One California Assembly seat representing Sacramento is open for the first time in a decade, meaning voters in the city’s urban core, Natomas and Arden will choose a new representative.
And voters will have a lot of options for the March 5 primary – 10 candidates have filed to run for the 6th Assembly District seat. While many of them don’t have high name ID, they bring a vast array of experience working and advocating in the state Capitol or serving on local boards and commissions.
Assembly member Kevin McCarty has held the seat since 2014 and is leaving the Legislature to run for Sacramento mayor. McCarty has not made an endorsement in the race.
The candidates running to replace McCarty are:
- Emmanuel Amanfor (Democrat): Sacramento Housing Commissioner
- Nikki Ellis (Republican): International Trade Advocate
- Sean Frame (Democrat): Education Union Steward
- Rosanna Herber (Democrat): Environmental Advocate
- Maggy Krell (Democrat): Deputy California Attorney General
- Carlos Marquez III (Democrat): Civil Rights Advocate
- Kevin Olmar Martinez (Peace and Freedom): Union Representative
- Evan Minton (Democrat): Nonprofit Policy Director
- Preston Romero (Republican): Policy Analyst
- Paula Villescaz (Democrat): Health care Policy Director
The following candidates responded to a CapRadio questionnaire. Here are their responses:
These answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Please share a little bit about yourself, your background and political or policy experience.
Maggy Krell: As Planned Parenthood’s General Counsel, I protected and expanded access to health care. As Deputy Attorney General, I brought down the largest sex trafficking operation in America and helped survivors rebuild their lives. As a volunteer lawyer, I flew to the border to reunite caged children with their parents. I have earned a career achievement award from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and another from the Anti-Defamation League for combating hate and bigotry. I will write laws that make people’s lives better.
Sean Frame: I work for the County Board of Education, and serve as shop steward for my local CSEA 480, a union made up of custodians, cooks, paraeducators and other school staff. My life fundamentally changed the day I learned my 2nd grade son’s school principal had been shot and killed on campus. He was someone I deeply admired for his commitment to his school and students. In the wake of this tragedy, as a longtime school volunteer, I ran for school board and ended up serving as Trustee for nine years. Now I want to serve the residents of Assembly District 6.
Rosanna Herber: I moved here from Indiana almost 40 years ago and fell in love with Sacramento. I immediately began working for a Sacramento City Council member. We started the “Trees for Tomorrow” campaign, a successful 10-year effort to plant one million trees, encouraging the early growth of the Sacramento Tree Foundation. I then worked at SMUD for 20 years where I started the Community Engagement Department, working closely with elected officials in the county and the six surrounding cities. After retiring, I was elected to the SMUD Board in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Today, I’m president of the SMUD Board.
Emmanuel Amanfor: Emmanuel embodies the American Dream—from low-income immigrant to homeowner. A devoted husband raising four sons aged 1-15, a public health practitioner and state employee currently focusing on re-entry programs at CDCR [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]. A Sacramento Housing Commissioner, Emmanuel fights homelessness and for low-income housing because he has experienced both. A board member of the Sacramento Civil Service with a track record of adjudicating cases including police officers’ disciplinary actions, Emmanuel was involved in AB1604-Upward Mobility Act of 2022 advocating for diversity in State Department leadership.
Evan Minton: I’ve served as a policy advocate to expand healthcare access; a legislative aide protecting voting and workers’ rights; and as a trailblazer for the transgender community when I was denied health care by a high-powered hospital and took on the hospital system in litigation that reached the US Supreme Court.
Some successes I’m most proud of: making housing more affordable for vulnerable populations; expanding worker protections to allow workers to take time off to care for someone close to them; helping to prevent guns from falling into the hands of minors; and streamlining the student financial aid application process.
Paula Villescaz: We struggled growing up. I was raised by a single mom, and I am a first generation college graduate. After a devastating cancer diagnosis I became a patient advocate and went on to work as a principal consultant for the California Assembly Health Committee. Subsequently, I served as Assistant Secretary for the California Health and Human Services Agency, supporting social safety net programs and leading our COVID-19 response efforts throughout California. I am a new mom and work for the County Welfare Directors Association and serve as an elected member of the San Juan Unified School District Board of Education.
