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One of the biggest political divides in California is balancing priorities between urban and rural areas. Because there are more urban legislators — and because rural Americans tend to lean conservative — the needs of rural Californians are not always effectively represented in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
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The individuals who represent California’s rural districts, like the 1st Assembly District, face an uphill battle: They need to be skilled, efficient leaders who can work across the aisle to get legislation passed and deliver results to their constituents. The 1st Assembly District, geographically the largest Assembly district in the state, spans more than 26,000 square miles and includes all or parts of 11 California counties: Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou.
Incumbent Heather Hadwick, a Republican, is a smart, hands-on, impressive representative who focuses on delivering results. The Bee Editorial Board endorses her because she deserves to be reelected.
“The biggest challenge we face is trying to make sure everybody feels heard,” Hadwick said. “I drove 53,000 miles last year trying to do just that. I held town halls in every county — multiple, in some.”
Raised in Siskiyou County, Hadwick has spent her life observing the challenges that rural Californians face. Now living in Modoc County, she is a small-business owner (Hadwick and her husband operate a family farm), as well as a former elementary and high school teacher and a former county employee. She previously worked at the Modoc County Office of Education and as deputy director of the Office of Emergency Services for the Modoc County Sheriff’s Office.
Hadwick said her time in the Office of Emergency Services trained her to look at challenges with clear eyes and to “leave the emotions out of it.” That skill has made her an effective legislator, and six out of the seven bills she introduced in her first year were signed into law by the governor.
Her opponent for the 1st Assembly District seat is Democrat Dianna James, a Mount Shasta resident who formerly worked as a foreign affairs officer in the U.S. Department of State. In the , James secured 38.5% of the vote while Hadwick secured 48.7%.
We believe Hadwick has the best grasp of the needs of her district and the solutions for meeting those needs.
By early in her first term, it was clear that Hadwick figured out how to be productive despite belonging to the minority party.
“You have to choose whether you want to yell from the Capitol steps and get more TikTok followers and get more likes, or whether you want to get things done and bring them back to your district,” Hadwick said. “I want to bring things back to the district.”
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Hadwick is also a watchdog for well-meaning legislation from urban representatives that could unintentionally — and perhaps disproportionately — harm her rural constituents. For example, cattle ranchers in the 1st Assembly District are struggling with California’s newly returned gray wolf packs. Hadwick felt the return of gray wolves became an issue where urban legislators worried about protecting wildlife more than people in rural communities.
Hadwick is also frustrated by a lack of urgency to provide rural communities with adequate fire insurance protection.
If reelected, Hadwick plans to continue working to prevent wildfires, address the cost of living, support small businesses, advocate for farmers and advance water storage policies.
We endorse Hadwick for another term representing California’s 1st Assembly District.
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What are editorials, and who writes them?
Editorials represent the collective views of the editorial boards of McClatchy Media’s California opinion teams.
They do not reflect the individual opinions of board members or the views of reporters in the news sections of The Sacramento Bee and its sister publication, the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Reporters do not participate in editorial board deliberations or weigh in on board decisions.
In Sacramento, the board includes Executive Editor Chris Fusco, California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton, opinion writers Robin Epley, Tom Philp, LeBron Antonio Hill, Cathie Anderson and op-ed editor Hannah Holzer.
In San Luis Obispo, it includes Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane.
We base our opinions on reporting by our colleagues in the news section, and our own reporting and interviews. Our members attend public meetings, call people and follow-up on story ideas from readers just as news reporters do.
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