urrent Assembly District 10 representative Alan Nakanishi is termed out and the Republican primary race to replace him offers three very different candidates: local businessman and city councilman David Sander, former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock and Capitol staffer Paul Hegyi.

We think David Sander is the best pick for the 10th Assembly District. He presents a solid mix of real-life business experience and effectiveness as an elected official. As a bonus, he is a bona fide scientist who brings strong credentials and can inject some logic when arguing against bigger government or higher taxes.

Sander is a councilman and mayor in Rancho Cordova, a small business owner and an award-winning microbiologist. His business helps scientific groups and high tech companies communicate with government agencies, investors and the public—skills that might be helpful in getting the economy back on track. As a councilman and mayor, he has balanced budgets and built impressive reserves in his city at a time when others are launching the lifeboats.

Sander is a staunch tax-fighter. He opposed raising the car tax and fought Measure R—the multi-billion dollar sales tax increase to build an arena for the millionaire owners of the Kings. His intense focus on results and his experience as a business owner are strengths the State Capitol sorely needs. And, we think we ought to have at least one scientist in the legislature.

Jack Sieglock has the longest political resume of the bunch—but he also has a troubling record when it comes to watching out for taxpayers. He was featured in the Piglet Book put out by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Citizen’s Against Government Waste for spending almost $800,000 on pork barrel projects. He’s a former congressional staffer who has worked in government nearly his whole life. Although he calls himself a businessman, he’s really a lobbyist for a waste company. His record shows that he sees bigger government as the solution instead of the problem—not exactly a resume that indicates he will stand up for taxpayers.

The last candidate is 30-something Capitol staffer Paul Hegyi. Hegyi’s resume is pretty thin. He worked for an Orange County assemblyman and served as a political operative for several Southern California campaigns. He has not been employed outside of politics and never held public office, although he ran for a Central Committee in San Diego. He has an impressive list of endorsements—but all of them are from Los Angeles and San Diego. Heygi might have a bright future in politics, but he needs a little real life experience and connection to this area before voters can take him seriously.

For these reasons, we endorse David Sander for the 10th District Assembly seat. He is that rare combination of head and heart district voters will appreciate.

California’s 10th Assembly District consists of all of Amador County and parts of El Dorado County (El Dorado Hills), Sacramento County (Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, Elk Grove, Florin, Gold River, La Riviera, Laguna, Laguna West-Lakeside, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Rosemont, Sacramento [a small portion], Vineyard) and San Joaquin County (Lincoln Village, Lodi, North Woodbridge, South Woodbridge, Stockton).