Julia Brownley

Democratic State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin is facing off against Republican candidate and nonprofit leader Samuel Gallucci in the race for California’s 26th Congressional District.

They are seeking to claim the open seat created by the retirement of Rep. Julia Brownley, who has represented the region for the last 12 years. The district stretches from the the Pacific Ocean through the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains, encompassing most of Ventura County and the L.A. County communities of Calabasas and Agoura Hills. It includes the communities of Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura and Camarillo as well as wide swaths of vineyards and agricultural land.

As with most Californians, the rising cost of living and especially the price of housing are major concerns for constituents. Many communities sit at the wildland-urban interface, making wildfire prevention and response another essential issue. The district is home to a significant immigrant community in agricultural areas such as Oxnard and Camarillo, which have been the site of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and protests.

The seat is ranked as solidly Democratic by Cook Political Report.

California’s general election takes place on Novemer 3. Learn about L.A.’s city and county races as well races for state office.

Irwin has represented California’s 42nd and 44th Assembly Districts since 2014 and has chaired legislative committees on climate change, cybersecurity, veterans affairs and taxation. She began her career in public service in 2004 when she was elected to the Thousand Oaks City Council and served two terms as mayor. Irwin holds a degree in systems engineering from UC San Diego and worked as an engineer at Teledyne Systems and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.

Gallucci is a nonprofit leader and former businessman. He was the senior pastor at Embrace Church in Oxnard and helped found several nonprofit organizations, including the Kingdom Center, which provides emergency housing and transitional living for women and children. He also started Treasured Harvest to provide food aid and other resources to support the region’s farmworker community. Before becoming a pastor, he worked as an executive at IBM.

Irwin has had a front row seat to the devastation caused by wildfires while representing Pacific Palisades and Malibu in the state Assembly. She supports investing in expanding vegetation management and promoting building standards that encourage the use of fire-resistant materials. She also said it is essential to enact policies that address climate change, which is driving the hotter, drier conditions that fuel faster-moving and more destructive wildfires.

Gallucci calls for investment in wildfire fuel reduction, forest management and resilient power infrastructure. He said “the consistent mismanagement of our water resources is a catastrophe for our farmers and the many families displaced by wildfires” and supports increased federal funding for wildfire prevention, so long as disbursement is conditioned on the responsible management of resources.

Gallucci said he will fight to make Ventura County affordable for all. He supports increasing American energy production through streamlined permits to help lower utility bills and incentivizing home building by streamlining regulations that delay and inflate construction costs. He also calls for reining in wasteful government spending while protecting essential social services like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He is in favor of reducing taxes on small businesses to lower costs and keep jobs local.

Irwin calls for lowering the cost of living through “expanding affordable housing, investing in reliable and lower-cost energy, reducing prescription drug and child care costs, and creating good-paying jobs that help families get ahead.” In Sacramento, she helped lower electricity bills by enacting the California Climate Credit, which provides residents with cost relief during months when energy bills are highest. She criticized the conflict with Iran for increasing the cost of gas and groceries and said Congress should work to strengthen America’s energy security and protect consumers from future price spikes.

Irwin said America needs comprehensive immigration reform that secures borders and establishes an efficient and lawful immigration system that does not rely on “masked thugs terrorizing our communities.” She supports equipping immigrant agents with training to enforce the law professionally and rejects enforcement tactics that “undermine public trust and confidence in our institutions.”

Gallucci supports a “legal, fair, humane system” at the border. He believes in funding the mass removal of violent offenders who are in the country illegally while streamlining work permits in fields with labor shortages so employers can fill jobs. He supports creating a pathway to legal status for “undocumented neighbors who have peacefully worked in our communities for decades.” Gallucci is also an advocate for expanding antitrafficking task forces.