May 24, 2022
California will hold its primary election on June 7, 2022. Effective January 1, 2011, California changed the way primary elections operate, with a law titled, The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act. Most of the offices that were previously known as "partisan" are now known as "voter-nominated" offices. All candidates for voter-nominated offices are listed on one ballot and only the top two vote-getters in the primary election – regardless of party preference - move on to the general election.
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But this election has a unique twist. Based on the loss of population in California from the 2020 census, California has one less congressional representative. The redistricting process also redrew most of the boundaries of the Congressional Districts and in some situations, entirely new districts were created,
We sat down with a candidate for the Congressional Seat. Peter Ohtaki is a bay area native who is running to represent the 16th Congressional District in California, an area that includes a large part of Silicon Valley. Peter identified the top six priorities for this district and provided specific policies on how to address and resolve the issues plaguing California as well as many states. The six priorities addressed in this interview are:
- Crime
- Inflation
- National Security
- State-wide Zoning Laws, specifically AB9
- Infrastructure
- Responsible Fiscal Management ( see the tab "Interest on National Debt")