Bauer-Kahan and Rubay meet a fourth time in the race for the Assembly seat covering Pleasanton

For the fourth time since 2020, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Joe Rubay are on the same ballot for the Assembly seat that includes Pleasanton, and the two are again making very different cases to voters ahead of Nov. 3.

Bauer-Kahan, a Democrat from Orinda, was first elected to the Assembly in 2018. Rubay, a Republican from Alamo, is a real estate appraiser who has owned an appraisal business for more than three decades. Both came out of a three-candidate primary under California's top-two system, the Pleasanton Weekly reported Friday.

The district takes in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville, along with Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda and Walnut Creek.

The incumbent: a record of bills

Bauer-Kahan, an attorney and former law professor who also worked as an environmental advocate, told the Weekly more than 80 of her bills have cleared the Legislature. "My message is simple: I am focused on getting results, not playing political games," she said in a statement.

Among the work she listed: stronger laws on guns and hate crimes, money for police to respond to retail theft, backing for the Valley Link rail line, and a law to keep utilities from charging customers for wildfires the utilities caused.

She also cited a requirement that data centers disclose their energy use, the end of the so-called pink tax on products marketed to women, and a change that keeps canceled student and medical debt from being taxed as income.

"Tri-Valley families want what I want for my own three kids: safe neighborhoods, a community they can afford to live in and growth that doesn't cost us what makes this place special," she said.

The challenger: crime first

Rubay told the Weekly public safety is his top priority. He cited the recent Heller's Jewelers robberies in San Ramon and what he called a rise in smash-and-grab crimes in Danville and Pleasanton.

"Our law enforcement is the best in the state, what we need is a state Legislature that holds the criminals accountable," he said.

Rubay said he would look at funding Proposition 36, the 2024 measure that allows tougher penalties for certain theft and drug crimes, and would oppose proposals like Assembly Bill 2047, which deals with firearm-blocking technology for 3D printers.

He also wants schools funded well enough to restore bus service, which he said would ease traffic, and he would stop minimum wage increases that he said strain small businesses.

He would also pull back on state housing laws. "More units forced upon the local communities means more traffic among other issues," Rubay said.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com