Mayor Joe Krovoza will vacate his position as Mayor of the City of Davis in June 2014 and will run for the California State Assembly, representing the fourth assembly district. Krovoza was elected in 2010 and he now wants to transition to state level politics. The Aggie asked Krovoza a few questions about his campaign and his plans if he were to be elected.
Q: What motivated you to run for the California State Assembly?
Krovoza: I have been volunteering for over 20 years in Davis and I believe I’ve got a wealth of information and experience on the issues that face the local city, higher education and education in general. I want to bring that to the state house in Sacramento. Through my day job at UC Davis, I’m right at the heart of clean transportation and energy conservation and those are issues that are front and center for the state of California with respect to climate change, mitigation and adaptation. As an employee of an institution of higher education I understand exactly what’s going on in limiting access to students. I’m 50 years old, so it would be a wonderful transition to go from citizen mayor and university employee to assemblyperson.
Q: What does your campaign schedule look like? What’s going to come next?
I announced [my campaign] on May 11. The first reporting deadline for fundraising was June 30 and I raised $118,000 from only my friends and family, not from any Sacramento lobbyists or special interests. It was by far the most money that any of the five candidates raised. Dan Wolk, running against me, raised less than $50,000. He had more expenses and a significant amount of his money was from his mother’s campaign account and the campaign accounts of other politicians in Sacramento. I think I had 340 contributors to my campaign. The foundation of my campaign is externally strong and that’s what [I] need to use to get the message out as we get into the spring and June primaries.
Q: What are some fundraising and outreach efforts you have already undertaken?
I had a wonderful day in August where I went all around the district starting at 7 in the morning with friends. We visited Gypsum American Canyon, Napa, Calistoga, Lakeport, Williams, Woodland and Davis. I’ve been traveling the district and meeting people and getting out to Democratic groups throughout the district and kind of listening to what the common problems are that I faced as the mayor of Davis and what some unique challenges are of other places in the district. I’m very excited representing the fourth assembly district.
Q: What areas does the fourth assembly district represent?
100 percent of Napa, all of Yolo County except West Sacramento, Gypsum, Sonoma County and Williams in Colusa County, so six counties. I could not be more excited about representing a district that is so huge because even though it’s large in size, it’s actually quite united in its interest in [the] agricultural economy of California. All the cities seem to have a great interest in livable communities and respecting the [agricultural] land near them.
Q: What are some of the main issues you would focus on if elected?
I think addressing climate change is the moral imperative of our time and $1 that we spend on mitigating climate change saves us $4 in having to adapt to climate change. This district in particular, given its dependence on agriculture and its environmental values, has got to be paying attention to reducing climate change and keeping our atmosphere stable. I also think that higher education is front and center for the district. For UC Davis and making sure students have access to education, that will be a top priority for me. The district represents Sonoma State and also four community colleges throughout the district. I’m a former student leader and I’ve been working very hand in glove with the Davis school district. I also think that affordable housing is terribly important throughout the district. To support workers being able to live close to where they work. We need jobs but we also need housing that [is] approximate to those jobs.
PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
