With just under two years still left in his first Senate term, state Sen. John Laird announced last week that he plans to seek reelection in 2024.
Laird began his career in elected office in Santa Cruz City Hall as city councilmember, serving two four-year terms between 1981 and 1990, including two one-year stints as mayor. He would then go on to succeed Fred Keeley in the state assembly, serving three consecutive terms between 2002 and 2008. Laird was named to the powerful post of California’s secretary of natural resources between 2011 and 2019, before winning his first term to the state Senate in 2020; his 17th District includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties and parts of Santa Clara and Monterey counties.
A second four-year term in the Senate would put Laird at the end of his term limits, marking the finale of his time as an elected state legislator. So far in his first term, Laird has seen 29 of his bills signed into law, including a major climate package and the rescue of Watsonville Community Hospital. He also led the creation of the legislature’s first Central Coast Caucus, a group of the 10 senators and assembly members who represent the state between Santa Cruz and Ventura.
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