By: Roger Riffenburgh
Monte Sereno Councilwoman Liz Lawler is running in the new Assembly District 28, which is now an open seat. Five-term incumbent Assemblyman Mark Stone, a Democrat from Santa Cruz who was expected to run, recently announced his retirement rather than running in the reconfigured district.
“I am running for State Assembly to restore common sense, accountability and cooperation to Sacramento,” says Lawler. “I am driven by the needs of our residents, not ideology.” Among her priority issues are: helping students succeed by allowing parents “the freedom to choose the best schools for their children”; building needed homes through locally driven decisions rather than state dictated policies; and stopping violence by holding violent and habitual criminals accountable.
“Government needs to deliver the basics: public safety, infrastructure and education, “ explains Lawler. “The Democrats have had control of our state for the better part of 60 years, and we are now living with the consequences of policies that are about political expediency, not results.”
Liz Lawler was elected to the Monte Sereno City Council in 2018, finishing as the top vote getter in a six candidate race. Among her accomplishments on the Council were improving services to residents and implementing best practices throughout the city organization. She has represented her city on the Valley Water District Commission, the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority, the League of Cities Peninsula Division, among others.
Lawler had previously served on the Better Streets Commission, where she worked to create a Pavement Management Program, which uses preventive maintenance and long-range planning to improve streets and save taxpayers money.
Assembly District 28 contains the northern part of Santa Cruz County and southwest part of Santa Clara County. It contains Santa Cruz City, Big Basin State Park, Los Gatos, the Cambrian Park and Almaden Valley portions of San Jose, Morgan Hill, and the forests, mountains and communities in between. (See the map.)
Liz Lawler, the youngest of four children, was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended Marlborough School, where she played tennis and was active in Junior State. She earned a B.A. in Political Science in 1987 from UC Berkeley, where she also met her husband Greg.
Liz worked a while in advertising, followed by raising three children and serving as room mom, team mom, and school event organizer. In addition, she says, “I have always been active in my community, from refurbishing playgrounds in Harlem when we lived in New York, back in the 1990s, to volunteering and fundraising for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles when we lived in LA in the 2000s.” Liz and her family relocated to Monte Sereno in 2013.
An outdoor enthusiast, Liz enjoys skiing, standup paddleboarding, running, and hiking. You can learn more about Liz Lawler’s campaign for Assembly on her campaign website. You can attend her Morgan Hill fundraiser on Saturday, April 9.