Folsom's Hoover to make Assembly run

A longtime Folsom resident is starting off 2022 with plans to run for California Assembly. On Tuesday, Republican school board member Josh Hoover announced his campaign for the newly-drawn 7th Assembly District. Hoover is currently an elected board member in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) and serves as the chief of staff to California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley. The last time that the city of Folsom had a resident representative in the state Legislature was in the 1800s. Amos Caitlin served in the Assembly in 1857 and Phillip Cohen was the only Folsom resident to be elected to the State Senate, according to history archives on the city of Folsom website. "I was lucky to grow up in the city of Folsom and I'm very thankful for the opportunity to raise my family here as well. This city is known for its great schools, safe neighborhoods and amazing quality of life," Hoover told the Telegraph. "It's no wonder why it is regularly ranked as one of the best places to live in California. It would be the honor of a lifetime to represent these values and the Folsom community in the State Assembly." In his position as Kiley's Chief of Staff, Hoover is instrumental in developing the Assemblyman's annual legislative agenda and advising him on education issues. Throughout his time in the State Legislature with the Kiley camp, Hoover has put his focus on putting families first through his efforts to reform education, provide school choice, keep neighborhoods safe and make California more affordable. As a school board member in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Hoover fought to reopen schools in his community. The school district was the first district in Sacramento County to bring students back for in-person instruction. Hoover also worked to help balance the budget, protect taxpayers, expand mental health services, support school police officers and improve student achievement. For his work advocating for students throughout the pandemic, Hoover was named Folsom's Young Professional of the Year in 2020. "Anyone can take a look around and see the problems facing California. Crime is surging, too many schools are failing our students, and high taxes have made it extremely difficult to raise a family in this state," Hoover said as he announced his candidacy Monday. "To top it off, the homelessness population is skyrocketing, our unemployment rate leads the nation, and last year we found out the EDD unlawfully handed out billions of taxpayer dollars to criminals." While there is much work to be done to fix many of California's growing issues, Hoover said, he is confident it can be done. "But California can once again become a land of opportunity by holding our elected leaders accountable and embracing policies that prioritize families," he said. "As a parent and lifelong Californian, I am running to help make this happen." Hoover holds a bachelor's degree in political science and public policy from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California (USC). Although Kiley could be losing his staffer, he shared his support for his decision to run. "Josh Hoover is not only a local school board member and an advocate for students, but Josh is also one of my closest advisors. Josh will bring a conservative voice and work to restore fiscal accountability to the State Legislature and there is no bigger advocate for our students," said Kiley. "The California legislative approach to education is one where mandates and special interests replace students' interests. Josh will take on those special interests and give our students a voice." The newly-drawn 7th Assembly District is entirely nested in Sacramento County and is home to the communities of Folsom, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Foothill Farms, Gold River, North Highlands, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova and Rosemont. Hoover lives in Folsom with his wife, Nicole, and their three children, Ayden, Addison and Austin.