Assembly District 28 spans communities in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. On Nov. 3, Democratic Assemblymember Gail Pellerin ("State Assemblymember") faces Republican Carol Pefley, listed on the Secretary of State's certified list as a "Small Business Owner." The challenger has built her campaign around a single theme: housing laws written in Sacramento.

The challenger's case, in her words

Pefley's campaign site says "one-size-fits-all housing mandates from Sacramento are overriding the planning decisions of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County communities." It lists five bills it says Pellerin voted for: SB 423, SB 684 and AB 1633 (2023), AB 976 (2023, on owner-occupancy rules for ADUs) and SB 1211 (2024, ministerial ADU approval).

The site also targets SB 79, the law that upzones land near transit stops. It says the bill passed the Assembly 43-19 on Sept. 11, 2025, and that the Assembly Journal records no vote from Pellerin that day. These are the campaign's characterizations. The Bay Area Brief has not independently checked the vote record.

What Pefley says she would do

Her platform promises to "stand up for local control" and give communities meaningful input before projects move forward. Her campaign site describes Propositions 1 and 37, the housing bonds on this ballot, as borrowing "for costly housing projects," and Proposition 45 as reducing housing costs "by cutting red tape."

The numbers

  • June 2 primary (Ballotpedia): Pellerin 72.0% (94,902 votes), Pefley 28.0% (36,949).
  • 2024 general: Pellerin beat Republican Liz Lawler, 69.2% to 30.8%.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.

More races and measures: our 2026 election hub.