Carlos Maquez III: As ACLU California's executive director, I partnered with Planned Parenthood to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, earning a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte. As president of a local non-profit housing provider, I helped establish a groundbreaking shelter for unhoused youth. As an education advocate, I negotiated a once-in-a-generation legislative bargain between teachers and public charter schools, and enacted a $300 million block grant for low performing students. I've delivered by working with both parties, unions and business. I'll do the same in the Assembly. I reside in Southside Park with my husband, Michael.
Nikki Ellis: Did not fill out a survey
Kevin Olmar Martinez: Did not fill out a survey
Preston Romero: Did not fill out a survey
If elected to the 6th Assembly seat, what would be your top priorities?
MK: Reducing costs and removing barriers to healthcare, such as ensuring that the new treatment to cure sickle cell is deployed to everyone with the disease. Expanding access to addiction treatment and mental healthcare.
Helping crime victims, for example, building better support systems for survivors of human trafficking so that they have access to the services and resources to heal and rebuild their lives.
Replenishing the State’s Rainy Day Budget Fund and raising the cap on how much we put in it.
Improving the state's public education system and expanding opportunity for both higher education and vocational schools.
SF: Housing and supporting our Unhoused Population is my top priority. I believe the state needs to declare a State of Emergency on Housing to secure the resources and structure necessary to immediately house our unhoused while working towards longer term solutions.
California should be a global leader when it comes to solving our climate crisis. I will fight for solutions that prioritize people over corporate profits, bring carbon emissions to net zero, and rapidly accelerate the greening of our economy with sustainable, good-paying jobs.
I support creating a California-based, Single Payer/Medicare for ALL plan for ALL Californians.
RH: One priority is encouraging more housing and finding ways to better shelter the unhoused. Once elected, I’ll convene a gathering with elected officials from every jurisdiction to discuss how we can better coordinate the delivery of homeless services now and in the future. A second priority is climate change. We can create great jobs by building more solar and wind energy. Young people from under-resourced communities should be first in line to receive training for these new green jobs. We can also better engage citizens and businesses around climate change. We must if we want to save the planet.
EA: Housing: Homelessness and homeownership; Public Safety; and Economic Development
EM: My top three priorities include:
- Economic security, including housing and healthcare affordability and access
- Environmental justice and solutions to climate change
- LGBTQ+ rights and protections, especially for those most marginalized
These are my priorities because they are both the priorities of our district and because, given my background and experience, I can make the most impact on these issues.
PV: My top priorities are fully funding public education, ensuring access to high-quality health care for all, and addressing our climate and housing/homelessness crisis. There is no shortage of problems we face, and we have to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time — all while delivering a balanced budget. I have extensive experience in each of these policy areas along with years of delivering balanced budgets. I am up for the challenge and ready to deliver for our community.
CM: Requiring more transparency and accountability over government spending on homelessness will be a top priority. Solving the homeless crisis is complex but with more transparency, our constituents can better hold the Legislature accountable for producing actual results. I will continue to be vigilant in defense of fundamental rights, including reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights. I will work to advance the strongest gun control legislation in the country, and work to ensure California keeps pace with our ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Finally, I will work with housing advocates, business, and labor to eliminate red tape and accelerate housing production.
How would you serve the interests of district residents in the state Assembly?
MK: Law enforcement isn’t just about cops and robbers. California fails to enforce laws that protect wages, workplace safety, medical treatment for work injuries, and equal pay for equal work. I will be both loud and clear when it comes to protecting individual Californians I represent.
SF: My goal is to make sure community voices are heard both inside and outside the Capitol and that these voices are represented. This means going directly to the people and not expecting them to come to me. A few months ago I discovered a local affordable housing building was converting into market rate and residents were getting evicted. They’d received no assistance from the city or county. I immediately organized a BBQ for residents and brought in some nonprofit housing advocates to assist residents. As your assemblymember, I want to leverage the office to best serve my community.
