One of the best ways to pass better laws around active transportation is to elect bike champions. Elected leaders who understand the value of safe streets for people biking, walking, and taking transit are critical allies in our work to bring better biking to all Californians. So, each election cycle, CalBike endorses candidates who we hope will become the next generation of bike-friendly leaders in Sacramento.

We only endorse candidates in tough races or running for open seats. If we don’t have an endorsement for your assemblymember or state senator, that doesn’t mean they aren’t a bike champion; it may just mean that theirs is a safe seat. We generally endorse only candidates for state seats, but we occasionally endorse someone running for a local seat, as is the case with one of our endorsements this year.

Here are nine excellent candidates who we expect to be strong allies in the campaign for safer streets. If you are in one of their districts, please vote for them and share this endorsement. If not, we’ve linked to their websites where you can find other ways to support bike-friendly leadership.

Catherine Stefani, Assembly District 19: San Francisco

Catherine Stefani brings a progressive yet mindful approach to highway expansion funding; in her questionnaire, she said, “I am generally opposed to highway widening and expansion projects and would be opposed to such efforts in Assembly District 19. Through induced demand and the encouragement of more driving, especially from suburban and exurban communities, we are only inviting more gridlock, congestion, and pollution into our state’s urban cores, such as the dense communities throughout the westside of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County.”

Stefani is a worthy candidate for the state legislature and can prove to be a key champion for safe streets in the state legislature. 

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Nick Schultz, Assembly District 44: Burbank

Nick Schultz knows it’s imperative that every transportation project over the coming decade aims for and achieves a reduction in vehicle miles traveled by encouraging the use of mass transit and alternative transportation options. He’s willing to discontinue project funding for road expansion projects already in the pipeline and supports the transition from our historically car-centric transportation infrastructure into one that embraces all modalities of transportation.

Schultz is a worthy successor to bicycle champion Laura Friedman, who is running for Congress. His answers to CalBike’s questionnaire indicate that he understands the need to increase funding for active transportation infrastructure and will be a strong advocate in Sacramento. 

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Robert Garcia, Assembly District 50: Rialto

Robert Garcia believes California’s car dependence is holding us back from our zero emissions goals and that we should take much of the funding we use on car-dependent infrastructure and put it toward building accessible, affordable mass transit systems and pedestrian infrastructure. He supports increased efforts to repair and connect our sidewalks, make our bike lanes safer with physical barriers, and push for higher housing density to make these solutions more effective. 

A current school board member, Garcia supports devoting more of California’s transportation budget to active transportation. His answers to CalBike’s questionnaire demonstrated his support for prioritizing low-income communities of color for transportation funding. 

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Jessica Caloza, Assembly District 52: Los Angeles

Jessica Caloza thinks California should look at our transportation budget and how it prioritizes projects that increase vehicle miles traveled and GHG emissions. A former LA Public Works Commissioner, she wants to realign our environmental goals with our climate standards. 

Caloza’s answers to CalBike’s candidate questionnaire showed a strong desire to work with active transportation and environmental advocates to shape better state policy. She understands the need to prioritize low-income communities for infrastructure funding. 

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Sade Elhawary, Assembly District 57: Los Angeles

Sade Elhawary believes our representatives have a moral responsibility to create the change and growth needed to measurably improve the lives of those in overlooked communities throughout the state — regardless of pushback or opposition –– and that our budget must reflect a feasible path to net zero carbon emissions. She wants to make unwalkable communities accessible to people on bikes, scooters, and public transit.

Elhawary understands that an investment in environmental justice will pay dividends in the future. Her responses to CalBike’s questionnaire show that she’ll be a passionate advocate for communities of color and disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Clarissa Cervantes, Assembly District 58: Corona

Clarissa Cervantes understands that California needs to shift away from being a car-dependent state. She believes we must prioritize investments in our public transportation system and in infrastructure that increases transit ridership, advances our climate goals, and improves safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other modes of transportation. 

A Riverside City Council member, Cervantes would prioritize shifting our state transportation budget to make substantial investments in disadvantaged communities across California. She would work to empower the communities most impacted by pollution to choose their own goals, strategies, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Colin Parent, Assembly District 79: La Mesa

Colin Parent wants our transportation funding to match our climate and mode-share goals. The CEO of Bike Advocacy organization Circulate San Diego, he knows we need to also be spending substantially more on transit, bike, and pedestrian facilities. Our actions must match our words and commitments. 

Parent, also a city council member in La Mesa, has worked to prioritize funding for communities that have endured the most crashes and deaths, which are overwhelmingly communities of color and low-income areas. In his responses to CalBike’s questionnaire, he expressed a desire to introduce a bill in the legislature that prioritizes spending those dollars in areas that have suffered from historic and racist disinvestment, as well as areas that have suffered the most injuries and deaths.

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

Sasha Renée Pérez, Senate District 25: Pasadena

Sasha Renée Pérez knows that lack of housing and urban sprawl have dramatically increased our carbon emissions and negatively impacted air quality throughout California. She wants our state to get serious about addressing the state’s housing crisis if we intend to address the climate crisis. She would also work to reduce diesel truck congestion and emissions, increase affordable access to renewable energy sourcing, particularly in dense and low-income communities, while expanding access to new green jobs as part of the transition away from fossil fuel jobs.

If she is elected to the State Senate, active transportation and public transportation funding will continue to be one of Pérez’s top priorities. She recognizes that if our state wants to make an impact on climate change, we must get people out of their cars and into buses, trains, and on bikes. Additionally, she would do more to incentivize denser housing near our transit and city centers to decrease vehicle miles traveled.

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.

John Bauters, Alameda County District Supervisor, District 5

John Bauters has a proven record for championing safe streets in the Bay Area. In 2020, John was the only member of the 22-person Alameda County Transportation Commission to vote against the widening of State Route 84. Simultaneously, through his ACTC leadership, he successfully reprogrammed those expansion funds for local street safety investments adjacent to the initial highway project proposals.

If he is elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, active transportation and public transportation funding will continue to be among Bauters’ top priorities. We hope that he will be able to fully implement Alameda County’s first Countywide Bikeways Plan, which envisions a 400-mile network of connected, safe bike routes throughout the county.

Candidate questionnaire. Candidate website.