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The seven candidates vying for State Assembly District 21 faced off in a debate Wednesday afternoon, touching on everything from housing and childcare to youth engagement and climate change.
Five Democrats, one Republican and a Green party candidate joined Thrive Alliance, the county’s nonprofit alliance group for a 90-minute virtual forum to convince voters they’re the right choice to represent the more than a dozen communities that extend from South San Francisco to East Palo Alto.The race includes James Coleman, South San Francisco’s youngest and first openly LGBTQ+ member of the city council; Mark Gilham, a Redwood City resident and United States Marine Corps veteran who ran several unsuccessful campaigns for State Assembly District 22, most recently in 2020, against Assembly member Mark Mullin; Maurice Goodman, member of the Board of Trustees for the San Mateo County Community College District; Giselle Hale, Redwood City’s recently elected mayor; Alison Madden, a Redwood City-based lawyer and single mother of two boys; Diane Papan, deputy mayor of San Mateo who’s served on the council for seven years; and Tania Solé, a Redwood City local and 12-year resident of Docktown.Each candidate had their own major concern they said set them apart from their opponents.
In his opening statement, Coleman said he was raised in a working-class family and “from a young age experienced what it was like to fall through the cracks.” He talked about creating a wealth tax and building affordable housing and high-quality healthcare. He said he wants to create a “government and medical system that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.”
Gilham spoke about his experience traveling the world and doing missionary work. After “looking around the world and seeing how we are being crushed by our government,” he said that he is “running literally to take down this government.”A father and Bay Area native, Goodman touted his experience as a youth developer and school board member. He said he championed food insecurity, housing, and other basic needs for students. As an assembly member, Goodman said he would “not just lead by example” but empower those around him to continue the work themselves.
Hale described herself as a “mother first” and an advocate, businesswoman and local politician. The daughter of a single mother, Hale said that good education and a social safety net became the bedrock for her success. She said she serves “to ensure that others, especially children, have the same opportunities as we did to succeed.”
Madden, a resident of Docktown in Redwood City, touted herself as a progressive candidate and talked about the importance of housing, climate action and diverse representation. She focused on her concerns around housing and displacement.“Redwood City, right now, is still evicting people without a relocation plan,” she said, adding that she wants to strengthen relocation provisions and create better compensation for displaced people.
Papan said her campaign is built on “results, not platitudes.” The daughter of immigrants, Papan described herself as “of and from this district, and I know the struggles that exist here.”Solé introduced herself in English and Spanish. She described early formative memories of spending time with her grandmother in Guatemala and confronting the reality of climate change. “The future of our planet depends on our collective commitment,” she said.She also highlighted concerns around housing affordability, saying, “I want my grandchildren to be able to stay in the place they were born.”
Acknowledging that bureaucracy often slows the delivery of support to those in need, Papan said her experience has prepared her to “channel resources without a lot of red tape.”Coleman reiterated his intention to impose a wealth tax on billionaires “so that our working families can pay less.”
Appealing directly to local advocacy organizations like Belle Haven Action, Solé said she’d like to “overhaul the systems in place,” and establish new ones “that don’t require individuals such as yourself to dedicate yourself to these communities that are not equitably treated.”Hale and Coleman both talked about the value of investing in children.
“We know that right now childcare exceeds the cost of rent,” Hale said. “I believe the investments we should be making are in early childhood education.”
“Every dollar you invest in childcare comes back as $8.50 on the low end to $17 on the high end,” Coleman added.
While he generally supports universal childcare, Goodman said that he is concerned that it might “run small businesses out,” something he said he’s seen happening already.
But Gilham took a different, more libertarian, approach.“If we keep taxes where they’re currently located and we cut our government by 20%, we’re going to have enough money to subsidize healthcare for children,” he said.
Both Solé and Madden heralded the youth for being leaders in taking action on climate change, naming the Sunrise Movement as a prime example.Gilham, in contrast, expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of the whole environmental movement.“I just have issues with some of these climate issues. It’s way too politicized,” he said. Questioning the basic facts about climate change, he added: “I think most of it is propaganda-driven.”
Hale mentioned the People’s Budget, Redwood City’s participatory budget pilot program that invites people of all ages to submit ideas for a city-funded project, as an example of how she’s engaging younger residents.
She also said that Redwood City is considering becoming the “first city removing the requirement of being an elector…to participating in boards and commissions.”
Papan emphasized the importance of going directly to the students themselves.She said she will pay regular visits to high schools and be active on social media to “set the expectation that you are welcome, that your voice is welcome and that we want to hear from you.”
Coleman agreed that “young people are not being heard,” adding, “that’s why I ran for city council in the first place.” He described being “silenced by the old mayor of South San Francisco” and creating a youth commission to engage younger generations.
In a lightning round, candidates were asked a series of questions, including: If you had a magic wand, what bill would you immediately make law?
Madden said she would repeal Article 34 of the California Constitution, which was added in 1950 and allows voters to veto public housing projects.
Hale said she would pass an “immediate infusion of $1 billion for affordable housing.” She paused, then added: “Make that a trillion.”
Goodman said he would create free healthcare throughout the state, while Coleman said he would pass a wealth tax for billionaires.
Gilham said he would get rid of property taxes and “restore California’s Prop 13.” Passed by voters in 1978—and long considered one of the state’s most infamous propositions—Prop 13 has generated controversy for limiting home sale property taxes rather than market value.Solé criticized SB9 and 10 for “masquerading as affordable housing when in fact, they’re not,” implying that she would repeal them.Papan said she’d use the state’s surplus to fund affordable housing. “We already have the money sitting there,” she said.Julio Garcia of RISE South City asked the candidates how they plan to tackle climate change from their office in Sacramento and in partnership with the local communities.
Gilham started the discussion by doubling down on his climate skepticism.“The science isn’t supporting climate change, guys. It just isn’t,” he said.
Coleman positioned himself as a voice for the youth, saying, “it’s going to be our generation that bears the brunt of climate change.”
Advocating for a Green New Deal for California, he said he was committed to “holding PG&E accountable” and touted his relevant endorsements, including from the Sunrise Movement.
Addressing Gilham directly, Hale said climate change concerns were “not theoretical at all.” She added that she was already working on environmental issues at the city level and emphasized the need for more equitable funding models to support these efforts.Goodman said he was “going to go in a different direction” with his answer but, alluding to Gilham’s earlier comments, said that he would “make sure that those in our community who are questioning climate change understand how big of an issue it is.”He continued: “It’s obvious that the number one way we address this is education, education, education.”
Hale has outraised her opponents by more than $200,000, according to recent finance reports. The candidate with second highest total campaign donations is Papan.The Statewide Direct Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, June 7. Vote by Mail ballots for the election will be mailed out to all registered voters starting the week of May 9, according to the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters. For more information on registering to vote and different methods of submitting your ballot, visit smcvote.org. Additional information about upcoming candidate forums can be found here.
