Environmental Activist Enters Race for New Assembly Seat

Santa Monica lawyer and environmental activist Scott A. Meehan said Friday he will seek the Republican nomination for state Assembly in a proposed new district that is to cover portions of the southwestern San Fernando Valley.

Meehan, 31, who is making his first run for public office, is the first to formally announce his candidacy in the 41st Assembly District, which stretches from Canoga Park to Malibu and south to Santa Monica.

Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) is also considering running in the new district. The five-term lawmaker’s present, Santa Monica-based district was carved up in a recent redistricting plan devised by a panel of retired state judges.

The state Supreme Court is expected to adopt the plan with few changes by Jan. 28. New district boundaries are required to be drawn every 10 years to reflect population changes in the most recent U.S. census count.

With a 59% Democratic voter registration, Hayden’s current seat--which includes Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and parts of Venice and West Los Angeles--is considered a Democratic stronghold.

The new district, however, would contain 49% Democrats and 40% Republicans, making it winnable by either political party.

Other Republicans who have been mentioned as potential candidates include former Santa Monica City Councilwoman Christine Reed and Fred Beteta, a former Santa Monica Community College board member.

Meehan, who announced his candidacy outside Agoura High School, which he attended, said he favors “full and adequate funding” for California schools and a streamlining of environmental regulations to help business.

Meehan, a member of an environmental group that works to clean up pollution in Santa Monica Bay, also pledged not to accept any special-interest contributions from political action committees.