RH: I’ve dedicated my life to public service and I’d be honored to serve the residents and businesses of Assembly District 6. You can expect me to be direct, responsive and forward thinking. We can talk about anything and I’ll give you my honest feedback or follow-up on your problem. I plan to engage with all areas of the district and I look forward to attending more neighborhood and community events to hear your ideas about how we can work together to improve District 6. I’ll be looking to form partnerships with organizations that can help me fulfill this goal.
EA: I prioritize building trust and accessibility. Drawing from my professional, personal, and educational background, I understand the importance of open communication and genuine engagement with constituents. I am committed to actively listening to the concerns and needs of district residents, advocating for their priorities, and working collaboratively to address pressing issues. By fostering transparent and responsive representation, I aim to ensure that the voices of our community are heard and that their interests are effectively represented in the state Assembly.
EM: I have spent the last two decades working on the issues that matter most to our community and I will continue to do so as the next Assemblymember in AD 6. I am a thoughtful and strategic leader who listens and brings in those who are experiencing the challenges I am working to address. Bringing our residents into the process as we’re working to solve their biggest problems and ensuring their voices are heard, listened to, and action is taken in response is the best way I can serve those in our district.
PV: As a school board member, I have a record of delivering resources to our community. I will remain steadfastly focused on the only thing that matters: delivering real results to make our community healthier and safer. This includes lowering the runaway costs of health care, ensuring our schools are fully funded so that all of our children have the best start possible, increasing our housing inventory, lowering the number of unhoused neighbors that are living on our streets, and taking real, measurable steps to address our climate crisis. As your legislator, I will answer directly to you when measuring success.
CM: Throughout my career, I’ve delivered results by working with everyone, not just those who agree with me. As your next Assemblymember, I would spend my time equally split between legislating and being present in the community to ensure that my decisions are constantly informed by what my constituents care about most. I would seek collaboration, not conflict, and focus on finding common ground over scoring political points.
Are there issues you are uniquely positioned to work on because of your background or experience?
MK: Public Safety: Five attorneys general have trusted me to prosecute some of the most complex criminal cases in California and for advice on difficult policy decisions impacting victims.
Housing and Homelessness: I’ve worked closely with survivors of sex trafficking and other forms of trauma. Many are homeless, housing insecure, or stuck in abusive relationships with nowhere else to sleep. I get the "why" and will address our housing shortage with urgency and creativity.
Healthcare: Planned Parenthood hired me to fight [former President Donald] Trump and protect healthcare access in California. My work helped over a million patients when we were under assault by the federal government.
SF: I spent nine years serving on a local school board, which gave me a deep foundational knowledge into education policy and school funding. As a person with a masters in visual arts who ran a successful business based in the Arts for 30 years, I believe that the constant underfunding of the arts in schools, particularly in schools with the fewest resources, is deeply misguided. Not only can you save a struggling student by letting them study something they are passionate about, but 30% of the jobs of the future are likely to be based in the arts.
RH: As the SMUD Board President, I will bring the experience of overseeing and balancing a $2 billion budget. At SMUD, we have kept rates low, 50% lower than PG&E, while providing excellent customer service and combating climate change. SMUD is the first large utility in the nation to set the goal of being zero carbon by 2030. We are building new solar and wind power, while engaging with citizens and businesses who care about the planet to show them how to remove carbon (pollution) from their daily lives. I will take this experience to the Assembly and create change.
EA: I think the greatest impact to our community is addressing homelessness and housing. My personal experience with homelessness fuels my commitment to address housing issues. Understanding firsthand the impact of limited resources and information, I support solutions that prioritize housing stability. As a Sacramento Housing Commissioner involved in initiatives like Project Homekey and Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance Program, I've gained insight into the complexities of housing insecurity. This hands-on experience, coupled with empathy and understanding, uniquely positions me to advocate for comprehensive solutions. I aim to address systemic barriers and support initiatives that ensure housing stability for all community members.
