photo credit: Chris Rogers for Assembly

On the March 5th primary ballot, there are six people competing for the State Assembly seat held by Assembly-member Jim Wood for the past decade.

Healdsburg's Wood opted not to run for reelection this year.

KRCB interviewed all the candidates in the race.

Chris Rogers, a member of the Santa Rosa City Council, spoke with KRCB’s Noah Abrams about what he would bring to the table in representing District 2, from east of Santa Rosa all the way up the coast to Oregon.

You can read an excerpt from their interview below, or listen to the left.

Asked what his approach to governing is, Chris Rogers said his focus starts here at home - in the county he was born and raised.

"I feel very strongly that our district deserves a local voice in Sacramento who understands what we've been through and can articulate the needs and the concerns of this district," Rogers said. "I was born and raised in Sonoma County and have dedicated my life towards public service. In 2016, I ran for the Santa Rosa City Council. I have been on council now for over seven years…through it all, we have seen how important it was for folks to have their voice heard and for government to deliver."

When it comes to the issues facing the 2nd Assembly District - stretching from Santa Rosa to the Oregon Border - Rogers said three rise to the top of his list.

"One is access to healthcare, particularly rural healthcare, and I've been a big champion for universal healthcare," Rogers said. "One is transportation and infrastructure, and that does include insurance as well as utility reform, and then the third is climate change. And obviously we are a community that has felt the sting of climate change here in Sonoma County dealing with the Tubbs Fire, and Kincaid, and Walbridge, and Glass. But up north has felt it as well, and not just on the wildfire side, but we constantly see roads being washed out. We're constantly seeing the transportation networks being closed off. We need to better prepare infrastructure all the way throughout Northern California, not just for one-off disasters, but for long-term impacts of climate change, and that is something that certainly unites this district."

Asked who he looks to as a model for political leadership, Rogers said his former boss is an inspiration.

"Senator Mike McGuire I think is one of the strongest comparisons that I can bring not just because I worked so closely with him, and got to see the day in and the day out, but he is a leader who starts with his heart and works hard for folks and I think that's the expectation, especially in a district like this," Rogers said.

And when asked what challenges a district the size of the 2nd Assembly has, Rogers said there are some commonalities, but he feels attention to detail is the difference maker.

"Being as big and diverse as it is, whether it's housing, economic development, disasters, PG&E reform, right?" Rogers said. "Those are all things that everybody throughout the district understands the importance of. But there's also a theme that I think exists in a district that's this large, which is folks oftentimes feeling like their voice hasn't been heard, that Sacramento doesn't adequately represent them. You know, LA has 26 members of the State Assembly for the City of LA by itself. Our district is five counties, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity County. It is something that I think everybody from Santa Rosa to Weaverville to Crescent City is focused on, is how do we make sure that everybody has a voice in the decisions that are being made, and that one size fits all approaches to policy aren't being made that then negatively impact our community."

Asked if there was one change he’d make if money were no constraint, Rogers said he knows exactly what his moonshot is.

"The answer is universal healthcare," Rogers said. "We have seen the impact on so many of our families who don't have access to affordable care. As Mayor, I saw way too many homeless individuals who are using the emergency room as their care, and that's more expensive to society, and it's a worse quality of healthcare for the individual."