Mia Bonta Declares Victory In AD-18 Special Election

ALAMEDA, CA —Mia Bonta, a Democrat from Alameda, declared victory over fellow Democrat Janani Ramachandran Thursday evening in the Assembly District 18 special election, which took place Tuesday. The election was held to pick a replacement for Rob Bonta, Mia Bonta's husband, who left the position to become the state's attorney general.

Mia Bonta made her victory declaration after the Alameda County Registrar's Office posted the vote total that showed Bonta with a 7,760 vote lead over Ramachandran, reported Oaklandside.com. According to the registrar's office, Bonta had 35,501 votes of the 63,685 ballots counted, which was 56 percent of the vote. Ramachandran received 27,740 votes, or 44 percent.

"I am honored and grateful that you have put your trust in me to represent our community in Sacramento," Bonta said in a Thursday night statement on social media. "This is a unique pocket of the world where we celebrate our diversity, where we welcome folks of different backgrounds, where folks are free to speak their mind and stand up against injustice.

"It is that special East Bay spirit that I plan to represent in the Assembly. I am going to Sacramento to build upon that ethos to help our community thrive."

Bonta, who is the CEO of the nonprofit Oakland Promise and president of the Alameda Unified School District Board, also highlighted some of of the causes she will support in Sacramento.

"Together, we will build more affordable housing, so folks can afford to live here," Bonta said. "We will invest in our public schools, so our students and teachers can reach their full potential. We will invest in clean energy and environmental justice initiatives to protect our health and ensure our future. We will reform our criminal justice system, so that folks are not treated differently based on the color of their skin or the dollar amount in their bank account."

This week's runoff election took place because neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote during the special election's initial round of voting in June.

During the election, Bonta received key endorsements from labor leaders and prominent state and national political figures like Rep. Barbara Lee, Sen. Alex Padilla and Georgia-based voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, details of which were posted on Bonta's website.

According to Oaklandside.com, both Bonta and Ramachandran supported eliminating exclusionary single-family zoning and repealing the Costa-Hawkins Act, which prevents cities from instituting stronger rent control laws.

Bonta supports the Oakland Athletics' proposal to build a ballpark, housing and commercial and office space at Howard Terminal, while Ramachandran opposes the project.

Bonta also wants to help create additional incentives for building more affordable housing projects and she promises to advocate for continued assistance for residents struggling with unemployment during the pandemic.

Ramachandran had promoted herself as the "corporate free" candidate and criticized Bonta for accepting donations from special interest groups and large developers.

But Bonta had said Ramachandran, who was a first-time candidate, lacked the political experience to get projects done in Sacramento.