SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO — Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa) on Thursday announced her bid for the state Senate district now represented by Toni Atkins, a race that opened up with County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s departure amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
“As an Assemblymember, I have successfully fought to improve access to quality healthcare, strengthen our education system, protect our environment, and further economic prosperity,” Weber said in a statement. “As State Senator for District 39, I will continue this fight. “
La Mesa Vice Mayor Colin Parent also announced Thursday that he will run for Weber’s current Assembly seat. Since Weber will campaign for the state Senate, she will not be able to run for reelection to that position, leaving the seat open.
“If elected to the State Assembly, I will be a fierce and effective advocate for our region,” said Parent, who has served on the La Mesa City Council since 2016.
He also runs Circulate San Diego, a prominent local nonprofit that advocates for public transportation and sustainable communities, contracts with local government agencies and assesses developments for a fee.
Weber’s name had been floated as a possible successor to Atkins, who out next year, but Fletcher had been the only declared candidate until he ended his campaign last week.
His withdrawal from that race and pending resignation from his job at the county create a shifting chessboard of openings that local political figures are hastening to fill.
“It’s the classic San Diego Democratic assembly line,” University of San Diego professor Carl Luna said. “Everybody below moves up to the next level.”
Although some of the candidates may have run for higher offices even if Fletcher had not bowed out, his absence accelerates the races, Luna said.
“It means there’s an opportunity for people to try to move up years earlier than they would have,” he said.
Weber’s decision to seek the open seat would mark a quick transition from the Assembly, where she took office two years ago, to a new state office.
Weber won a special election in 2021 to represent the 79th District — which includes parts of eastern San Diego along with La Mesa, El Cajon and Lemon Grove — succeeding her mother Shirley Weber, who had been appointed California secretary of state.
She is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and founder of the Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology Division at Rady Children’s Hospital and previously taught in the OB-GYN department at UCSD School of Medicine.
In an interview Friday, Weber said her time in the Assembly has opened her eyes to the entire legislative process and the importance of diversity among policymakers, noting there currently aren’t any physicians in the state Senate.
“Understanding the significant role that both legislative houses play in the overall health and well-being of all Californians, that was one of the main reasons why I decided to go over to the Senate,” she said.
Weber also hopes to have a larger voice and bigger impact in the legislature’s upper chamber.
“Senator Atkins has been a dynamic, powerful leader for us in the San Diego region. And whoever steps in and fills that role needs to be able to have the legislative and community experience to essentially build upon her legacy,” she added.
Before winning her Assembly seat, Weber served on the La Mesa City Council, working on climate action, homelessness and police reform.
She grew up in the Weber Oak Park neighborhood of San Diego and attended local schools before earning her bachelor’s and medical degrees, her campaign said. She lives in La Mesa with her two sons, Kadir and Jalil.
A number of bills Weber authored were signed into law, including legislation to improve patient rights, expand reproductive health access, fund restorative justice programs in schools and expand services for domestic violence victims.
In the Senate, she says she will continue to focus on social determinants of health, such as education, housing, the economy and the environment.
No other candidates have declared plans to run for Atkins’ seat, but other possible contenders include Assemblymember Chris Ward and former San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez.
Ward, who is gay, and Gomez, who is queer, could benefit from the formidable political organizing of San Diego’s LGBTQ community in a bid to succeed Atkins, the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person to lead the Senate.
Luna noted, however, that the unexpected openings may not benefit Republican candidates in the 79th Assembly or 39th Senate districts, where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two to one, according to voter registration data from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
“None of this is going to change the partisan balance in town,” he said. “This is a Democratic ‘Game of Thrones,’ not Republican.”
Before his abrupt departure from the race last week, Fletcher had wide institutional for his state Senate bid, and no other contenders had yet thrown their names into the hat. However, late last month, he announced he was taking medical leave to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.
Days later, he resigned from his position as board chair at the Metropolitan Transit System after an MTS employee sued him, accusing him of sexual assault and harassment. Fletcher acknowledged interactions with her but denied her accusations.
His planned departure from the Board of Supervisors on May 15 will leave an open county seat, and contenders including Democrat Janessa Goldbeck and Republican Amy Reichert, Fletcher’s opponent in the general election last year, said they plan to run.
Staff writer Emily Alvarenga contributed reporting.
