Connolly closes in on reelection to Assembly seat
Assemblyman Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, easily outpolled his Republican challenger, Andy Podshadley, in preliminary election returns on Tuesday night.
Connolly garnered 106,625 votes in the 12th District, or 75.5%, compared to 34,535 for Podshadley.
Podshadley, who owns the Trek Winery and the Pods Brews brewery in downtown Novato, faced an uphill battle. About 59% of the registered voters in the district, which includes all of Marin and part of Sonoma County, are Democrats.
Connolly formerly served on the Marin County Board of Supervisors, the San Rafael City Council and a local school board. He also worked as a state prosecutor.
During his campaign, Connolly highlighted his work to advance Proposition 4, a measure on the state ballot that asks voters to approve $10 billion in general obligation bonds for water infrastructure, environmental protection and wildfire prevention projects. Connolly said that his Assembly working group secured a $135 million line item in the bond for work in hardening residential areas against wildfires.
In February, he introduced Assembly Bill 2416, which would require the state insurance department to consider updating regulations to include wildfire mitigation efforts for properties and communities. Connolly said the bill addressed the rising issue of Californians losing wildfire insurance.
“People are getting dropped from their coverage and are being priced out of the market with exorbitant increases and costs,” he said. “We’re hearing about it virtually every day from folks in the district both in Marin and Sonoma counties.”
The bill did not make it to the Senate floor for a vote, but Connolly said he is committed to bringing it back in the next session. Connolly said he wants to reward people who are hardening their properties against wildfire risks.