State Senate, District 10

Why does this race matter?

State Sen. Aisha Wahab is running for Congress, opening up this seat covering Fremont, Hayward, Sunnyvale and parts of San José. This primary could effectively decide the election: five Democrats and one Republican are on the ballot — increasing the chances that only one Democrat advances to the general election. 

What does a state senator do? 

State senators represent communities at the California Legislature in Sacramento. The Senate’s 40 members 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 four-year term.

Candidates

David Cohen
David CohenCouncil member, city of San José Democrat
Anne Kepner
Anne KepnerTrustee, West Valley-Mission Community College District Democrat
Raymond Liu
Raymond LiuCouncil member, city of FremontDemocrat
Carmen Montano
Carmen MontanoMayor, city of MilpitasDemocrat
Scott Sakakihara
Scott SakakiharaCouncil member, city of Union CityDemocrat
 

Positions on Key Issues

Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

What would you do in the state Senate to reduce costs for residents?

Cohen points to his work negotiating an agreement with Santa Clara County that ended restrictions on housing development in north San José. “The result now is that we have nearly 3,000 housing units under construction in my district,” he says. In the Senate, he says he would support shortening local permitting timelines for housing development and placing limits on the fees that cities can charge developers.
Kepner touts moves she made as a college board trustee to make attending college more affordable: waiving in-district tuition, parking fees and health service fees and providing free childcare and meals. “We educate everyone that walks in our doors, and they often come in with a lot of other challenges that they're facing,” she says. In the Senate, she is promising to expand apprenticeship programs for skilled trade jobs.
Liu says housing is at the center of his affordability agenda. He points to five new affordable housing developments that opened in Fremont in 2025, totaling 567 units. He says he pushed the City Council in a pro-housing direction, urging council members “to start approving housing.” He says the Legislature could help lower electricity bills by allowing more local competition to investor-owned utilities such as PG&E.
Montano wants to increase funding for the California Dream for All program, which assists first-time homebuyers with their down payment. “The problem when you buy a home is the down payment, and that’s where we can help,” she says. In Milpitas, she supported rental assistance for low-income tenants and the Milpitas Assistance Program, which gives low-income residents in the city a discount on utility bills, recreation programs and permitting fees.
Sakakihara is focusing on reducing regulations to ease the development of housing. In Union City, “It's taken a long time, but we're breaking ground this year on one, if not two 100% affordable complexes. So we finally got there and [we’re] moving the needle.” He points to an Alameda County sales tax that funds childcare and early childhood education as something to scale statewide.

Medi-Cal is the second-largest program in the state budget. Its costs are rising, and the federal government is cutting funding for the program. Do you agree with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to freeze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented adults to reduce costs? Would you support a proposed tax on the wealth of California billionaires to help fund Medi-Cal?

Cohen says he is “very hesitant to balance the budget on the back of a segment of our population who needs healthcare just like everyone else.” He argues that undocumented residents without Medi-Cal will require treatment in emergency rooms. Cohen is open to a billionaire tax but has concerns with a tax that only raises money for healthcare: “I'm nervous about this particular approach, but I'm not completely opposed to it.”
Kepner says an enrollment freeze for undocumented residents is “short-sighted.” She points to her work as an attorney on elder abuse cases and says her focus will be on increasing California’s healthcare workforce to serve the “silver tsunami” of aging residents. Kepner is concerned that if voters passed the proposed billionaire tax, it would “get locked up in the courts.” She supports extending income tax increases and raising commercial property taxes for corporations.
Liu believes Newsom’s action was driven largely by politics. He says the billionaire tax “is going to be a disaster” if it passes, arguing that wealthy Californians can easily relocate to other states. Instead, he proposes a tax on luxury goods — “things like Louis Vuitton, Prada, luxury watches … they’re already bought to show off, we can put a tax on them.” He also supports a state public option for health insurance.
Montano says “if you're not working, it's kind of hard to justify why you should get medical benefits.” For undocumented Californians, “they can pitch in and make like a co-op and put in money,” she says. “Together they can have some kind of coverage.” On the billionaire tax, Montano says “I’ll evaluate it based on whether it truly helps fund essential services without unintended consequences like driving jobs or investment out of California.”
Sakakihara opposes the enrollment freeze on undocumented Californians. He says he has concerns with the timing of the billionaire tax proposal, given other tax measures that could also be on the ballot, but he is open to new tax measures to fund programs like Medi-Cal. “There are some tax loopholes for more wealthy individuals and for corporations … that's essentially a subsidy, right?” he says.

BART is threatening to close two stations in this district (South Hayward and Warm Springs/South Fremont) if voters do not pass a regional tax measure slated to appear on the November ballot. Do you support the sales tax? What would you do in the Senate to improve public transportation?

Cohen supports the regional sales tax to fund public transit. “I think whether people use transit or not, we all benefit from the fact that transit exists,” he says. Cohen touts his experience as a Caltrain and Valley Transportation Authority board member. He says in the Legislature he’ll explore using more revenue from carbon polluters through the state’s cap-and-invest system for public transit.
Kepner supports the regional transit tax. As a trustee, she supported a program to give all students at West Valley College and Mission College a free VTA pass for commuting. “Because obviously the cost of gas has gone extremely high, wear and tear on vehicles — all of that is very challenging for people,” she says.
Liu supports the regional transit tax. A top priority for him is state funding for a new BART station in the Irvington neighborhood of Fremont. “We already have approved housing nearby there, denser housing,” he says. “People are moving in there expecting that BART transit is nearby.”
Montano doesn’t have a position yet on the regional tax but says, “I hear a lot of folks that are just really tired of all the taxes. … Government needs to better manage how they spend the taxpayers' money.” She wants more research on BART ridership in Milpitas. “In Milpitas, it's a beautiful BART [station], but I don't see it fully utilized as it should be.”
Sakakihara supports the regional measure, but adds “it can't be without any strings. We need to make sure that BART does a better job of being held to account for the way that it is spending its money.” He says investment in transit is needed as the state incentivizes dense housing. “It all comes back to public transit,” he says. “South Hayward is a BART station that I used a ton personally growing up.”

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 Cohen 

  • Ro Khanna, U.S. representative (dual endorsement)
  • Housing Action Coalition 
  • Sunnyvale Democratic Club

For Kepner 

  • Liz Ortega-Toro, member, California Assembly 
  • California Labor Federation
  • SEIU California

For Liu

  • N/A

For Montano 

  • Ro Khanna, U.S. representative (dual endorsement) 
  • Milpitas Firefighters Local 1699
  • Milpitas Police Officers Association

For Sakakihara 

  • Elisa Márquez, supervisor, Alameda County
  • Alameda County Firefighters Local 55
  • East Bay Young Democrats

Additional Candidates

Lina Price
Linda PriceBusinesswomanRepublican. Price is a former HR director and executive coach who previously ran for school board in the Fremont Union High School District. She did not respond to an interview request.
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