The CA Senate District 4 race is crowded with eight candidates. These two stand out

Of all the bizarre legislative boundaries created in recent redistricting, the most puzzling is Senate District 4.

In terms of keeping the entire county intact in a single district, Stanislaus County got just what it asked for. But Stanislaus doesn’t have quite enough voters to stand alone in a senate district. That’s usually remedied by adding some neighbors, such as Ripon and Escalon to the north, or Delhi, Livingston and Atwater to the south.

Instead, redistricting commissioners welded Stanislaus to all or parts of 12 counties to the east, running all the way to Nevada and stretching from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley. You read that right: 13 total counties in a single nonsensical district.

The Fourth is anchored by Stanislaus because it contributes more voters than any other county. The next most populous is El Dorado — east of Sacramento, 100 miles away, sharing very little in common with Stanislaus.

Reflecting the Fourth’s chaotic geography is the number of candidates hoping to represent it: eight are on the June 7 ballot — six Republicans and two Democrats.

Best known among the GOP hopefuls is George Radanovich, a former Mariposa congressman who served 16 years in the U.S. House, leaving in 2010. He represented parts of Stanislaus County during much of his time in Washington, D.C., and is the logical choice to do so again in the California Senate.

California’s jungle primary sends the top two vote-getters to the fall ballot, regardless of party. With six candidates splitting the conservative vote in the Fourth, it’s likely that a Democrat will make it to the general election in November, and that should be Tim Robertson, a strong up-and-comer from Stanislaus County.

Five of the eight candidates participated in The Modesto Bee’s Fourth Senate District forum, which can be viewed — along with other debates for congressional seats, state Assembly and Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors — at modbee.com/opinion/. Joining Radanovich and Robertson were Republicans Jolene Daly of Modesto and Steven Bailey, a former El Dorado judge, and Democrat Marie Alvarado-Gil of Amador County.

Republicans Jeff McKay of Ceres, Jack Griffith of Turlock and Michael Gordon of El Dorado Hills did not participate and so are not eligible for The Bee’s recommendation. Because he had a valid excuse for missing, McKay was allowed an opening statement at the forum which he had delivered by Assemblyman Heath Flora.

Radanovich’s breadth of experience was evident in the debate before Bee editors, who asked for positions on a range of topics from mountain wildfires and water policy to crime and health care. His advocacy for an approach to many of society’s ills through the lens of Adverse Childhood Experiences — the idea that success in adults is influenced by abuse, neglect and exposure to mental illness and substance abuse early in life — should be pursued by those forming policy to give children a better start.

The election of Robertson, a labor union leader, to the Keyes Community Services District and his involvement in three countywide boards focusing on better Stanislaus jobs suggest the kind of devotion needed in all representatives. His support for a gas rebate — “to ease people’s burdens; it’s not a handout, but a way to support them,” Robertson said — is admirable.

Bailey’s focus on law and order is predictable for a far-right candidate who unsuccessfully ran for California attorney general in 2018. Daly seems to be going after a similar voting base; the Legislature in Sacramento could use a good therapist like her among their ranks, but with no office-holding experience, she will struggle to stand out in a crowded field. Ditto for Alvarado-Gil, whose progressive message might have trouble striking a chord in a right-leaning district.

George Radanovich and Tim Robertson have earned The Bee’s June primary recommendation for Senate District Four.