Fifth District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone has thrown his hat into the ring for a shot to represent the newly-formed 29th Assembly District.
“I had thought about it before,” Stone said this week. “The timing is right for my family.”
Stone has represented the 5th District, which includes Scotts Valley, the San Lorenzo Valley and part of Santa Cruz, for eight years in November. He will try to make the step up to assembly in a seat Bill Monning, D-Carmel, has occupied since 2008, when John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, was termed out.
A member of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association, Stone founded the Law Office of Mark W. Stone in 2003. He taught as an assistant professor for the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey from 1993 to 2000 and as an adjunct professor for the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Stone earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Berkeley, and a juris doctorate from Santa Clara University’s School of Law.
The Scotts Valley resident was a member of the Scotts Valley Unified School District Board from 1998 to 2003, serving as president, vice president and clerk of the board.
As supervisor, he sits on a number of committees, including the First 5 Commission, the Santa Cruz County Library Joint Powers Board, the Regional Transportation Commission and the California Coastal Commission, of which he is chairman.
Stone said he is organizing his campaign and building support for the open primary election in June.
Stone’s initial campaign message is his focus on today’s youth. He said he’ll use his experience at the local and county levels to look at the root of problems and craft long-term solutions.
Santa Cruz City Councilwoman Lynn Robinson also has announced her intention to run for the assembly seat.
Sidebar: District change
Santa Cruz County was formerly part of the 27th Assembly District, but after the 2010 Census, the district was reshaped by the California Redistricting Commission. Previously, the district included constituents south of Big Sur State Park. After re-working by the commission, the newly formed 29th District includes Santa Cruz County and Monterey County as far south as several miles past Monterey. The 29th District lines will take effect Nov. 1.
