Incumbent Jacqui Irwin said this week that she will be running for re-election to the state Assembly next year, ending speculation that she might seek a spot on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.
The Thousand Oaks Democrat said she will be seeking election to the newly formed Assembly District 42. The territory sweeps from the western side of Camarillo in Ventura County and into a large portion of Los Angeles County, according to the maps that a redistricting commission approved Monday for legislative and congressional seats in California.
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Political scientist Tim Allison said the new district runs to the edge of Santa Monica and takes in a lot of territory Irwin has never represented as an assemblywoman for District 44. Her current district is anchored in Ventura County and contains just a small slice of Los Angeles County.
“She is going to have to introduce herself to a whole lot of new people,” he said, adding that he still expected her to win.
Allison, an adjunct professor at CSU Channel Islands, said the numbers he’s seen show registered Democrats edge Republicans by 8.5 percentage points in the new political territory.
Irwin said she was always interested in staying in the Assembly, where she would not reach the end of term limits until 2026, assuming she is re-elected.
“There is a lot of work to still be done,” Irwin said in a text message.
Her current term in the Assembly expires at the end of next year, about the same time the term for the Thousand Oaks-based seat on the Board of Supervisors would start.
Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Pena and businessman Tim McCarthy are both running for the supervisor’s seat in the June primary. The filing deadlines are still months away in March, but they are the only ones who have filed campaign documents stating their intentions to run.
Supervisor Linda Parks has held the spot for nearly 20 years, but she is vacating the nonpartisan position under term limits.
While the new maps put Irwin into some unfamiliar territory, they move Assemblyman Steve Bennett into his old home base in Ventura County instead of the current split between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
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Bennett, who represented the Ventura-based First District on the Board of Supervisors for 20 years, is midway through his first term representing the 37th Assembly District. If elected to represent the newly formed 38th Assembly District, he adds Oxnard and Port Hueneme to his longtime political base in Ventura and the Ojai Valley.
Bennett said he would have been satisfied under both the current boundaries and the new ones.
“I really enjoyed the Santa Barbara constituency and getting to know everybody there,” he said. “There are more similarities than differences between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.”
Kathleen Wilson covers the Ventura County government, including the county health system, politics and social services. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