EM: As a legislative advocate, an officer and appointee to the Sacramento County Mental Health Board and a former City Commissioner on the Fair Housing and Human Rights Commission, I’m uniquely prepared to work on economic security, housing affordability, environmental protections, and LGBTQ+ issues. I’m also uniquely positioned to legislate during challenging budget times. During our last recession, Senator Ricardo Lara entrusted me with managing his health and human services budget. I also staffed the education budget and helped secure increased funding for Cal Grants. I deeply recognize the profound impact of budget decisions on people's daily lives.
PV: I am uniquely positioned to navigate tough budgets, while improving our public education and health care systems. We have passed an on-time, $660 million budget every year I have been on the board. We passed a $750 million school bond to rebuild our schools and improve student safety. I worked with Assemblymember McCarty to bring over $12 million to SJUSD to support CTE programs, outdoor education programs, and to support our newcomer students. As Assistant Secretary I coordinated emergency response work supporting communities impacted by COVID while coordinating the budget development of $50 billion worth of social safety-net programs.
CM: As the son of formerly incarcerated parents who got swept up in the heroin epidemic of the ‘90s, I narrowly avoided foster care. Having experienced the powerful role that teachers and social workers can play in a child’s life who is experiencing abuse and abandonment, I believe I’m uniquely prepared to work on mental health and child welfare policy. As a small business owner, I look forward to advancing policies that expand small business ownership. And as a gay man of color and civil rights leader, I am uniquely prepared to defend fundamental rights and civil liberties.
What political issues or values are most important to you and why?
MK: I do the work. I don’t settle for anything less than results. I listen — not waiting to speak — but to understand. I see and value people and will always put the needs of my individual constituents first.
SF: I believe that there are a lot of corporations offering a lot of money to candidates in order to NOT solve many of our challenges because business as usual is profitable for them and their shareholders. That’s why I’m proud to be the only corporate free candidate running to represent us … all of us.
RH: I believe strongly in government transparency because that creates accountability. Freedom is important to me, and that includes freedom of speech, freedom to be your authentic self, and freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. Pro-choice rights and LGBTQ people are under attack and this must stop. I’m the highest ranking LGBTQ leader in Sacramento and Planned Parenthood has given me a 100% rating. Families should feel protected and safe in their neighborhoods and schools. Creating jobs, building more housing and providing quality healthcare are essential to a thriving community. I value a healthy planet and will fight climate change.
EA: I believe that all political issues and values are interconnected, and adopting a resident-centered approach is essential to effectively addressing their impact. For instance, while addressing housing is crucial, we must also consider the environmental implications of high-density housing. By recognizing the interrelated nature of these issues, we can develop holistic solutions that promote sustainability and meet the diverse needs of our community. This approach ensures that our policies are not only effective but also considerate of their broader impact on society and the environment.
EM: Advocating for equitable opportunities and fair treatment in public policy is paramount to me. My father's experiences as a Vietnam War veteran, unable to afford college and subsequently drafted into service due to circumstances beyond his control, exemplify the disparities faced by individuals without means. Witnessing the lifelong disabilities he acquired, our family has tirelessly navigated challenges stemming from his service. These experiences underscore the need for governmental policies that address socio-economic inequalities and ensure fairness for all. My advocacy focuses on rectifying these disparities, championing equal opportunities, and fostering a society where everyone, regardless of their background, can thrive.
PV: Growing up poor and housing insecure framed a lot about how I view politics. I didn’t grow up with a ton of choices. We were constantly reacting to the adverse circumstances around us. I learned, watching my mom, that you could work hard and for as many hours as there are in a day and still not make it. Every person deserves a fair shot at success and an even playing field to start with. Homelessness, child poverty, climate disasters - these are all policy choices that have been made. We have the power and responsibility to make better choices.
CM: Having grown up the way I did, justice and fairness are core values that inform my world view. I want every child to be able to learn in a safe environment. I want every adult to be able to cover their expenses and be able to invest in homeownership. I want every family to be able to send their child to great schools. I want our small business community to feel like their government is listening to their concerns. And I want our government to deliver results.
