Six Candidates, Three Hometown Names: A Lodi Guide to the 9th Assembly District Primary
Six Candidates, Three Hometown Names: A Lodi Guide to the 9th Assembly District Primary
LodiEye — May 2026
A Lodi411.com civic information report — an AI-assisted synthesis of trusted news sources. Full methodology, corrections, and references at the bottom of this page. Updated with corrections; see end of article for details.
Summary
The 9th Assembly District spans five counties — from the Elk Grove suburbs through Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon, and Modesto, into the Amador and Calaveras foothills — but its political center of gravity sits in Lodi. Three of the six candidates on the June 2 primary ballot live in our immediate area: Tami Nobriga in Lodi, Jim Shoemaker in Clements, and Matthew Adams in Woodbridge. Incumbent Heath Flora's official residence is in Ripon, with Brandon Owen of Galt and the Democratic candidate from Waterford rounding out the largest AD-9 field since Flora first won the seat in 2016.
The June 2 primary will narrow that field to two finalists for the November general election, regardless of party. This guide introduces Lodi voters to who is running, what their stated priorities are, where their money and endorsements come from according to publicly available news sources, and how each candidate's reported positions intersect with the issues that matter most in our part of the district.
Why this race runs through Lodi
AD-9 is an irregular, mostly rural district that links bedroom communities outside Sacramento with the agricultural heartland of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. By population, Lodi is one of its larger anchors. By political infrastructure, it is the largest. The San Joaquin and Stanislaus county Republican central committees, the Greater Lodi Area Democrats, and the regional labor councils all draw their organizing strength from this part of the district.
That has produced the most contested AD-9 primary in a decade. The last time Flora faced more than a single token challenger in a primary was 2016. Since then, his victories have been landslides, including a 70-percent showing in 2022 against a third-party opponent when no Democrat filed at all. In 2024, Flora drew his first repeat challenger when Tami Nobriga ran as an American Independent and took 29.9 percent of the November general-election vote without a Democrat on the ballot. This cycle, he is facing five.
For Lodi voters, the practical question is whether the district's representative — currently the leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus — will be replaced by someone with a stronger local presence, or whether Flora's institutional position in Sacramento outweighs his diminishing presence at home. The Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Amador Republican central committees have already answered that question by formally endorsing his challenger.
The six candidates at a glance
| Candidate | Party | Lives In | Background | Prior Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heath Flora | Republican | Ripon (registered) | Assembly Republican Leader; farmer; firefighter equipment business | Five-term incumbent; first elected 2016 |
| Jim Shoemaker | Republican | Clements | Contractor; former president, California Republican Assembly | 2000 SD-5; 2022 CD-9; 2024 SD-5 (fourth run) |
| Tami Nobriga | Republican | Lodi | Marketing and advertising consultant | 2024 AD-9 (29.9% in November general) |
| Brandon Owen | Republican | Galt | Real estate broker; founder of Max Muscle Nutrition & Wellness | First run for office |
| Matthew Adams | Democrat | Woodbridge | Substitute teacher; community organizer; Lodi High alumnus | First run for office |
| Perez (first name pending verification) | Democrat | Waterford | Water treatment operator | First run for office |
The Lodi-area three
Tami Nobriga (R) — Lodi
A 64-year-old Lodi-based advertising and marketing consultant, Tami Nobriga is running her second consecutive race for AD-9. In 2024 she advanced from the March primary as an American Independent and faced Flora in the November general, taking 55,169 votes — 29.9 percent of the total — without a Democrat on the ballot. This cycle she has switched to a Republican registration and is one of four Republicans in the field.
Per coverage in the Lodi News-Sentinel and The Stockton Record, her platform is built on what she describes as conservative Christian convictions: legislation imposing life-without-parole sentences for child traffickers, armed security in schools, banning pharmaceutical advertising on radio and television, opposing vaccine mandates, and reversing California's elder parole law. The Stockton Record reports she has been explicit that she will not accept donations from "Big Pharma or special interests." The Sacramento Bee reports she has not reported fundraising at levels meeting standard news coverage thresholds and has no major institutional endorsements documented in the 2026 race.
Her base of support, based on the news coverage available to us, appears to rest on personal recognition from the 2024 race and her own social-media outreach rather than party infrastructure. With three other Republicans now on the ballot — including the incumbent and the candidate the local GOP central committees have rallied around — her structural path to a top-two finish appears narrower than it was two years ago.
