Rohnert Park’s Jackie Elward announces bid for Dodd’s state Senate seat, joining at least 2 other Democrats

Rohnert Park Council member Jackie Elward, who propelled a progressive majority into power three years ago in her first successful run for public office and then served a pioneering term as mayor of the city, has launched a bid for the state Senate.

She is vying to succeed Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who will be termed out in his 3rd District at the end of 2024.

Elward, 44, who announced her plans Wednesday, touted her experience leading Sonoma County’s third largest city and as an educator and labor organizer.

She is running as a Democrat.

She described herself as a bridge builder, helping people of different backgrounds coalesce around often contentious issues, and she said she would look to fill a similar role in Sacramento.

She portrayed herself as a voice for working Californians, focusing on issues ranging from health care access to education.

“People want to have a leader that speaks for them and I have also proven myself to be the leader that unifies people despite our differences,” she said. “I’m so excited to expand that level of service to all the people in District 3.”

The sprawling district, slightly reshaped in 2020, stretches from Sonoma County to Sacramento County and spans all or part of Contra Costa, Napa, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties.

In Sonoma County, it takes in Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Cotati, Sonoma and its unincorporated southeast outskirts.

Elward joins a field that already includes two other seasoned Democrats, Christopher Cabaldon, the longtime former mayor of West Sacramento, and Vallejo Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga, who Dodd has endorsed.

Verder-Aliga is expected to draw strong support from labor groups, complicating the path for Elward, according to Sonoma State University political scientist David McCuan.

Thomas Bogue, former mayor and current council member in Dixon, has filed paperwork signaling his possible intent to run for the seat. Bogue is a Republican.

The open seat could draw even more interest in the coming months.

Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, who announced in March he planned to run, recently dropped out of the race, citing family reasons.

Martha Guerrero, the mayor of West Sacramento, had pulled paperwork to run in the race but has since endorsed Verder-Aliga.

Elward, as a first-term council member, is likely to face an uphill climb as voters in Sonoma County make up just 9% of the overall registered voters in the district, while the bulk of voters live in more populous areas of Solano and Yolo counties.

Altogether, the district is home to about 1 million people.

The top two vote-getters in the March 5, 2024, primary, regardless of political party, will advance to the general election next November.

Elward, a political newcomer and active organizer in local Black Lives Matter demonstrations, unseated six-term Council member Jake Mackenzie in 2020 in an election that ushered in a new, more diverse and progressive majority on the Rohnert Park council.

She was unanimously selected by her council colleagues to serve as mayor in late 2021, making history as the first Black, immigrant woman to lead the city. She grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Under her leadership, Rohnert Park took steps to house more of its homeless residents and adopt other measures to curb unsanctioned camping; purchased the site of its future downtown; and bolstered ties with the neighboring Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, owners of the Graton Resort and Casino.

While serving, she has worked at a local elementary school and pursued two bachelor’s degrees, a sociology degree from Chico State University and this month earned a secondary degree in criminal justice from Ohio’s Central State University.

Her time on council hasn’t been without controversy. She was one of three council members that supported a city-initiated ban on fireworks and was later subjected to racial slurs from an anonymous caller upset over the decision. And she has spoken openly about the discrimination she has faced as a Black woman in office.

She said community and labor groups encouraged her to run for state office.

“I didn’t look for this seat. This seat came to me,” she said, adding that she has received many messages of support since her announcement.

Elward said she spent weeks mulling over the decision with her husband, a labor organizer with the local Teamsters, and her children. The family ultimately felt moving forward with a campaign was the right decision, she said.

Some of her top priorities include ensuring long-term water resiliency across the district, expanding access to affordable health care, investing in education and expanding mental health services.

She also wants to tackle climate action, investing in clean energy measures and efforts to make the region more resilient to wildfires and other disasters.

Separating herself from the other candidates and raising her profile across the 3rd District could be challenging.

“If you’re on the I-80 corridor, you’re in the money for the votes,” McCuan said. “You have a lot of potential candidates and while Sonoma County is an important part of the district, this area is much less the district center in terms of votes and where the focus will be.”

The majority of the 605,360 voters in the district are Democrats, making up about 50%, while Republicans make up 22% and another 22% of voters are registered as no party preference, according to state figures.

Among Democrats, just 32,000 live in Sonoma County while there are four times more Democratic voters in Solano County alone. Democratic voters in Solano and Yolo counties account for 63% of all Democrats in the district.

Elward is likely to receive support from labor groups and other more progressive causes, but McCuan noted that labor groups are not a monolith and that could lead support to split between Elward and other candidates.

McCuan said it will require a very crowded primary that draws candidates from some of the larger cities and support from independent expenditures for Elward to move onto the general election.

“It’s going to be a tough road for her,” he said. “It is a leap of faith, on the fundamentals given the district’s size and the district’s numbers, that someone from the Friendly City could make the leap into the top two.”

Elward doesn’t see herself at a disadvantage.

She said she has traveled the length of the Senate district through her work as mayor and council member and has built relationships with elected officials and community groups across the North Bay and beyond.

And while she didn’t received Dodd’s endorsement, she said ultimately it’s up to voters to decide who fills the seat.

“People are looking for someone who will represent them and speak on their behalf. If I can do that, meet them where they are, I don’t think it should be a problem,” she said. “A lot of people might say that, but I don’t think so.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.