An entrenched Democrat will likely hold off a socially liberal Republican in the newly drawn state Senate district that encompasses San Francisco and parts of northern San Mateo County.
State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, was elected to the Senate in 2008 after six years in the Assembly. The former San Francisco supervisor represents the 3rd Senate District, including the eastern half of San Francisco, all of Marin County and part of Sonoma County.
His opponent is Harmeet Dhillon, chairwoman of the San Francisco Republican Party. Born in India and raised in North Carolina, Dhillon clerked for a federal judge before moving to San Francisco and starting a practice that focuses on commercial litigation.
She has been honored for her pro bono work on behalf of political refugees and victims of religious discrimination.
Leno and Dhillon are competing for the seat that will represent the 11th Senate District, which has been redrawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to include all of San Francisco along with Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City and part of South San Francisco.
Leno, 60, has counted education and equal rights among his priorities during his time in Sacramento. Last year, he authored a bill requiring the historical contributions of gays and lesbians, as well as disabled people, to be incorporated into school lessons.
While Leno is the heavy favorite, and Dhillon acknowledges victory is unlikely, she still wants to make sure voters have the opportunity to consider a conservative point of view. She favors limited government, low taxes and strong privacy and property rights.
“Without me running, we wouldn’t have a candidate espousing any of those values,” said Dhillon, 43. “Not everyone in San Francisco is progressive.”
With only two candidates in the race, Leno and Dhillon will meet again in November’s general election, regardless of the outcome of the June 5 primary.
Contact Aaron Kinney at 650-348-4357. Follow him at Twitter.com/kinneytimes.
Meet the 11th Senate District candidates
Mark Leno — http://sd03.senate.ca.gov
Harmeet Dhillon — www.dhillon2012.com
The 11th Senate District is one of the newly drawn districts.