Jim Shoemaker (R) — Clements
A 63-year-old Clements-based contractor, Jim Shoemaker has lived in the immediate Lodi area for 34 years. According to the Lodi News-Sentinel, after his father's death when he was 10, he moved to South Dakota as a teenager to work on his uncle's farm, where he learned grain harvesting and ran custom-harvest operations from Texas to Canada. He returned to California, drove truck as a Teamster, started his own trucking company, and has since worked in agriculture, construction, life insurance, and real estate. The News-Sentinel reports he led the California Republican Assembly — the state's oldest Republican volunteer organization — for more than 20 years.
This is Shoemaker's fourth run for elected office. He ran for State Senate District 5 in 2000, for U.S. Congress in 2022 against Rep. Josh Harder, and for State Senate District 5 again in 2024, when he won the primary against Carlos Villapudua and faced former U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney in an unusual D-vs-R general — McNerney won. Per the Lodi News-Sentinel, Shoemaker had been preparing a second run against Harder before pivoting to AD-9 in early December 2025.
His coalition appears to be the most institutional of any challenger in the field. Per Sacramento Bee reporting, the Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Amador county Republican central committees have all formally endorsed him over the incumbent. Rep. Tom McClintock, who recently received the California GOP's endorsement for CD-5, has also endorsed him. Lodi City Councilman Cameron Bregman is named in Shoemaker's own candidate questionnaire as a supporter, though Bregman has not made a public statement explaining his rationale. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Shoemaker's largest single reported donor is Robert Beadles, a Reno-based investor whose $11,800 contribution dwarfs his other publicly reported receipts; Beadles has been the subject of investigative reporting by The Nevada Independent, KUNR Public Radio, and APM Reports documenting his promotion of election-fraud conspiracy theories and his citation of antisemitic propaganda.
His platform, per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, centers on accelerating water-storage and infrastructure projects, increasing support for law enforcement, opposing tax and fee increases, protecting the wine and agriculture economy, and reducing what he describes as Sacramento overreach into local matters. He frames his candidacy as a rejection of career politics and emphasizes his decades of contracting experience over Sacramento credentials.
Matthew Adams (D) — Woodbridge
Matthew Adams is a Woodbridge-based teacher and community organizer making his first run for elected office. According to the Lodi News-Sentinel, he is a Lodi High School alumnus who earned a bachelor's degree in government from California State University, Sacramento. He served as an intern under former Assemblyman Jim Cooper, who held the predecessor seat to AD-9 from 2014 to 2022 and now serves as Sacramento County Sheriff. Per the News-Sentinel, Adams has taught middle and high school students in mathematics, science, and social studies; worked as a regional field organizer for Equality California, leading voter-registration and canvassing campaigns across the Central Valley; and served as a volunteer-services coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento. He is also a longtime performer with ComedySportz Sacramento.
Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Adams is the only Democrat in the field running an active campaign and the only candidate to publicly commit to refusing corporate PAC contributions, a position he describes as "putting the community at the center of democracy, not corporate interests." The California Democratic Party formally endorsed him at its January 2026 pre-endorsing conference, where he received 36 of 39 votes — 92.31 percent — and was placed on the consent calendar for ratification at the February state convention. He has also received support from the Greater Lodi Area Democrats, including a $2,000 contribution. According to The Sacramento Bee, his campaign started 2026 with about $9,500 in the bank, received a $10,000 candidate self-loan, and reported small-dollar donations from Northern California residents.
Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Adams identifies education, health care, homelessness, and water/agricultural issues as his top priorities, advocating for better early childhood education, universal health care, a housing-first approach to homelessness, and opposing the Delta Conveyance Project. The Lodi News-Sentinel adds that on homelessness, Adams calls for state-level investments in eviction-prevention programs, stronger tenant protections and mediation services, early intervention for people exiting foster care or other transitions, and reducing red tape that slows shelter and housing development. At the April 18 candidate forum, per The Stockton Record, Adams said California should increase investment in rainwater collection and wastewater reuse while balancing agricultural demands. The structural challenge facing his campaign is the district's voter registration: roughly 41 percent Republican to 33 percent Democrat. His path to a top-two finish appears to depend on Republican vote-splitting between Flora, Shoemaker, Nobriga, and Owen.
