The race to represent Assembly District 7 — which includes Citrus Heights, Folsom and Rancho Cordova — is expected to be one of California’s most competitive state legislative contests.
Incumbent Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover narrowly flipped the seat in 2022, winning by just over a thousand votes. He is now seeking reelection against Democratic challenger Amy Slavensky, a longtime educator and former principal.
Hoover and Slavensky both argue California needs major changes. However, they sharply disagree on which direction the state should go.
Hoover said Democratic leadership has failed the state because of policies he argues are costly and ineffective.
“What we are doing is not working and we have to change something,” he said. “I think my opponent actually represents the status quo, more of the same, and we definitely don’t need that in California.”
Slavensky rejects that criticism pointing to her decades working in public education where she said she’s been a “change agent.”
“I am a lifelong public servant, he is a career politician,” she said. “Forty years in classrooms and schools directly versus his four years on a school board and a few years on an education committee.”
CapRadio asked both candidates about their stances on several key issues including affordability, homelessness, and education.
Education
Hoover, who serves as vice chair of the Assembly Education Committee, pointed to legislation he authored to restrict cellphone use in schools, which he said was critical to improving classroom focus.
“I think that’s a key part of the academic improvement as well, but it has to be in tandem with getting back to basics on literacy and math,” he said.
The Assemblymember from Folsom also said he wants to restore more “local control” to school districts.
“At the end of the day, the best leaders of local communities are the people on the school boards in the local communities,” he said. “I came from a school board and too often the state overreaches and tells them what to do. We need to empower local communities to run their own districts.”
Slavensky, who is from Fair Oaks and has worked as a principal for more than a decade, said childcare access is one of the biggest challenges facing families and schools.
“Many of the [transitional kindergarten] classes are only three hours long so working families are having trouble accessing it due to childcare,” she said. “When I’m in the legislature, I will want to think through the total costs and resources needed for educational programs as the legislation around them is being authored and as they’re being implemented.”
Slavensky said that includes working with colleagues to expand education funding to better support childcare costs.
Affordability
Slavensky said growing up in poverty in the region shaped her views on affordability. She described housing costs as one of the most urgent issues facing Californians.
“There are so many people who are members of working families who have good jobs, but housing is so expensive and we don’t have enough affordable housing,” she said.
Slavensky said she would support efforts to reduce regulatory barriers to housing construction, including reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
Hoover focused on the high cost of energy and gas prices. He highlighted legislation he authored that would shift certain utility-related fees away from ratepayers and into the state budget.
“We need to pass legislation that actually makes a meaningful impact on this and what California continues to do is pass legislation that moves us in the opposite direction,” he said.
Hoover has also backed Republican proposals to suspend California’s gas tax arguing the state could offset that revenue — which is critical for the state’s transportation and climate program funding — through other sources.
“It would be easy to backfill that with state revenue — it’s all a matter of priorities,” he said. “We don’t have to give up funding our roads in order to give people relief at the pump.”
Homelessness
Hoover has been a vocal critic of California’s approach to homelessness and helped lead a bipartisan state audit examining homelessness spending programs.
“We need to start with accountability to track where our dollars are going,” he said. “We need to fund programs that are actually helping people address their mental illness, their substance abuse issues and unfortunately we’re not doing that in California and that needs to change.”
Slavensky said the issue is deeply personal to her because her brother experienced homelessness for more than a decade.
“He struggled to get along in life and he passed away a couple of years ago due to the terrible conditions that he was living in,” she said.
If elected, she said she would push for stronger renter protections while also expanding housing, and mental and behavioral health services for people experiencing homelessness.
“I know from having worked with my brother and trying to help him that that is very complex and very challenging and is not just about housing,” she added. “It’s also about mental health and behavioral health support services, and in some cases, substance use support services.”
Campaign finance
Campaign fundraising shows a large gap between the top candidates.
Hoover has raised nearly $1 million while Slavensky has raised $150,000, according to state campaign finance filings.
A third candidate, Sanaz Motamedi, is running as an American Independent. Her campaign website states she wants to protect communities, support working-class families and promote environmental sustainability. Motamedi has not reported raising campaign funds.
Voters will decide on the race during the June 2 primary.
