by Roger Riffenburgh
A small business owner in the South Bay, Carol Pefley says, “I’m running for State Assembly because Sacramento has lost touch with the people it’s supposed to serve. Under one‑party rule, the government has grown bigger, more expensive, and less accountable while basic problems like homelessness, public safety, and affordability keep getting worse. Politicians are too busy catering to unions, special interests, and bureaucracies to listen to the communities they represent.”
Pefley wants to restore local control. She is particularly concerned about how the state, in its efforts to increase housing, overrides local control of housing, resulting in zoning mismatches, inadequate parking and ignoring local planning efforts. She also believes voters deserve safe streets, a voice in their children’s education, and accountability for the taxes they pay. She’s fighting to cut taxes and lower the cost of living.
Due to her hard work and ingenuity, Carol Pefley’s campaign is one of the most visible and well-financed challenger campaigns in the Bay Area. In addition to a strong volunteer core, she has robust efforts in social media and digital ads. She also recently started her California Screamin’ podcast.
Carol Pefley is running in Assembly District 28. It contains the northern part of Santa Cruz County and southwest part of Santa Clara County. This includes the city of Santa Cruz, Big Basin State Park, Los Gatos, the Willow Glen and Cambrian Park and Almaden Valley portions of San Jose, Morgan Hill, and the forests, mountains and communities in between.
Carol Pefley was born in Seoul, South Korea to her Korean mother and her US Army dad. She came to the United States as a young child. As she describes on her website, “My family, like so many others, worked hard but struggled financially. College wasn’t an option early on, so I entered the workforce, determined to make my own path. In my 30s, I returned to school, put myself through college, and earned a degree in broadcast journalism — a milestone that opened the door to a career in television news and radio broadcasting for many years.” She received her BA from San Francisco State University.
After years working in broadcast radio and television, she transitioned to start her own real estate company in 2009. Now she has about 45 agents working there.
Carol Pefley has two adult children and lives with her husband on a lavender farm in Morgan Hill. In her free time, she likes to grow fruit, vegetables, and lavender. She uses the lavender to make soaps, lotions, and candles. She also enjoys singing, playing piano, and writing songs. You can learn more about Carol’s campaign on her campaign website, CarolPefleyforAssembly.com. You can meet her at her Wine Social on August 9 in Gilroy. (details here)
