While the 2024 presidential election dominates headlines, another important race is happening closer to home — the California State Senate election for District 25, which covers parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, including cities like Alhambra, Arcadia, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, and South Pasadena.
Earlier in March, five candidates competed in the primaries. Now, the final two contenders — La Crescenta Councilwoman Elizabeth Wong Ahlers and Alhambra Mayor Sasha Renée Pérez — will face off in the general election on November 5, 2024. The seat is currently held by Senator Anthony Portantino, who completes his term this year and cannot run for re-election because of term limits
Elizabeth Wong Ahlers, a Crescenta Valley Councilwoman and businesswoman, was raised in Glendale. She earned a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from UCLA and later taught English both at the university and internationally. A fifth-generation Chinese Southern Californian, Ahlers draws inspiration from her family’s history of civic involvement, including her grandparents’ work with the Chinese American Citizens Alliance in changing immigration laws. Her father helped bring water to Southern California in the 1960s, and her grandfather contributed to LA’s flood control system.
Ahlers, a mother of six, sees herself as part of a family tradition of civic service. Her campaign slogan, “Love, Lives, Liberty, Law,” reflects her vision for the future. Ahlers identifies three main issues driving families out of California. The first is affordability—many families can’t afford housing, groceries, gas, or find adequate work in the state. Second, education. Despite high spending, California lags in standardized test performance, and families seek better education opportunities elsewhere. Third is public safety. Ahlers points to a rise in crime and riots, fueled by movements to defund the police. She supports Proposition 36 to reinstate tougher crime laws and prevent incidents like smash-and-grab thefts.
When asked about the most valuable lesson she has learned from running for State Senate, Ahlers said it’s the diversity and range of people she’s met. “When you really talk and listen to someone, you see that we all care about family, we all care about the future, and we all have a heart that wants to be heard and has concerns. That’s why I start with love. People have differences in how they think we should solve problems, but the beautiful thing I’ve learned is that they will talk and share if you listen. If you show that you care, they care back,” she says.
She encourages younger generations, including students at Flintridge Prep, to get involved and speak directly with people rather than relying on social media. Discernment is key to staying informed. The skills gained from hands-on work in a campaign carry over into every part of life and any occupation pursued in the future.
Sasha Renée Pérez, Mayor of Alhambra, was raised in Alhambra. Throughout high school, she participated in congressional debates and policy research. In college, she worked in state policy, meeting with legislators to pass bills. Growing up in a working-class community and politically active household, Pérez prioritizes the importance of working peoples’ rights and security. Her grandfather was a union organizer with the AFL-CIO, and her parents worked for the county of Los Angeles. Now, although only thirty-two years old, Pérez has introduced new diversity to Alhambra’s city council as mayor – first renter, first LGBT person, and youngest female.
As a changemaker aspiring to impact state-level decisions, Pérez has four focuses. First, education. College education, often barred by cost, is the great equalizer that creates better contributing members to society. Second is housing. Local families struggle to pay rent or purchase a home because of unaffordable housing prices. Third, healthcare. Pérez hopes to protect personal reproductive health decisions, which she pushed for through her involvement in the Prop 1 campaign, giving access to abortion and contraception in California.
When asked about the journey of running for State Senate, Pérez explains, “Running for State Senate felt like an application of everything I’ve learned in my life, not just in school, but beyond that. You learn so much, not just about yourself, but also about the people around you, like your friends and how people work. It’s very eye-opening. It was a test for me of my own strength, patience, and fortitude.”
Her values are honesty, transparency, and communication. She believes that in this way, people can understand her decisions even in the face of disagreement, creating a community of inclusivity and representation for all people, regardless of identity.
Pérez hopes that Californian voters will involve themselves in the community, making a tremendous impact as a collective. Those who identify problems in our community can inspire and suggest legislation to her. For high schoolers like myself, websites like The League of Women Voters offer nonpartisan information on campaigns and candidates. Candidates always need the people’s help, so support and interest are impactful.
See below for the full interviews and visit the websites of Councilwoman Ahlers and Mayor Pérez at elizabeth4senate24.com and sashareneeperez.com.
C: What encouraged and inspired you to run for California State Senate?
WA: About five years ago, I felt in my heart that I needed to break the ground and pave the way for my kids to go into government and become culture leaders.
With the way things are going in California over the last few years, we’ve had neighbors across the street move to Texas and neighbors down the street moving to Arizona. An aunt moved to Florida and a family who my daughter babysat for moved to Idaho. People are leaving California. Now, my children are grown, and we have three grandchildren. I want them to be able to thrive here in California and not have to move out of state. That’s the motivation. It’s for you.
C: What are some ways that someone my age and students at Flintridge Prep would be able to involve themselves and stay informed on this election?
WA: I’m so proud of you students at Flintridge Prep because you are thinking, you are looking, you are investigating, and you have the boldness and the initiative. If you work in an election, you are getting hands-on experience and interaction with the candidate. You learn all kinds of skills that you can apply in any field of your life because you’re interacting with people, getting organized, and have a deadline. These are all things you learn in school that apply in a political campaign and in all kinds of jobs.
Have discernment about where you are getting your information and also, talk to a real person. Sometimes, you guys are on social media too much, but your generation needs to get out there and talk to real people more than being on social media or YouTube.
C: If there was one message you could share to all the California voters, what would that message be?
WA: I would say: hope. In our candidate statement that comes before the ballots come out, which will be in a few weeks, I wrote that I want to bless those in District 25 and California. I want to bless all the voters with a message of hope for the future. We hear so much negativity and discouragement, but people have determination, ingenuity, and motivation to always make things better for themselves and for their families. We bring that into the government. It’s not about ourselves and promoting ourselves, but service. Hope and service.
C: What encouraged and inspired you to run for California State Senate?
P: I’ve always been really passionate about state policy. I used to be on the debate team at Mark Keppel High School, where I did congressional debate. Once I got to college, I got really active in state policy. As I got elected to city council for the last four years, I’ve been able to work on a lot of issue areas. But I realized that the bigger impact we could have is passing those same kinds of policies at the state level. Those are the kinds of things that we need to see passed at a state level so that we can see the impacts everywhere.
C: What are some ways that someone my age and students at Flintridge Prep would be able to involve themselves and stay informed on this election?
P: There are so many different ways. There are a number of websites that one can go on. The League of Women Voters is a really great site that is nonpartisan and can offer more information on the candidates, their campaigns, and their websites. I have my website up. There are so many activities going on, from the presidential down to local city races. Elected officials need your help, whether that is someone like Kamala Harris who is running to be president of the United States or your local city council member. If you are interested and want to do something, send a message or sign up on a website and it will make a big impact.
C: If there was one message you could share to all the California voters, what would that message be?
P: If I had a message to share with California voters, it would be to get involved in your community however you can, even if that’s just showing up to a meeting or event or volunteering for a cause that you care about. This does make a tremendous impact. Hearing from people and the ideas that they have and what they would like for us to make legislation of, all of that’s really helpful. I’ve written bills based on ideas that people have presented to me, because they’ve pointed out issues in our community. I’ve fixed things in our community because of things that other people have pointed out to me. Part of doing this work is working together as a collective, and there is no way that a single person could have their eyes and ears everywhere. But together, collectively, we can make our community a really great place.
