Christy Smith, a two-term Newhall School District board member, announced that she will be running for the 38th Assembly District seat in Sacramento in the 2016 election.

Smith has been a resident of the Santa Clarita Valley for 26 years, and has been a member of the elementary school district board since 2009, now serving as the board clerk.

She announced her candidacy on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 as a Democrat.

“I think it’s an ideal time to run,” she said. “The 38th district is changing and becoming more diverse.”

A graduate of Hart High School, Smith attended grew up in the valley before attending College of the Canyons. She graduated with honors from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and moved to Washington D.C. before returning to Santa Clarita.

According to her website, her public policy focus is on economic security, sound public budgeting, health and welfare and private-public partnerships.

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Of her priorities, she lists education as the highest.

“Particularly education funding in California,” she said. “We need to chart a course to get state education funding on par with the rest of the nation.”

However, she also plans to focus heavily in water conservation and green energy legislation.

“We need to remain vigilant about the drought,” she said, “and get some of these water reduction projects going.”

She will run against incumbent Assemblyman Scott Wilk, who has served the 38th district since 2012.

“The challenge as a challenger is to point out why I’m the better choice,” Smith said, “but as a member of the majority party, i’ll be able to have a much larger impact.”

She believes that the voters in the district will will respond to her policy, which she describes as Democratic with conservative sensibilities.

“We’re at a really critical juncture,” she said, “and now is the ideal time.”