The three candidates from elsewhere
Heath Flora (R) — Ripon (registered)
The incumbent. Heath Flora has represented this district since 2016 — first as AD-12, then as AD-9 after redistricting. He is a farmer who served as a Cal Fire firefighter from 2005 to 2007 and volunteered as a firefighter for over 15 years; he owns Golden Valley Equipment, a used agricultural equipment business. He was unanimously elected leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus on July 8, 2025, and assumed the role of Minority Leader on September 16, 2025, succeeding term-limited James Gallagher.
An October 2025 Sacramento Bee investigation by reporter Kate Wolffe found that Flora does not actually live at the home registered as his legal domicile. According to that reporting, his ex-wife confirmed his children stay with him every other weekend at a home in Sacramento's Arden neighborhood. The Bee documented that Flora collected approximately $46,000 in taxpayer-funded per-diem stipends during the first nine months of the 2025 legislative session — a stipend that is tax-free only for legislators living more than 50 miles from the Capitol — and spent over $600,000 in 2024 campaign contributions, with substantial portions going to Sacramento-area meals labeled as "district meetings." Court records cited in the same reporting show Flora was the subject of a wage-garnishment claim filed by his ex-wife for unpaid child support; a San Joaquin County Superior Court ordered him to pay $16,000 in past-due child support and uncovered healthcare expenses for their two daughters. Per the Bee, Flora has not publicly addressed the investigation.
His 2026 fundraising — over $142,000 in direct contributions in the first quarter alone, plus a $49,500 independent-expenditure contribution from Keeping Californians Working to a new IE committee called Valley Taxpayers Defenders to Support Flora — gives him a financial advantage no challenger can match per Sacramento Bee reporting. Notably, the Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Amador Republican central committees in his own district endorsed his challenger Shoemaker rather than him, and the Bee reports Flora declined to participate in the paper's editorial endorsement process and was therefore disqualified from consideration.
Brandon Owen (R) — Galt
A Galt-based real estate broker and the founder of Max Muscle Nutrition & Wellness, Brandon Owen is a first-time candidate. He has identified himself as a Herald resident in some forum appearances; the Sacramento Bee describes him as a rancher, real estate broker, and small business owner. He is married with three sons.
The defining feature of Owen's candidacy in news coverage is the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board's endorsement on April 24, 2026 — an unusual outcome given Flora is the incumbent and an Assembly leader. The Bee's reasoning emphasized Owen's focus on the property-insurance crisis affecting foothill and rural portions of the district, his proposal to require single-subject legislation and limit last-minute amendments, and his "practical, lived experience." The board acknowledged that his policy framework is still developing but said he offers "the clearest combination of practical experience, relevant insight and a focus on issues directly affecting district residents."
His stated platform, per Sacramento Bee coverage and his April 18 forum appearance reported by The Stockton Record, centers on supporting law enforcement, reducing regulations on small businesses, lowering insurance costs (particularly for homeowners and auto), strengthening parental rights in education, and improving mental-health access. At the April 18 forum, he proposed launching a website that would let district residents vote on issues he would address in the Assembly, with the results guiding his decisions. He has not reported fundraising at levels meeting standard news coverage thresholds.
Perez (D) — Waterford
The thinnest paper trail in the race. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, the Democratic candidate from Waterford is a water-treatment operator. He has not filed fundraising information with the California Secretary of State, does not have an identifiable campaign website, and per Stockton Record coverage did not attend the April 18 candidate forum. The Lodi News-Sentinel's candidate-profile package on the AD-9 race covered the other five candidates and did not include a Perez entry. He is on the certified ballot but is running no visible campaign by any conventional measure.
His first name has been reported as both "Michael Perez" by The Sacramento Bee and Yahoo News and "Matthew Perez" by The Stockton Record / Stocktonia. We are working to verify the correct first name against the California Secretary of State's certified candidate list.
In a low-turnout primary, even a passive Democratic candidate can pull thousands of voters who reflexively choose the only "D" they see on the ballot — a dynamic that could split the Democratic vote between Perez and Adams and complicate either candidate's path past the top-two threshold.
The money flowing into the race
What is publicly known about each candidate's 2026 fundraising activity comes from California Secretary of State filings as reported by The Sacramento Bee in April 2026. Readers who want to verify or extend these figures can consult the FPPC filings directly through the Secretary of State's Cal-Access portal.
