The California State Assembly District 13 race was the only San Joaquin County contest to feature both candidates at a forum Tuesday, and the first public meeting of the campaign season between the two led to a heated confrontation during and after the event.
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Tracy, and challenger Tom Patti, R-Stockton, a former San Joaquin County Supervisor, battled over a state bill and traded barbs throughout the second half of the forum hosted by the San Joaquin County Civic Alliance and Asian Pacific American Public Affairs at San Joaquin Delta College. The night also featured candidates Fiona Ma, a Democrat running for California lieutenant governor; John McBride, a Republican running for California’s 9th Congressional District; and Matthew Adams, a Democrat running for California State Assembly District 9.
The most contentious portion of the forum came during a question-and-answer session with audience members. A Delta College student asked what the candidates could do to help lower the cost of higher education in California, and Patti responded by discussing Assembly Bill 2624, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Aug. 22.
The law creates an address confidentiality program for immigration support services providers and protects eligible workers and volunteers from having their personal information publicly disclosed in certain circumstances.
Republican lawmakers and other conservatives have dubbed the measure the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” arguing that it could intimidate journalists like Shirley and hinder their ability to investigate organizations for fraud, waste and abuse.
Patti said the governor and state lawmakers passed the bill to make investigating fraud and wasteful spending in California a felony. He argued that the money spent on investigations could instead be used for job training programs and to lower tuition costs.
“We should be investigating,” Patti said. “We should be doing an audit statewide. Where is all of our taxpayer dollars going? And why all of a sudden is it a felony to investigate?”
During her 30-second rebuttal, Ransom urged audience members to look up the bill and read its language for themselves.
“There is no such bill as the ‘Nick Shirley Act,’” Ransom said. “Assembly Bill 2624 protects those nonprofits that serve immigrants from being doxxed. They’re having people threaten their lives and go to their homes, and we have expanded the current Safe at Home program to make sure that local people are not threatened by people who are trying to intimidate them for protecting our immigrant communities.”
Ransom then pulled out a copy of the bill and asked the other candidates to pass it to Patti, who was seated across the table. She challenged Patti to point to where the bill mentions Shirley’s name or specifies that journalists who investigate could face felony charges.
Patti said the bill allows “activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of evidence, even if it captures misconduct in plain view and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties.”
“You signed it,” Patti told Ransom.
“Read the bill,” Ransom said.
The bill does not mention Shirley or make it a felony for journalists to investigate fraud, waste or abuse. Instead, it creates protections for eligible immigration support services providers, employees and volunteers who face threats, harassment or violence.
The dispute continued after the forum as audience members mingled with candidates. Patti threw what appeared to be a copy of the bill onto the table where he and Ransom were standing, and the two were heard exchanging words.
Organizers of the forum said all candidates appearing on the local ballot for the Nov. 3 general election were invited to participate. Notably, no Stockton City Council candidates attended. Ma’s opponent for California lieutenant governor, Gloria Romero, did not appear, nor did Heath Flora, the Republican incumbent running against Adams for California State Assembly District 9, or Josh Harder, the Democratic incumbent running against McBride for California’s 9th Congressional District.
The topic was one of several issues discussed during the forum, with candidates also addressing Flock cameras, data centers and the threat posed by golden mussels.
Candidates discuss public safety, privacy concerns over Flock cameras
On Flock cameras, candidates largely agreed that there should be balance between public safety and privacy.
“I think we all can agree that we all want privacy, and we all want safety in our homes, in our offices and in our schools,” Ma said. “It really is a tool for law enforcement to be able to track violent criminals, people who are involved in a hit-and-run, perhaps kidnapping. But we need to make sure we’re protecting the privacy of citizens.”
McBride said there were not enough guidelines governing who has access to Flock camera data and noted that cities throughout the United States have started canceling their contracts with Flock.
“Though they’re canceling the contracts with Flock, they’re switching those contracts to Axon to do the exact same thing,” McBride said. “They do read our faces. They read everything about you.”
