photo credit: Ballotpedia
Assemblymember Chris Rogers, incumbent in California’s 2nd Assembly District race.

 As part of our ongoing coverage for the June 2 primary election, we’re bringing you interviews with the candidates on your local ballot.

Like the race for the District 2 seat in the California State Assembly.

That seat is now held by Chris Rogers, the Santa Rosa Democrat elected in 2024.

Here’s what he tells KRCB’s Shandra Back about his work so far and why he’s running again.

ROGERS: I currently represent the Second Assembly District, which is the third largest Assembly District in the state of California. It runs from Santa Rosa to the Oregon border, and it encompasses some of Sonoma County and then all of Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties. 

One of the things that's actually very interesting about our district is that it is the highest representation of tribal governments anywhere in the state as well.

KRCB: He says he’s spent his first term in office focused on listening to communities across the North Coast.

ROGERS: For the last year and a half as an assembly member, I've worked really hard to get to know each local community and to work with each of our local tribes on their specific issues. 

When I first ran, I said I wanted to run because I wanted to make a more livable California and that's still the case. 

 We have done 30 town halls from Santa Rosa to Point Arena, to Hiouchi, to Hayfork, and everywhere in between and have really taken the time to listen to our district. 

 I often tell people, there's no district issue that's too small and no state issue that's too big.

KRCB: Rogers says that work has shaped the legislation he’s pursued so far.

ROGERS: We've done in‑district issues like addressing the over‑representation of foster youth in our system, from tribal governments to addressing the shortage of health professionals and tackling PG&E and the underinvestment in infrastructure that we've seen.  

And we've also gone after bigger issues like fighting to end unlimited spending in our elections and taking on pharmaceutical companies who have had record profits while increasing the prices on our seniors.

KRCB: He says he’s running again because many of the issues he’s focused on require more time.

ROGERS: We've only been there for a year and a half and some of the things that we want to change require a little bit more time. 

And especially when you see what's coming out of the federal government, like the attack on healthcare with HR‑1 and the attacks on reproductive choice, we need strong leaders in California who are able to push back, while also recognizing that California had its own problems even before this administration took office. 

We've had underinvestment in North Coast communities for decades, and we need to be able to reflect the economic conditions and be able to highlight the importance of this area while trying to make sure that we get our fair share of investments as well.

KRCB: Rogers says his top priorities include wildfire preparedness, climate policy, poverty and children’s issues, and expanding access to health care.

ROGERS: I actually served as mayor before I was elected to the State Assembly in Santa Rosa when we had the Tubbs Fire. We actually have had four wildfires in the area since I was on city council. So wildfire preparedness, resiliency, and rebuild is a really big thing for me. 

I originally got into politics because I cared about poverty and kids issues, about climate change, and really wanted to focus on healthcare. 

We need to expand our opportunities to bring health professionals to the North Coast. That's why we're doing a bill specifically to create incentives for more doctors and more nurses and to protect our clinics who are really doing the shouldering of most of the health care on the North Coast. 

KRCB: He says environmental issues are also a priority.

ROGERS: We actually did a bill last year that was signed into law by the governor to protect some of our North Coast waterways and to recognize Indigenous voices for the first time. 

This year we're doing a big bill on forestry to make sure that we realize the potential for our forests to be carbon sequestrators to help us to meet our climate goals.

KRCB: Rogers says one thing unites the district’s five counties: a sense that Sacramento hasn’t always listened.

ROGERS: It's an incredible district to represent, but I will say one of the hallmarks of it is you have five counties that have very different needs and very different opinions. 

 And the only thing that they really agree on is that Sacramento up to this point has not listened and doesn't really care about them. 

We've worked hard to make sure that people know we're listening and that we care.

KRCB: Rogers encourages voters to stay engaged through the primary and the general election.

ROGERS: We have the primary that is in June, we have the November election as well. 

I think that it's important for folks to get out and have an opportunity to meet not just the candidates, but your local elected officials. 

As I mentioned, we've already done 30 town halls in the last year. Everywhere throughout our district. We'll be doing more and I hope folks will come and join us and have a more in‑depth conversation about the issues that matter the most to them.

All registered Sonoma County voters should have received their ballot in the mail, and can drop off their completed ballot at one of Sonoma County's 23 official drop boxes now to June 2nd.

You can find Shandra Back's interview with the other 2nd Assembly District candidate Mike Greer, here.