Incumbents ahead in Assembly races

Incumbents Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, and Heath Flora, R-Ripon, hold strong leads over challenges from political newcomers that had little financial support and lacked name recognition.

Cooper, running in California’s 9th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Elk Grove, Lodi, Galt and Sacramento, holds a strong lead over fellow Democrats Mushtaq Tahirkheli of Lodi, Tracie Stafford of Elk Grove and Republican Eric Rigard of Elk Grove.

With 81% of precincts reporting Tuesday evening, results showed Cooper with 16,395 votes (42.6%), Rigard with 14,212 (36.9%), Stafford with 6,888 (17.9%) and Tahirkheli with 974 votes (2.5%).

Prior to his election to the Assembly in 2014, Cooper worked for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department for 30 years, where he reached the rank of captain. He also served as founding mayor when Elk Grove was officially incorporated as a city in 2000 and sat on the Elk Grove City Council for 14 years.

The Democrat has been able to garner cross-party support locally through his advocacy for California’s agriculture industry. He has also been a strong supporter of public safety employees.

“He’s been strong and steady. The assemblyman has been a huge advocate for people in San Joaquin County,” Cooper’s campaign spokesperson Skyler Wonnacott said via phone on Tuesday night.

“He has helped secure nearly $1 million for Lodi’s cybersecurity and $1 million fro the City of Galt’s park. Cooper has spent a lot of time bring state resources to local communities and working with varies industries including ag.”

Tahirkheli, a retired notary public who has lived in Lodi for more than five years. The 71-year-old registered Democrat was born in Pakistan, and he and his wife Musarrat Nazir have four adult children. He campaigned to address expensive bills, low minimum wage, the high cost of education and housing, climate change, taxes and civil rights.

Stafford, an Elk Grove resident, has been the communications chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, a delegate of the California Democratic Party Executive Board, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners and president of the Women Democrats of Sacramento County.

She is an independent business consultant currently on leave from Allegory, Inc. where she was vice president of expansion.

She campaigned on education, public safety and criminal justice reform. She also vowed to work towards increasing minimum wage and supported the highspeed rail project, stating it would reduce carbon emissions, create jobs in rural communities and allow people to commute to cities with a high skill job market.

Rigard is a retired businessman who has lived in Elk Grove for more than seven years with his wife Jackie and youngest daughter.

A pro-life, conservative Christian, he was endorsed by the Sacramento County Republican Party and the San Joaquin Republican Party.

If elected, he told the News-Sentinel he planned to address the state’s homeless situation, affordable housing for senior citizens, lowering taxes and reducing vehicle emissions.

He said he would also like to make it possible for thirdparty groups to pay for health care needs of patients on dialysis, as well as give independent contractors the ability to negotiate contracts with employers and earn a living wage, something taken away with the passage of Assembly Bill 5.

12th Assembly District

Heath Flora (R-Ripon), running in the 12th Assembly District, which includes the rural communities of Clements, Lockeford and Victor, had an early lead over Paul Akinjo (D- Lathrop) by press time. With 9.4% of precincts reporting, results showed Flora with 26,064 votes (68.6%) and Akinjo with 11,906 votes (31.4%).

Flora, a businessman and former volunteer firefighter, was first elected to the Assembly in 2016 with a hard-fought victory over fellow conservative Ken Vogel.

Like Cooper, Flora has been a strong advocate for the agriculture industry and public safety employees.

“We are very excited by the results and thankful to voters,” said Couper Condit, campaign manager for Flora. “The support is a testament to the work Heath has been doing. Our office is available to all members of the 12th district members, and we look forward to sharing our legislative package.”

Flora was challenged by just one opponent, Lathrop City Councilman Paul Akinjo.

A native of Nigeria, Akinjo immigrated to the United States in the early 1980s, and has been a Lathrop resident since 2001.

A registered Democrat, He was appointed to the Lathrop City Council in 2012, and re-elected in 2014 and 2018.

Akinjo holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts and technology from San Francisco State University, as well as an associate’s degree in electronics technology from Laney College in Oakland. He also holds various levels of computer and networking certificates from Cisco and MicroSoft, and works as a technical support analyst with the County of Alameda.

A former member of the United States Army Reserve, Akinjo is also the appointed pastor for the Redeemer Christian Church of God in Lathrop.