Adams agreed that stronger guidelines are needed to ensure Flock camera data is used appropriately. He cited reports of police officers using Flock cameras to track their ex-spouses and noted concerns that local law enforcement agencies could be using the data to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“As a state, we need to be responsive to that and ensure that these companies are held accountable when this data gets in the wrong hands,” Adams said.
Patti noted that most people have smartphones that track them wherever they go and questioned objections to Flock cameras. He said it is up to law enforcement agencies to establish guardrails for how the technology is used.
“Every night, you can look at reels,” Patti said. “You can watch the news. If you see an abduction, if you see someone being raped, if you see a child that’s being abused, you want that video to track down the bad person so it doesn’t happen again.”
Ransom said the state Legislature is working to ensure there is not unlimited access to Flock camera data, that it is double-encrypted and that no one can access it on their own without a warrant or other reason to access the information.
“We need to have stronger guardrails to access that information,” Ransom said. “We need to cut down the time period, and I definitely support a warrant to be able to access that information so that it’s just not used for anything whatsoever.”
Candidates weigh data center growth and community impacts
The potential growth of large-scale data centers was also discussed, with candidates weighing their impact on water, electricity, the environment and utility customers.
Ransom said data centers should not be allowed to strain communities’ resources and called for greater transparency and environmental review. She said developers should pay for their own water and utilities and that projects should undergo a full environmental review before being approved.
Patti said data centers should be self-sufficient in their energy and water use without increasing costs for local utility customers.
“Any data center needs to be self-sufficient and energy independent without any effect to our local ratepayers,” Patti said. He also pointed to the potential for economic development and advances in technology, including modular nuclear power.
Adams took a more critical view of large-scale data centers, saying communities repeatedly have raised concerns about their impacts.
“I think a lot of people are concerned,” Adams said, arguing that the economic benefits would not outweigh the costs to communities. “This is not a benefit. This is a Trojan horse.”
McBride said data centers should address their own water and energy needs and should not be built on prime farmland. He suggested companies building data centers should also provide their own power, including through nuclear energy, and said, “If you lose the farmland in California, that is a matter of national defense.”
Ma said California should not take a one-size-fits-all approach because communities have different needs and views on data centers. She said projects should reduce utility costs and suggested companies could help pay to underground overhead power lines.
Candidates debate how to combat golden mussel threat
Golden mussels were another major concern, as candidates offered different ideas for slowing the spread of the invasive species, which was first detected at the Port of Stockton in 2024 and can damage water infrastructure, agriculture and ecosystems.
Ma said the state needs to take a leading role in combating the infestation through regional cooperation, increased inspections and additional infrastructure. She said recreational boats are one way the mussels can enter waterways and called for more inspections, as well as barriers, scraping mechanisms and nontoxic chemical treatments to slow their spread.
McBride suggested exploring unconventional methods to control the mussels, including research into whether certain frequencies could eliminate them.
“I like to think that I’m an outside-the-box thinker,” McBride said, acknowledging that he was not certain the approach would work but arguing that research should be conducted.
Adams said the state has a major responsibility to fund efforts to combat the infestation and pointed to $6 million in state funding secured for San Joaquin County. He said the state must remain vigilant because the mussels have spread beyond San Joaquin County and could threaten infrastructure throughout the state.
“The state needs to have a very active role of being incredibly vigilant,” Adams said.
Ransom said she became known as “The Golden Mussel Lady” in the state Legislature after she rallied colleagues and secured $20 million in the November 2024 budget to combat invasive species.
“Now we know it’s here to stay,” Ransom said. “It’s really important that the Delta is protected.”
Patti called for increased inspections of ships entering freshwater channels and said companies responsible for introducing contaminants should bear the costs of cleanup. He said only about 10% of ships entering freshwater channels are currently inspected for their ballast water and called for every ship to be tested and subject to penalties for violations.
“It’s going to be going into our entire water aqueduct system,” Patti said. “This is something that affects our economy. We have an over $7 billion a year economic value in agriculture alone here in San Joaquin County, so we have to get on top of it.”