State Assembly, District 23
Marc Berman (D)(incumbent)57.3%
67,106 votes
Lydia Kou (D)20.2%
23,699 votes
Gus Mattammal (R)11.3%
13,277 votes
Race called at 6:13 PM PT on March 11, 2024
99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.
99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.
Why does this race matter?
This is a liberal district with some of the nation’s most expensive zip codes, such as Atherton and Los Altos Hills. Lydia Kou’s sharp critiques of incumbent Marc Berman, a fellow Democrat, have the chance to turn this race into a referendum on policies passed by Democrats in Sacramento.
What does a state Assembly member do?
State Assembly members represent communities at the California Legislature in Sacramento. The 80 members of the state Assembly write and vote on state bills, serve on policy committees and vote on the annual state budget. The top two finishers in this primary election, regardless of party, will face off in the November election. The winner will serve a two-year term.
Key Candidates
This list represents the most notable candidates running for the seat.
Marc BermanState Assembly MemberDemocrat
Lydia KouCity Council Member, Palo AltoDemocrat
Gus MattammalChair, Midcoast Community CouncilRepublican
Key Supporters
This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.
For Berman
- Gavin Newsom, governor, California
- Alex Padilla, U.S. senator, California
- California Democratic Party
- Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte
For Kou
- Ed Lauing, vice mayor, city of Palo Alto
- Lynette Lee Eng, council member, city of Los Altos
- Stan Mok, mayor, town of Los Altos Hills
- Greer Stone, mayor, city of Palo Alto
For Mattammal
- California Republican Party
- San Mateo County Republican Party
- Santa Clara County Republican Party
- San Francisco Log Cabin Republicans
Positions on Key IssuesCandidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.
What do you make of the state government’s push for local governments to approve more housing? Has the legislature gone too far? Not far enough?
Berman voted for zoning reform laws to streamline the approval of housing at the local level, such as Senate Bill 35 in 2017 and a bill last year (Senate Bill 423) to extend that law. He says the housing and homelessness crises are a result of “decades of inaction and decades of failure, frankly, at every level of government to build the housing that we need to support the really robust economy that we have.”
Kou opposes the zoning reforms passed in Sacramento and says as a council member, “I find it harder and harder to represent my constituents — mostly because of the state laws and state mandates that come forward that have really usurped our local land use and zoning laws.” Kou supports more funding from the state government to preserve and maintain existing affordable housing.
Mattammal says, “We cannot change the rules on people who have invested their lives and their hard-earned dollars by taking control of their neighborhoods away from them, and I will oppose or seek to undo any policy that does that.” He is proposing to allow “dramatically expedited” development along busy roads such as El Camino Real and Stevens Creek Boulevard. “This would significantly increase available housing, but not in our residential neighborhoods,” he says.
What would you do to improve public safety for residents? Do you support any changes to Proposition 47?
Berman says the state should focus on combating criminal organizations running retail crime rings “as opposed to locking up somebody who steals a couple of hundred dollars worth [of] goods for multiple years.” He points out that California’s threshold for when theft becomes a felony ($950, set by voters with Proposition 47) is already one of the strictest in the country. “I think the solution is to enforce the laws that we currently have,” he adds.
Kou points to changes she voted for on the city council to reform police practices in Palo Alto, such as banning chokeholds and requiring de-escalation techniques. She says the Prop. 47 theft limit should be changed so more thefts are felonies instead of misdemeanors. She says current law “incentivizes people to go and say ‘I’m not responsible for anything and … I'm just going to go and get it from the store.’”
Mattammal says he has used his voice on the Midcoast Community Council to push for expanded broadband access for coastside San Mateo County residents, in order to ensure reliable internet during emergencies. On Proposition 47, Mattammal says, “I am always open to a discussion of thoughtful, well-designed criminal justice reform, but Prop. 47 is not that at all, and I would repeal it in its entirety.”
How would you approach regulation of the tech industry, and specifically artificial intelligence, as a member of the state Assembly?
Berman wrote the first law in the country to regulate the use of deepfake technology in elections. This year, he proposed outlawing child sexual abuse material created by AI. “We actually had law enforcement agencies who saw the work that I’ve done around AI over the past five years, they came to us and they said, ‘We are arresting people that have sexually explicit material of children, but those images were created by technology.’”
Kou supports regulations that mitigate the harms of social media and artificial intelligence on youth. She wants the state to mandate that a certain level of employees work remotely, to ease demand on housing and transportation. Kou also wants to encourage companies to move outside of the district. “Make some incentives for companies to have their headquarters other places versus just all gathered here,” she says. “Why is it only focused on Mountain View and Palo Alto?”
Mattammal says he is worried that regulations on business drive companies out of the district. On artificial intelligence, he says, “What we need is disclosure. In today’s society, the biggest challenge many people face is identifying what is real and believable, so in my view, AI should be allowed in just about anything, but should always be disclosed so that people can easily assess what is real from what is artificially produced.”
Additional Candidates
Allan K. MarsonInternational AttorneyRepublican. Marson has experience as an attorney working for U.S. companies in Taiwan and China.
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99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.
99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.
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Race called at 5:32 PM PT on March 11, 2024
99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.
99% of votes countedAssociated PressThis percentage is an Associated Press estimate of how much of the vote in an election has been counted. It is informed by turnout in recent elections, details on votes cast in advance and – after polls close – early returns. The estimate may fluctuate as election officials report additional results and AP learns more about how many voters have cast a ballot.