It’s a rematch between Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco and branch pest control manager Raul Ortiz Jr. as they face off for the second time in the race for the 64th Assembly District seat.
Elected to the state Assembly in 2022, Pacheco is a Democrat from Downey who previously served as the city’s mayor. She is also an attorney with a focus on municipal law and estate planning.
During her first term, Pacheco pushed for privacy protections for elected officials and their families, removing delays in getting domestic violence protective order forms to judges and stronger measures against stealing infant formula, baby food and over-the-counter medications.
Ortiz, who previously held positions in the L.A. County GOP and Orange County GOP, described his political philosophy as “limited government, personal responsibilities, traditional values, individual liberty, biblical principles.”
Regarding the high cost of living in California, Ortiz said he supports tax reforms — without imposing heavy-handed regulations — that provide relief to individuals and businesses.
“Specifically, implementing broad-based income tax cuts can increase disposable income for residents, making it easier to manage the high cost of living,” he said in a questionnaire posed by the Orange County Register.
He’s opposed to the proposal to raise California’s minimum wage from $16 to $18, something that’s also before California voters this year.
“Investing into the skill level to make our workforce more valuable will be rewarded by the marketplace that allow one to earn above and beyond a minimum wage,” said Ortiz.
Pacheco said she also supports tax reform to bring down the cost of living for Californians. She said she would fight to cut taxes for working and middle-class Californians if reelected.
But more importantly, California needs to tackle the affordable housing crisis, she said.
“California needs to reassess policies that are making young people and families consider leaving. … But most critically in my opinion, we need to build more housing of all types to lower the exorbitant cost of housing in our state,” said Pacheco.
On homelessness, Pacheco said she stands by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to order state agencies to remove homeless encampments on state property.
“It is far past time that we take back certain public places from the dangers of sprawling encampments,” she said.
But Pacheco also said that removing encampments isn’t the only solution to fixing California’s homelessness crisis.
“We need to continue to increase our investments in transitional and long-term housing for unhoused folks as well as supportive services to ensure these individuals truly stay off the streets and get permanently housed,” she said.
AD-64 includes Los Angeles County and La Habra in Orange County. According to state data, Democrats account for 49.9% of all the registered voters in the district, while 22.4% are Republicans and 21.2% are no party preference voters.
Find out more about Ortiz and Pacheco — and other candidates on your ballot — with the Register’s Voter Guide. Both candidates were sent questionnaires and in their own words, detailed their plans on various issues, from artificial intelligence to the state’s minimum wage and from the state budget to bond measures. You can also find what’s on their playlists as they’re on the campaign trail.
