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The race for the State Senate district representing the San Ramon Valley is set to be a competitive one this year, with two candidates facing off in their bids for an open seat with no incumbent running for reelection.
First-term San Ramon City Councilmember Marisol Rubio (D-San Ramon) and State Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) both announced their campaigns for State Senate last year, proceeding with the necessary candidate filing paperwork and campaigning in the months since as the 2024 primary and general elections grow closer.
Both announcements came in the wake of incumbent Steve Glazer’s decision not to test new limitations on how long state legislators are allowed to stay in office.
While Glazer represents State Senate District 7, the redistricting process following the 2020 census resulted in the area including much of Contra Costa County and the San Ramon Valley being shifted to Senate District 9 in the new district boundaries going into effect with this year’s election.
This year’s election for the newly redrawn district is set to be a straightforward one between Grayson and Rubio, with no additional candidates coming forward. That means both are set to be on the November ballot for the general election as the default top two choices in the upcoming March 7 primary.
Rubio began her current term in the San Ramon City Council’s District 4 seat following incumbent Sabina Zafar’s decision to bid for mayor rather than reelection to her seat in the 2022 general election, with that election seeing Rubio successful in her campaign for the seat against longtime parks commissioner Heidi Kenniston-Lee.
Rubio resigned from her previous position on the Dublin San Ramon Services District Board of Directors midway through the four-year term she was elected to in 2020, following her successful campaign for City Council.
Grayson was elected to a four-year term in the State Assembly’s 15th District representing much of the northern portion of Contra Costa County in the same 2022 election, after serving six years in the District 14 seat under the district boundaries previously in effect. He served on the Concord City Council prior to his tenure in the Assembly, which included a term as the city’s mayor.
“Californians are struggling to keep pace with rising inflation and skyrocketing housing costs,” Grayson said in his campaign announcement on Aug. 11. “I’ll stand up for them in the State Senate and expand on the work I did to stand up for middle-class Californians — expanding statewide protections for renters, standing up to Big Banks and pharmaceutical companies, providing affordable housing, and improving our roads, bridges and infrastructure.”
With Rubio outlining a similar platform and priorities including affordable housing, transit, reproductive healthcare and environmental sustainability, San Ramon Valley voters are poised to see these issues championed regardless of the outcome of this year’s election.
Although the two candidates are politically aligned for the most part, the month ahead of the election sees them battling for endorsements from key organizations and individuals.
Grayson boasts the support of local politicians including the entire Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and numerous state assemblymembers including Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), as well as organizations including Planned Parenthood of Northern California’s Action Fund, various unions and the Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
Rubio has also garnered endorsements from unions including the California Teachers’ Association, the California Faculty Association and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, plus local groups including the Tri-Valley and Diablo Valley Democratic clubs. Individual endorsers include fellow San Ramon Councilmember Sridhar Verose and two members of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board — John Marquez and Fernando Sandoval.
While voters will be able to express their preference between the candidates in the upcoming primary vote on March 5, Rubio and Grayson are poised to automatically proceed to the general election in November, which will decide who wins the new Senate District 9 seat, with no other candidates in the race.
