Pan’s the man

Dr. Richard Pan is a no-brainer to support in the race for the newly redrawn Assembly District 9, which flows from Sacramento County on south to Lodi. Pan, a one-term Democratic assemblyman whose redrawn district put him in conflict with Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, chose not to run against a Democratic incumbent he had much in common with. Instead, Pan moved back to where he lived when he first moved to California decades ago to run in the new District 9.

A pediatrician and former college professor, Pan has demonstrated a grassroots ability to work with the entire community to solve problems. He’s smart and progressive, with a particularly admirable track record on public-health issues. Recently, he successfully introduced a bill that bans the sale of expired infant formula and medicines in California.

Pan was able to accomplish much in one term, despite the “us vs. them” politics so prevalent these days at the Capitol. We recommend returning him to the statehouse to represent the new District 9.