By Lonnie Wong
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Sacramento City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby formally kicked off her state Senate campaign Wednesday, entering a race that could be hotly contested and expensive.
In a tweet from a new campaign account, Ashby said, “I’ve spent my career fighting for families — and I’m ready to take that fight to the capitol to represent communities across the Sacramento region in Senate District 6.”
It was no spur-of-the-moment campaign. Ashby has spent months lining up 200 key endorsements, including from incumbent Sen. Richard Pan, who is being termed out.
She said she has plenty of support from her Natomas neighborhood because she has delivered the goods: parks, fire stations, high-density housing and commercial development, to name a few. . .
Ashby grew up in the impoverished Oak Park neighborhood as a single mom on food stamps who worked her way to a law degree.
It was no accident that a young woman from a disadvantaged, immigrant family kicked off the Ashby campaign.
“A monumental moment for all the girls who look up to her, including myself,” said Isabella Gatdula at the time.
Ashby supporters run the gamut of ethnic groups and have supported police reform despite having close ties to police and fire unions.
“I have used that relationship to leverage social justice that cries out for change and is absolutely necessary,” Ashby said…
