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Christopher Ward (California)
2020 - Present
2026
4
Christopher Ward (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Assembly, representing District 78. He assumed office on December 7, 2020. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.
Ward (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the California State Assembly to represent District 78. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Christopher Ward earned a B.A. from John Hopkins University and a master's degree in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Ward's career experience includes working as an environmental planner, a researcher with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California at San Diego, and the chief of staff to former state senator Marty Block.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Ward was assigned to the following committees:
- Emergency Management Committee
- Emergency Management Committee
- Human Services Committee
- Labor and Employment Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 78
Incumbent Christopher Ward won election in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Christopher Ward (D) | 100.0 | 175,178 |
| Total votes: 175,178 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 78
Incumbent Christopher Ward advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Ward (D) | 100.0 | 79,090 |
| Total votes: 79,090 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ward received the following endorsements.
2022
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 78
Incumbent Christopher Ward defeated Eric Gonzales in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Ward (D) | 68.6 | 118,215 |
| Eric Gonzales (R) | 31.4 | 54,234 | ||
| Total votes: 172,449 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 78
Incumbent Christopher Ward and Eric Gonzales advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Ward (D) | 68.2 | 76,917 |
| ✔ | Eric Gonzales (R) | 31.8 | 35,857 | |
| Total votes: 112,774 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
2020
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 78
Christopher Ward defeated Sarah Davis in the general election for California State Assembly District 78 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Ward (D) | 56.2 | 123,755 |
 | Sarah Davis (D) | 43.8 | 96,486 | |
| Total votes: 220,241 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 78
Christopher Ward and Sarah Davis defeated Micah Perlin in the primary for California State Assembly District 78 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Ward (D) | 55.6 | 69,125 |
| ✔ | | Sarah Davis (D) | 27.7 | 34,410 |
 | Micah Perlin (D) | 16.7 | 20,741 | |
| Total votes: 124,276 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
The mayor's chair and five of the nine seats on the San Diego City Council were up for election on June 7, 2016.
While the June election was called a primary, it was functionally a general election. The only races where no candidate won a majority (50 percent plus one) of the votes cast in the primary advanced to the election on November 8, 2016. The November election was called a general election, but it was functionally a runoff election. Christopher Ward defeated Anthony Bernal and Scott Sanborn in the primary election for San Diego City Council District 3.
| San Diego City Council District 3, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Christopher Ward |
59.23% | 15,029 |
| Anthony Bernal | 27.02% | 6,856 |
| Scott Sanborn | 13.75% | 3,489 |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 25,374 | |
| Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential Primary Election, Tuesday, June 7, 2016," June 8, 2016 | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christopher Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Christopher Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Christopher Ward completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ward's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was elected to the San Diego City Council in 2016, and have focused on housing, homelessness, economic development, public safety and other critical local goals. In addition, I am the author of San Diego's landmark Equal Pay Ordinance, and wrote a law to make San Diego the largest city in California to ban Styrofoam. As Chair of the San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless, my top goals have been to transform our outdated programs and services to align with national best practices and meaningfully address and respond to homelessness at a time when other cities are experiencing double-digit growth. On the City Council, I also serve as Chair of the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, focusing on support for local business and help create good paying jobs.
I previously served as the Chief of Staff to State Senator Marty Block, representing most of the 78th Assembly District. In these capacities, I was committed to constituent services, facilitating public participation in policymaking, and organizing state and local resources to make our schools, universities, and neighborhoods a better place.- A Leader on the Enviornment
- A Key Voice in the Fight Against Homelessness
- A Parent Fighting for All of our Children
Averaging nearly $12,000 per year, the cost of childcare is one of the largest economic barriers for working families. Impoverished and working-class parents often find it impossible to find jobs allowing them to both care for their children and pay the bills. California's children deserve a strong start, and families need support to create an equitable and healthy workplace, and an even happier and healthier home.
Homelessness
As Chair of the Regional Taskforce on the Homeless I have worked tirelessly to update systems of care, identify funding streams, and increase housing supply for our most vulnerable San Diegans. Taking best practices to Sacramento, I will fight for a permanent stream of homelessness funding, comprehensive statewide planning, and updated care and services so the most vulnerable Californians have a path out of poverty.
Climate Change
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31. A special session in the Assembly was from August 31, 2024 to October 14, 2024 and another special session started on December 2, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the California State Legislature was in session from January 1 to September 14.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the California State Legislature was in session from December 7 to September 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the California State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 31.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate California State Assembly District 78 |
Officeholder California State Assembly District 78 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "Christopher Ward's responses," April 4, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Todd Gloria (D) |
California State Assembly District 78 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
San Diego City Council District 3 2016-2020 |
Succeeded by Stephen Whitburn |
