Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday scheduled a March 2 special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Holly Mitchell, who was sworn in to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last week.

If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff will be held May 4.

Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager, D-Baldwin Hills, announced her candidacy last month and has been endorsed by Mitchell. Kamlager was Mitchell’s district director before being elected to represent the 54th Assembly District in a 2018 special election.

Kamlager said that if elected, her priorities would include:

— criminal justice system reform “that moves us closer to equality before the law”;

— employment strategies “that will reboot our economy and create opportunities for all communities”;

— innovative investment in housing and homelessness initiatives;

— climate change action while working toward a Green New Deal and quality jobs; and

— investments in education and the arts.

Kamlager was a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees from 2015-18. She was appointed in 2013 to the Los Angeles County Commission on Children and Families.

Kamlager also worked at the Social and Public Arts Resource Center in Venice and the Ladera Heights-based early childhood care and education organization Crystal Stairs.

The overwhelmingly Democratic 30th Senate District covers a large swath of the Metro area, including Culver City, Mar Vista, Century City, Ladera Heights, Exposition Park, South Los Angeles, Westmont, much of downtown Los Angeles and a portion of Inglewood.

Kamlager represents 64% of the residents of the 30th Senate District in the Assembly, according to her campaign.

Cooper Hefner, the 29-year-old son of the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, began an exploratory campaign for the seat in July, saying “it is time for more young leaders to focus on the future,” but announced Nov. 30 he will not run because he will soon be called to active duty with the U.S. Air Force.

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