> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Assembly race heats up early - URL: https://www.smdp.com/assembly-race-heats-up-early/ - Published: 2005-11-30T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T08:15:04.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Assembly bid requires substantial funds* 41st DISTRICT — The election isn’t until next summer, but three Santa Monicans have been stumping for months, if not years, for this region’s state Assembly seat. Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), who has held the seat since 2000, will give up her position next year due to term limits. When she retires her seat, Pavley will have served three two-year terms. Although Election Day for the seat is in November 2006, the true winner will be decided on June 6 in the primary election. Five Democratic candidates have entered the race, including Santa Monicans Jonathan Levey, Kelly Hayes-Raitt and Julia Brownley. The other two — Barry Groveman and Louise Rishoff — are from Calabasas and Agoura Hills, respectively. Despite that the filing deadline to enter the race isn’t until March of 2006, the candidates already have been fundraising for a campaign that is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to win. In 2000, Pavley spent more than $760,000 to win a closely contested Democratic primary race. Levey, who announced his candidacy this year, had raised about $230,000, with $215,000 on hand. A lawyer by trade, most of his fundraising has been through lawyers and law firms. “A bunch of people had warned me that starting in April was really late... for people to say I’m getting into this late, it tells you what it’s going to take,” Levey said. “But unfortunately that is the state we are in.” Hayes-Raitt, who announced her candidacy in 2003, has raised $165,000, with a majority of her supporters contributing $100 or less. She has volunteered with the state to set her expenditure limit for the race at $446,000\. Contributions are capped at $3,300 for individuals. “I’m not a wealthy woman, and in these days of term limits, I have to raise a lot of money and I knew it would take a while to form a strong campaign,” Hayes-Raitt said of entering the race early. “Knowing that the seat is open, I think it’s important to keep progressives in this area.” Brownley, who officially threw her hat into the ring earlier this year, said she has raised roughly $160,000, with most of that coming from people donating $100 or less. Groveman has put $100,000 of his own money into his campaign as a loan to put him at the front of the pack in fundraising, with a total of $270,000. According to the latest financial statements filed, which was through June 30, Rishoff had raised $52,000. And even though the primary election seems a long way off, it seems like it’s right around the corner for the candidates, some of whom have been meeting with residents and elected leaders throughout the district to learn about the issues of each community. The 41st district encompasses Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Encino, Hidden Hills, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Port Hueneme, Oak Park, Santa Monica, Tarzana, Topanga, Woodland Hills and portions of Oxnard and Westlake Village. The last Santa Monica resident to hold the seat is Sheila Kuehl, who is now a state senator. Because all of the candidates are Democrats, appear to be progressive and are campaigning on similar issues, they will be working diligently in the next several months to distinguish themselves from their opponents. Even though none of the candidates have officially pulled papers announcing their candidacy, the field will most likely remain as is. “Campaigns have become so expensive that anyone jumping in, it will prove difficult,” Hayes-Raitt said of any last-minute candidates. The Santa Monica candidates recently sat down with the Daily Press to talk about their campaigns, what issues are important to them and how they plan to win. They all believe that tackling the region’s issues from a state level is the most effective based on their backgrounds. JULIA BROWNLEY Brownley, 53, has been on the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board for 10 years. She is currently vice president and a past PTA president. She lives in the Sunset Park neighborhood and has lived in Santa Monica since 1983. Brownley has a BA in political science from George Washington University and an MBA from American University. Prior to her election to the school board, she built a career in marketing management for several Fortune 500 companies. In 2004, she was named YWCA Woman of the Year for her leadership on the school board and in her community. Brownley first considered running for Assembly after Sen. Kuehl approached her and encouraged her to enter the race. One of the biggest issues in her campaign is what she calls a three-decades-long disinvestment in California public schools — a system that now ranks as one of the worst in the country. “I’m running for state Assembly and going to Sacramento to make schools great again,” she said. “I’m the only candidate who has spent the last 10 years involved in education, and I will get to Sacramento and hit the ground running.” She said she’d like to partner with other elected leaders in building a citywide transportation system, which includes light rail to Santa Monica. “I would like to partner with the newly elected mayor of Los Angeles and join his vision in a world-class transportation system that works and is an incentive to get us out of our automobiles,” she said. Brownley supports dedicated bus lanes like the ones proposed or established on Lincoln and Wilshire boulevards. Brownley also is a supporter of the environment and pledges to protect the air and water quality. “I think the 41st district has come to expect extraordinary environmental leadership,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s really a health issue.” If elected, she plans to partner with Sen. Kuehl in her proposal to bring universal health care to all Californians. Brownley said she’s especially concerned with the conditions of children. “One in four children in California lives in poverty, and it’s the largest population with no health care,” she said. Concerned for the health and welfare of the students in Santa Monica-Malibu school district who lack health insurance, Brownley advocated creating an on-site health clinic at