Given Democratic Party dominance of California politics, in the Nov. 3 election it’s crucial to elect moderates to push policy toward the center. A good place to start is in Assembly District 68, which encompasses most of Santa Ana and portions of Anaheim and Orange.
Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez and Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza, both Democrats, are vying for the seat vacated by Assemblyman Avelino Valencia, who is in turn running for state Senate.
Lopez and Penaloza have often been on different sides of key issues in Santa Ana.
Perhaps the biggest area of agreement we’ve had with Lopez is on her willingness to stand up to the city police union, especially its former leader Gerry Serrano.
In November 2023, Lopez fended off a Santa Ana Police Officers Association-backed recall attempt. The POA sought revenge because she rejected excessive pay demands for officers. We opposed the recall, writing at the time, “if the POA gets away with another recall, no councilmember would dare resist it in the future. It would become the dictatorship of Santa Ana.” Penaloza originally backed the recall. But just before the election, he rescinded his endorsement of the recall campaign. Point to Lopez.
In 2021, Lopez supported Santa Ana becoming the first city in Orange County to have rent control on the books, while Penaloza opposed it. As cities from Los Angeles to San Francisco have proven, rent controls might deliver real benefits to those in rent-controlled units, but they also distort the broader rental market and in the long run do more harm than good. Penaloza recognizes this and also pointed out the waste of resources in having to enforce such a counterproductive policy. Point to Penaloza.
As candidates for the Legislature, both candidates expressed harsh criticism of the California high-speed rail project, which we deeply appreciated, as well as skepticism of environmental mandates without concern for their actual impacts. And they have both vowed to stand up to federal overreach in California.
Both candidates stressed the inflation crisis that’s especially acute in District 68, which includes many of OC’s poorest neighborhoods. Accordingly, both voted against putting Santa Ana Measure N on the Nov. 3 ballot. If approved, it will make permanent the city’s “temporary” Measure X sales tax increase voters passed in 2018.
But from there, their relative approaches diverge.
Lopez is a proud progressive, with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Insurance Commissioner candidate Jane Kim and far-left Assemblyman Alex Lee. Hence, her support for things like rent control and most notably the CalCare proposal to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California. Lopez’s expansive views on the power of government are at odds with what California needs.
Penaloza stands out as the pragmatic moderate choice in this race. Penaloza opposes the wealth tax, supports Proposition 13, and speaks critically of lawmakers who chase headlines and bring forward proposals without considering their long-term ramifications.
Penaloza’s strongest asset is that he is senior regulatory manager for Santa Ana-based Color Science Inc., where he started as a part-time office clerk in 2008. He has a real job, in other words, and sees the impact of government regulations. “I work with a number of different government regulations that are being introduced daily,” he said. “They can break a small business, many of which leave the state.” It’s that kind of experience with the real effects of California’s excessive regulation and taxation that’s needed in Sacramento.
Penaloza said the state needs to be realistic about regulations that drive up costs. He pointed to a Feb. 18, 2025 resolution he sponsored opposing the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Proposed Amended Rules 1111 and 1121. The rules would have gradually shifted sales toward zero-emission furnaces and water heaters through manufacturer targets and fees on gas models. The AQMD rejected the proposals that June.
One ironic wrinkle in this race is that it was the progressive Lopez who spoke critically of Assembly Bill 1383, which aimed to boost pensions for public safety employees, while it was the moderate Penaloza who was more inclined to support it. As much as we lament Penaloza’s alignment with police unions, Lopez’s clarity of thinking about police unions doesn’t seem to extend to other public employee unions.
We endorse David Penaloza for Assembly District 68.