On Nov. 3, voters in California's 9th Assembly District will decide their next representative. In the race are incumbent Heath Flora and challenger Matthew Adams, a local teacher and activist.
District 9 includes parts of Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. The district's population is 493,962, according to Census Reporter.
Assembly members serve two-year terms, with a limit of 12 years maximum in state legislature, whether in the state assembly, state senate or a combination of the two.
Neither Flora nor his team responded to multiple emails and calls attempting to learn more about his bid for re-election.
Matthew Adams
Adams said he's running for District 9 to put the
"community, rather than corporate interests, at the center of our democracy."
His top priorities are "getting money out of politics," expanding housing affordability, and strengthening public education and workforce development.
Adams also detailed his plan to achieve each of these goals.
To get money out of politics, Adams said he will refuse all corporate PAC money and will champion campaign finance reform and public financing.
To increase housing affordability, Adams said he plans to expand multi-family affordable housing, strengthen tenant protections, and establish a right to counsel for low-income renters facing eviction.
To strengthen education, Adams said he will fight to fully resource public schools, reduce class sizes, support competitive teacher pay and expand vocational apprenticeships.
Issues identified by Adams that particularly impact District 9 included: unsustainable groundwater pumping, an overconcentration of single-family builds, and an energy and water supply vulnerability that would be negatively impacted if a data center were to be built.
To address groundwater pumping, Adams said he will enforce the sustainable groundwater management act, oppose large-scale delta tunnel projects, and invest state funds into delta levee upgrades, habitat restoration, and wastewater recycling.
To address the influx of single-family homes, Adams plans to propose a linkage fee on market-rate developments to fund a dedicated affordable housing trust fund.
To protect energy and water supplies, Adams said he would advocate for a state and local moratorium on new data center construction until strict environmental standards were established.
Adams — a lifelong Woodbridge resident, teacher and political organizer — said he believes he's qualified for Assembly because he spent his career on the "front lines" of the district.
"Through my community organizing with groups like Equality California and Habitat for Humanity, I’ve built a proven track record of uniting for working-class families and delivering results in the fight for real, uncorrupted change, which is the sort of thing we need more of in the State Assembly," Adams said.
Heath Flora
Flora has represented District 9 since 2022. Before redistricting, he represented District 12 beginning in 2016.
Flora has served continuously in the Assembly since 2016. If re-elected, the upcoming term would be his last under California's 12-year legislative term limits.
According to his website, Flora's achievements include establishing "a statewide firefighter apprenticeship program, (providing) greater access to individuals' vital records, and (setting) safety standards pertaining to electric motorized scooters."
Flora served as the Assembly Republican leader from September 2025 to August 2026. He was removed as leader in August following a report from the New York Post that discovered two state ethics investigation had been opened into Flora's financial activities.
Flora owns Exact Corporation, a business that sells nut harvesting equipment and forcible entry equipment for firefighting, and Golden Valley Equipment, a business that sells used agricultural equipment.
Drew Askeland covers Stockton and San Joaquin County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Stockton Record and USA Today Network. Reach him at daskeland@gannett.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom's commitment to public service journalism.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Assembly District 9 Incumbent Heath Flora faces challenger Matthew Adams