Santa Monica High School and helped negotiate a successful program with the Venice Family Clinic and Blue Cross. She has spent the past year traveling around the district, learning the issues in different communities and meeting with elected leaders. Brownley has been endorsed by Sens. Kuehl and Jackie Speier; former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin; and Paula Daniels, immediate past president of Heal the Bay. The local grassroots group Community for Excellent Public Schools also has endorsed Brownley, as well as dozens of elected and appointed officials. “I’m hitting it pretty hard,” she said. “I think I have a really good shot.” KELLY HAYES-RAITT Hayes-Raitt, 44, owns a consulting firm specializing in public relations and community organizing. She has lived in the Ocean Park neighborhood since 1982. She has worked on two dozen statewide campaigns and initiatives that range from the environment to health care. Hayes-Raitt also has served on the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women for seven years. As executive director of the Coalition for Clean Air and as Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy’s environmental representative, Hayes-Raitt fought to protect the California coast from offshore oil drilling. She helped found Heal the Bay, and helped pass bills to set health standards for toxic mold and to phase out dirty diesel school buses, she said. Hayes-Raitt considers herself a national spokesperson to protect civil rights and a champion for women’s rights. She started the Women’s Health Campaign to hold pharmaceutical corporations accountable for the deadly products they market to women. The LA County Women’s Commission named her a 2004 Woman of the Year. As a peace activist, she traveled to Iraq before and after the war, returning each time with a new perspective. She has met with more than 200 different groups throughout Los Angeles and beyond to discuss the effects of the war both at home and abroad. As one of the first candidates to announce, Hayes-Raitt has been aggressively campaigning this year, holding about 20 “meet and greets” with citizens in communities throughout the district. Beyond speaking out against the war and the Bush Administration’s foreign policy, Hayes-Raitt is campaigning on the environment, regional solutions to traffic, creating leadership opportunities for women, health care, education, protecting senior citizens’ rights and helping working families. But as she has learned in talking with citizens and officials in recent months, traffic is people’s No. 1 concern. While she admits there is no magic answer, Hayes-Raitt believes traffic congestion can be combated by regulating individual cities’ master plans so development doesn’t end up piece mealed. “From a statewide legislative perspective, we can uphold those standards in our local communities,” she said, adding that giving incentives for more locally owned businesses rather than big box stores also will reduce traffic. “I favor proposals that are geared toward small business in California,” she said. She also believes state funding is inadequate for many of the plans local communities are asked to implement by the state government, including transportation, recycling and education programs. “I talk about education a lot,” Hayes- Raitt said. “My desire is that community colleges expand vocational programs, especially to promote small business owners... our schools can’t be one size fits all.” Hayes-Raitt has been endorsed by hundreds of people, including celebrities such as actor Martin Sheen and singer/song-writer Jackson Browne. She recently got the backing of the Clean Water Action Vote Environment, one of the first environmental organizations that has endorsed a candidate in the race. Hayes-Raitt also has the backing of several unions, elected leaders and community activists. JONATHAN LEVEY Levey, 35, is an attorney and a teacher at California State University Channel Islands. A former business executive, Levey has a background in public policy, law and land use issues throughout California, he said. Through March 2005, Levey was vice president at Catellus, a real estate investment trust. Projects included the conversion of hundreds of thousands of desert acres into a wildlife preserve and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Levey, who lives on San Vicente Boulevard, has worked as a trial attorney at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, where he created a foundation through which attorneys at the firm contribute a percentage of their salaries for charitable donations. Levey served as counsel to an Assembly Commission on the California Initiative Process and recently joined an advisory committee for Trust of Public Land’s Park for People program. As a graduate from Princeton University in public policy and Harvard Law School, Levey has worked in the United States Court of Appeals as a law clerk and as a White House intern. He feels his work on the initiative process and other state issues gives him enough experience to serve on the Assembly. “You’ve earned the right to criticize and get involved,” Levey said. “It’s as much public service as it is as an opportunity to give back.” Among the issues Levey considers the most critical in the district is the environment — the preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains and cleaning up the Santa Monica Bay. He also is a supporter of mass transportation and promoting urban infill development along transit corridors. “The No. 1 issue on everyone’s mind is traffic, traffic and traffic,” he said. “We need to preserve the quality of life here.” Levey, who said he majored in education policy in college, believes education will be important in his campaign as well. He’s been endorsed by former Assemblyman and Congressman Mel Levine, State Sen. Jack Scott and Georgia Mercer, a state community college board member. “I’m starting to put together endorsements and the team now,” Levey said. Born and raised in St. Louis, Levey moved to Santa Monica in 1996\. Although Levey said he hasn’t done much campaigning yet, he plans to start after the holidays are over. “People are not thinking about this right now,” he said. “Next spring, for sure it will heat up.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/113005-02_03.jpg) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/113005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)