Political hopefuls line up to replace Assemblymember Evan Low

With California State Assemblymember Evan Low running for Congress, the race to replace the seasoned lawmaker and represent a large swath of Silicon Valley in the state legislature is heating up.

Last month, Low announced he was vying for retiring U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo’s congressional seat after serving in the Assembly for nine years. Since then, six candidates have filed paperwork for the District 26 seat including Low’s district director and Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board President Patrick Ahrens, Sunnyvale Vice Mayor Omar Din and Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan. The district includes Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and parts of north and west San Jose.

Ahrens said he’s more than just a longtime Low staffer, and that many of the issues impacting the community are deeply personal to him — when he was in college, he said he was housing insecure and homeless for a period of time. The 34-year-old was elected to the community college board in 2018, and cites one of his accomplishments in the role as helping secure the first county health clinic that’s being built on a community college property in the state.

Ahrens said he wants to bring a sense of urgency to the state Capitol and double down on efforts to address poverty.

“I think that we really need to shake things up and try a different approach because Sacramento is just not as innovative as Silicon Valley and we need that spirit of innovation to bring to our policy thinking if we’re ever going to solve homelessness, food insecurity, housing insecurity or public safety,” he said. “We’ve got to work on that and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Ahrens has also scooped up the endorsement of Low — his boss and the current holder of the seat.

Din was elected to the Sunnyvale City Council in 2020, becoming the youngest person, first South Asian and first Muslim elected to the role. The 26-year-old lawmaker said Low’s seat came open at a time when he’s starting to see the council’s work around livability and affordability finally “come to fruition.”

“Now, it’s about continuing it,” he said. “The issues just don’t stop at the city level, and I’ve seen the only way to tackle them is through the state and at that level.”

As vice mayor, Din helped champion the Moffett Park Specific Plan — a rezoning of the area that will see the construction of 20,000 new homes, with 15% of them affordable.

Din, who is now focusing on the campaign full-time, previously worked for San Jose Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei. Before that, he worked for several other campaigns, including Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez’s recent San Jose mayoral bid.

If elected, he wants to tackle the state’s high cost of living, fight for more dollars for elder and child care and support small businesses, like the ones his parents run.

Sreekrishnan, 30, was appointed to a vacant seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education in 2021 where she represents Area 2, which includes Cupertino Union, Los Gatos Union, Lakeside Joint Union and parts of Fremont Union High school districts, among other schools. In her day job, Sreekrishnan serves as the deputy chief of staff for Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose). She has worked for Cortese since his days on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

“I am a firm believer in the promise of Silicon Valley and I believe that we’re facing difficult challenges that impact the daily lives of our community members including housing affordability, climate change, traffic congestion and the need for a stronger education system,” she said. “Our community deserves an assemblywoman who will face these pressing issues that demand proactive solutions.”

Sreekrishnan, who is the only democratic woman running, is also the co-founder of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, a nonprofit that empowers students to fight climate change.

Larry Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University, said the office would be a “pretty big jump” politically for any of the candidates running.

“None of them is particularly well known and that sets up a situation where each candidate will have an unusual opportunity to present himself or herself to the public,” he said.

Ahrens and Sreekrishnan working for state legislators also gives them a leg up, Gerston added, since they may already have established connections with major fundraisers, prominent interest groups and other opinion leaders.

Fremont Union High Schools Foundation Board Member Ashish Garg, certified public accountant Sophie Yan Song and retired pilot Bob Goodwyn are also running. California’s primary election is March 5.