mountain View and Palo Alto?”

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