Assembly Candidates Speak at Forum in Redding, California
On Thursday Night, candidates for Assembly District 1 (AD-01) and Senate District 1 (SD-01) gathered at the McLaughlin Auditorium in Redding, California for a candidate forum to discuss issues and policies relating to their candidacies.
Assembly District 1 is currently represented by Assemblywoman Megan Dahle (R-Bieber) who is a candidate for State Senate District 1, a seat her husband Brian Dahle currently represents. State Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) is subject to term limits and will not be seeking reelection. Other candidates for State Senate include David Fennell and Deidre Holliday. A State Senate candidate forum was scheduled prior to the Assembly Forum with only Deidre Holliday appearing.
Assembly and Senate District 1 covers the northeastern portion of the State of California and includes all or a portion of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou.
How will you be an effective legislator?
The candidates were asked: “How can you be an effective legislator in the minority party when California is under one-party [Democrat] rule?”
Melissa Hunt: “I have worked many years with the League of California Cities. I have gone to Sacramento. I can speak up in a room full of Democrats and Republicans.”
Tenessa Audette: “I will always be on the side of empowering people… instead of the government.”
Heather Hadwick: “I have been hired at agencies as what I would call a fixer… I come in and I build trust with the public.”
Mark Mezzano: “I can work with a Democrat… It’s all about having a conversation. It’s a negotiation. Sacramento is broken. What works down there doesn’t work here.”
Gary Michaels: “We need to find the Rush Limbaugh of the 21st Century to get our word out because we are not getting our voice out to the mainstream media.”
Other questions asked in the forum related to the issues of:
Inclusion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public school curriculum
Energy independence
Transgendered bathrooms in public schools
Water storage / water rights
Second Amendment / Constitutional Rights
Straw poll shows Audette in the lead
After making concluding remarks, a straw poll was conducted. Of the 48 responses received at the end of the meeting, the results were 40% for Tenessa Audette, 29% for Heather Hadwick, 19% for Mark Mezzano, 12% for Melissa Hunt, and 0% for Gary Michaels.
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Assembly has the largest population-per-representative ratio of any state lower house and second largest of any legislative lower house in the United States after the Federal House of Representatives. Both AD-01 and SD-01 are strong Republican districts.
The event was hosted by the Shasta County GOP, with Chairman Dr. Dan Sloan presiding. The primary election will be held on March 4, 2024 to decide which top two candidates will continue on to the general election held on November 7, 2024.
Candidates for Assembly District 1
Tenessa Audette
Tenessa Audette is on the city council and is the Mayor Pro Tem of the city of Redding while working as the First District’s Representative for the California State Senate. She has prior political campaign experience in the region, is a wife and mother of three children, and teaches a course on constitutional values. https://www.votetenessa.com/
Heather Hadwick
Heather Hadwick was the deputy director of the Office of Emergency Services for Modoc County in the Sheriff’s department and is currently working for the Office of Education. She has been married for twenty years and has two boys and highlighted the fact that she is “not a politician” and wants to see a more affordable California. https://www.votehadwick.com
Mark Mezzano
Mark Mezzano is on the city council of the city of Redding and is formerly the Field Operations Officer of the CHP Redding Area office, having spent a career in law enforcement. He spoke to the dysfunction of Sacramento and his successes in fulfilling a campaign promise to rebuild the Redding police department. He is married with two children and a new grandson, Jackson. https://www.markmezzano.com/
Melissa Hunt
Melissa Hunt is on the city council of the city of Anderson and is a former educator and local realtor. In her introductory remarks, she emphasized her deep roots in the community and commitment to prioritizing the needs of parents and children, while noting the success Anderson has experienced under her leadership. https://votemelissahunt.com/
Gary Michaels
Gary Michaels is a businessman that appeared at the forum remotely as he was attending the Florida Charter School Conference in Orlando, Florida. He specializes in K-12 education. If elected to the Assembly, he hopes to increase the size of the Republican minority legislative body in California. He ran for Assembly previously in 2022 (AD-47, Palm Springs). https://www.electgarymichaels.com/