AKILAH WEBER FOR 79TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of former Assemblymember Shirley Weber to be California’s secretary of state left a vacancy for voters to fill — and big shoes for her successor. Early voting began last week in the 79th Assembly District special election. The primary is April 6 and a runoff for the top two of five candidates is set for June 8. Voters in the district — which includes La Mesa, Lemon Grove, southeastern San Diego, and parts of Chula Vista and National City — have a few intriguing options.

Leticia Munguia — the business representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District 36 — has an impressive command of local and state issues. Aeiramique Glass Blake — a social justice and youth activist and organizer — is an inspiring and independent voice.

But after interviewing and evaluating all of the candidates, The San Diego Union-tribune Editorial Board believes the choice for voters is clear. Dr. Akilah Weber has been an influential and effective La Mesa City Council member since being elected in 2018, addressing such crucial issues as police accountability, climate change and homelessness. It’s likely she would be an excellent advocate for her district and for Californians in general from her very first day in the Assembly. It’s possible she could even do for health care what Shirley Weber has done for criminal justice reform: something historic.

This endorsement is not given because she is Shirley Weber’s daughter. Akilah Weber earned it.

In the past year, she has brought particular insights into how her city and the county should deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. An obstetrician-gynecologist, she is founder and director of the Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology Division at Rady Children’s Hospital-san Diego and leads the adolescent gynecology program at UC San Diego Health. She chose to get the COVID-19 vaccine the first week it was available. She understands some community members’ vaccine hesitancy but has been telling people the vaccine is safe after listening to them. It’s a good indication of how she’d lead: decisively, with input from others and communication with all. She would be one of a few medical doctors, with a scientific mindset, in Sacramento. That’s helpful now and after the pandemic when leaders will need to address systemic historic inequities that left communities of color disproportionately sick and dying.

She said disparities among communities in the availability of testing and vaccinations should have been anticipated and handled much better. She also made a strong case that government should start preparing now for the next pandemic to avoid the errors and missteps of the past 14 months.

But Weber isn’t a one-issue candidate. In a Zoom interview with the editorial board, she said there needs to be a decertification process to prevent “rogue officers ... going from police department to police department to police department.” She said departments should focus on hiring mature individuals, perhaps by raising the minimum age to be an officer, and extend and improve training.

And she offered a cogent series of observations about how the state’s education system was not doing a good enough job to help all students — “regardless of ZIP code” — to have the tools and opportunities to succeed in life. She wants school districts to use data to determine whether the programs they have adopted are actually working — and to use state aid with greater oversight and accountability. Too many Democrats in Sacramento ignore the reporting and audits that show targeted student aid going to employee salaries and general costs.

Voters in the 79th Assembly District should elect Weber not because of her name but because of her strengths. Dr. Akilah Weber for state Assembly.