Bonta, Ramachandran Appear Headed For Runoff Election

OAKLAND, CA — Mia Bonta and Janani Ramachandran appear to be headed for a runoff election for the District 18 seat in the state Assembly, according to latest election results from Thursday.

As of late Thursday afternoon, Bonta had 38.02 percent of the votes cast in Tuesday's election while Ramachandran had 23.65 percent. Since neither is likely to secure more than 50 percent, they will face each other in a runoff election Aug. 31.

Only the top two candidates will face each other. Malia Vella appears to be the third-place finisher in Tuesday's election. She had 16.95 percent of the vote Thursday afternoon. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters Office hopes to certify Tuesday's election this coming Thursday, the office said Friday.

Whoever secures the most votes in the August election will win the Assembly seat.

Neither candidate currently has the needed 50 percent of the vote to win.

The District 18 seat was vacated by Rob Bonta, Mia Bonta's husband when he resigned to become California attorney general.

Mia Bonta currently serves as president of the Alameda Unified School District school board while Ramachandran is an experienced attorney who has served on the Oakland Public Ethics Commission.

Bonta is also the CEO of Oakland Promise, a group that aims to help Oakland school youth get to college and afterward prepare for careers.

Ramachandran is from the East Bay. She attended law school at the University of California at Berkeley, and among other work, has represented tenants facing eviction in Oakland.

Ramachandran favors a $22 minimum wage and Medicare for all, she said in an interview Friday.

She also favors the elimination of both the Ellis Act, which allows property owners to withdraw rental units from the market and force a tenant to move, and the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which limits the use of rent control by cities.

Bonta did not respond to a request Friday for an interview. Her website says she supports "affordable, accessible healthcare for all Californians regardless of medical history or ability to pay." She also supports legislation that "creates new affordable housing and ensures current homeowners and renters can afford to stay in their homes."

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