By Miriam Raftery

October 2, 2024 (Spring Valley) – Audience members offered up in-depth questions for candidates in the 79^th Assembly District forum moderated by the League of Women Voters Monday night at the New Seasons Church in Spring Valley.

Educator LaShea Sharp-Collins,PhD and La Mesa Councilmember Colin Parent, both Democrats, agreed on some issues, such as protecting reproductive choice, but diverged on others, such as criminal justice reforms. Each touted their expertise in certain areas (Sharp-Collins on educations and equity issues, Parent on housing and transportation), their experiences preparing them for higher office, and their priorities if elected.

By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2024  (San Diego's East County)--Incumbency counts. That's the takeaway from tonight's early results in the 79th Assembly district race, where two prominent East County elected officials hold the lead over an educator endorsed by the Democratic Party.  All three candidates are Democrats.

La Mesa Councilman Colin Parent has a hefty lead, with 41.04% of the votes tallied so far.  Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez has 31.53%, while educator LaShae Sharp-Collins has 27.43% of the vote. The top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the November general election.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, top left to lower right:  Dr. LaShea Sharp-Collins, Mayor Racquel Vasquez, and Councilman Colin Parent.

February 25, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – ECM reporter Jessyka Heredia has done in-depth interviews with all three candidates running in the 79^th Assembly District.

All three are Democrats, and each has substantial public service experience.  LaShae Sharp-Collins, PhD, the party’s endorsed choice, is  the County Office of Education’s community engagement specialist, an adjunct professor at SDSU, and former district director for Assemblymember Shirley Weber, PhD.  Racquel Vasquez is Mayor of Lemon Grove and previously served on the city council and planning commission.  Colin Parent is a La Mesa Assemblyman and former director of external affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as past director of policy at the San Diego Housing Commission.

Each has many accomplishments and goals, which they highlight in our exclusive interviews. Vasquez and Parent tout their successful tract records of bringing new housing to their cities, while Sharp-Collins emphasized her expertise in education issues.. All spoke of their approaches to the state’s top issues including housing, homelessness, healthcare and education, as well as commenting on how the state might help the 79^th Assembly district prevent future flooding.

Each candidate has faced controversy at times. Parent, who serves as general counsel for Circulate San Diego, has helped raise funds from developers for that nonprofit organization and has drawn criticism for supporting developer/donor interests on the City Council. Vaquez has drawn complaints from some residents over the city’s flood response and  storm drain issues . Sharp-Collins raised controversy, according to the Daily Aztec for a slave persona assignment.

Below are links to our exclusive interviews with each candidate for the March 5 primary election, listed in alphabetical order:

Colin Parent

LaShea Sharp-Collins

Racquel Vasquez

How Their Histories Shaped 79^th Assembly District Candidates Mary England, Dr. Shirley Weber

Story and photos by Mark Gabrish Conlan

October 12, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--Throughout their adult lives, Republican Mary England has been a businesswoman and  Dr. Shirley Weber, a Democrat, has been a teacher. That’s the most important thing you need to know about the two rival candidates for California State Assembly from the newly created 79th District.

Throughout their interviews for East County Magazine, they kept coming back to their professional backgrounds and how those shaped not only their private lives but also their public ones. On just about every issue, including how to balance Californians’ desires for government programs with their limited willingness to pay for them in taxes, their fundamentally different life histories shape their views.

January 6, 2012(San Diego) -- Community leader and educator Pat Washington has announced she is running for the 79th State Assembly seat.