A seismic shake-up in Stockton races

Over the past few days, Stockton’s politics were turned upside down. Key candidates switched races just before the filing deadline. One heavyweight made a last-minute entry into the fray.

The game of political musical chairs began when state Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, D-Stockton, announced Thursday that he would switch races with his wife, Edith. 

Edith Villapudua was running for the District 5 State Senate seat being vacated by termed-out Susan Talamantes Eggman; Carlos was running for reelection to the Assembly. Now Carlos is running for State Senate, Edith for Assembly.

“I have been able to fight for our San Joaquin Delta, pass legislation that targeted fentanyl dealers, assisted survivors of human trafficking, helped reduce waste and clean our environment, and help lift people from poverty to entrepreneurship,” Carlos said in a statement. “I look forward to taking the record of accomplishment to the State Senate …”

Presumably, the Villapuduas made the switch when internal polling showed Edith likely to lose to a rival State Senate candidate, Rhodesia Ransom, and calculated that Edith had a better shot at the assembly seat.

If so, the gambit backfired. Hard on the heels of the Villapuduas’ switcheroo, recently retired U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney threw his hat in the ring for State Senate — submitting his paperwork 10 minutes before Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. 

“The State Senate is a really great gig,” McNerney said of his decision. “There’s only 40 of you, you can get a lot done.”

Recruited by Eggman, McNerney instantly surpassed Carlos Villapudua as the frontrunner owing to his better name recognition in the tri-county district, his bigger fundraising network, and his record from 16 years in the House.

He is perhaps best known for his successful campaign to bring a much-needed Veterans hospital to French Camp. But as the House’s “science guy” he also authored the Digital Equity Act that appropriated over $1 billion to closing the digital divide, and passed a traumatic brain injury bill for veterans. Most recently he brought around $10 million for FY 2022-23 San Joaquin County projects and had a hand in awarding Stockton Unified with tens of millions in pandemic relief funds.

If Villapudua’s campaign consultant, Lee Neves, was dismayed by the turn of events, he didn’t let on.

“I will put Assemblymember Villapudua’s record of accomplishments in the last three years up against anybody’s,” he said.

In addition to the achievements Villapudua alluded to above, Neves pointed to $23.1 million in safety improvements the assemblyman secured for Stockton’s Miracle Mile; $400,000 to provide homeless people with free haircuts, laundry, showers, restrooms, and case management; and passage of AB 476 allowing San Joaquin County to immediately disseminate critical public health information on electronic signboards.

“And that’s just from this past year,” Neves added.

The District 5 State Senate race also includes Republican candidate James H. Shoemaker. Shoemaker may believe Republicans should be running the show, but the nearly 2-to-1 advantage in Democrat registration in the tri-county district suggests he’s dreaming.

Edith Villapudua, known locally as a dedicated Rotarian, sits on the boards of the Family Justice Center Foundation, Children’s Home of Stockton, and Comerciantes Unidos among others; her work resume includes jobs as a case manager for the CalWORKs program at El Concilio, an investigator for the San Joaquin County Public Defender’s Office, and an investigator for the San Joaquin County Public Guardian/Public Conservator’s Office.

She issued a statement on her about-face:   

“San Joaquin Valley is my home. It is where I went to high school, graduated college, and where my children were and are being raised. … It is clear to me that with my decades of experience working to help the people of San Joaquin and raising my family here, this is where I can do the most good …”

Unfortunately for Edith, when McNerney jumped into the State Senate race, her opponent, Rhodesia Ransom, also jumped out, switching races as well. Ransom continues to fight Edith but now for the Assembly seat.

“It’s important to have diverse representation and for the voters to have a choice,” Ransom said. “To be clear, I think they deserve representation which puts people first.”

Ransom, the district director for Rep. Josh Harder (D-Tracy), served on the Tracy City Council and the Tracy Planning Commission. She is a founding board member of the Tracy Police Activities League and the Tracy Community Homelessness Task Force.

The response to the Villapuduas’ strategy appears to be a master chess move by Susan Eggman. In one swoop it puts both Villapuduas’ campaigns at a disadvantage. 

That won’t bother the San Joaquin County Democratic Central Committee, which pointedly refused to endorse either of the Villapuduas. Folks at the SJC DCC consider Carlos a DINO (Democrat in name only), a credit-grabber, and point to the millions he has accepted from Big Oil. 

To be accurate, though, the SJC DCC did not endorse McNerney for Senate or Ransom for Assembly, either. That is because candidates are required to go through a pre-endorsement process. Ransom did so for her Senate bid and won the endorsement. But she and McNerney were too late to go through the process again.

The smaller Stockton Democratic Club, which has no such strictures, did endorse both McNerney and Ransom.

So much for up-ticket races. If you’re confused, don’t feel bad. Even some political writers got things bass ackwards.

As for city of Stockton elective offices, the filing deadline for Mayor is today (Wednesday, Dec. 13), meaning there could be a last-minute surprise. But already the race for mayor and three open council seats is crowded. Candidates include new faces, proven leaders, and at least one Please-God-No character. We’ll tackle city races soon.

Fitzgerald’s column runs on Wednesdays. On Twitter and Instagram as Stocktonopolis. Email: mfitzgeraldstockton@gmail.com