Per Sacramento Bee reporting, Heath Flora started 2026 with approximately $46,000 in his campaign account and reported over $142,000 in direct contributions in the first quarter alone. The Bee identifies notable institutional donors including the Virginia-based sports-betting company FanDuel ($7,500), the California Real Estate Political Action Committee ($5,900, the maximum primary contribution), the Police Officers Research Association of California ($5,900), and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Union PAC ($5,900). The Bee also reports that an independent-expenditure committee called Valley Taxpayers Defenders to Support Flora for Assembly 2026 was formed in spring 2026 with a single recorded contribution of $49,500 from Keeping Californians Working, a coalition of insurance, energy, and healthcare industry funders. California law requires the coalition to disclose only its top three contributors over $50,000 in the prior 12 months. Past disclosures and CalMatters reporting have identified Chevron, DaVita, Edison International, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Independent Expenditure Committee, Uber, Farmers Insurance, and Sempra Energy among the coalition's recent funders.
Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Jim Shoemaker has solicited several donations of over $1,000, including the largest single reported contribution to any campaign in the race — $11,800 from Robert Beadles. Shoemaker's full first-quarter total has not been individually reported in coverage available to us.
Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Matthew Adams started 2026 with about $9,500 in the bank, loaned his campaign $10,000, and has received small-dollar donations from Northern California residents and a $2,000 contribution from the Greater Lodi Area Democrats. Consistent with his stated commitment to refuse corporate PAC contributions, his report shows no corporate PAC contributions.
Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Tami Nobriga, Brandon Owen, and the Democratic candidate from Waterford have not reported fundraising at levels meeting the paper's threshold for individual-donor coverage. This does not mean their totals are zero; it means they fall below the threshold The Bee uses for naming individual donors in coverage.
The endorsement landscape
The endorsement picture, based on news coverage available to us, is unusually scrambled for an incumbent's reelection. Normally an incumbent has the home-district party apparatus, the regional newspaper, and the major industry PACs. Per news coverage, Flora has only the third of those.
Two dynamics are worth understanding. First, per news coverage, the local-party rebellion against Flora is unusual in California politics. It is rare for an Assembly leader to lose his home-district central committees to a challenger; per The Modesto Focus reporting, the chairs of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin GOPs have explained their decisions in terms of Flora's invisibility in the district and his pattern of donating to county committees outside AD-9 — including $25,000 to the Sutter and San Bernardino county committees in 2025 — while sending $750 to Stanislaus and zero to San Joaquin. Second, per California Federation of Labor Unions records, the Federation endorsed Flora — the Republican incumbent — in 2024, and the Sacramento Bee reports PORAC and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Union PAC have already maxed out to him in 2026. Adams, despite holding the official state Democratic Party endorsement, faces a structural challenge attracting state-level union resources, which typically focus on swing seats; AD-9 is structurally Republican-leaning by registration.
AD-9 voter registration by party
Approximate registration shares for California's 9th Assembly District, 2026 primary. Source: California Secretary of State; reported by the Sacramento Bee.
Five issues that matter to Lodi
The candidate positions below reflect what each candidate has said in publicly available news coverage, primarily The Stockton Record / Stocktonia's April 18 forum coverage by Hannah Workman, the Lodi News-Sentinel candidate Q&A package by Wes Bowers, and Sacramento Bee reporting. Where a candidate has not articulated a public position on an issue in coverage available to us, that is noted.
Water reliability and the Delta tunnels
Per The Stockton Record's April 18 forum coverage, Adams said California should increase investment in rainwater collection and wastewater reuse while balancing agricultural demands, and emphasized natural water-table recharge as a priority. He has also stated, per The Stockton Record, that opposing the Delta Conveyance Project is an example of where the AD-9 representative needs to remain firm. The Stockton Record reports Owen said the region's water problems stem largely from an underreplenished aquifer and called for redirecting excess winter dam releases to recharge the water table. Per the same coverage, Nobriga said the core problem is regulators "that don't know anything" about water and farming and called for prioritizing reservoir refills. Per Sacramento Bee and Lodi News-Sentinel coverage, Flora has consistently opposed the Delta tunnels and supported above-ground storage expansion. Per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, Shoemaker has identified accelerating water-storage projects and infrastructure as a top priority. The Democratic candidate from Waterford has not articulated a public water position in coverage available to us.
Wine and the agriculture economy
Lodi's wine industry has faced years of contraction, including vineyard pull-outs, export disruption from tariffs, and labor-cost pressure. Per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, Shoemaker emphasizes regulatory rollback and protection of the wine and ag economies as a top priority. Per Sacramento Bee coverage of his Assembly record, Flora has consistently advocated for Central Valley agriculture in Sacramento and points to his record on PAGA reform and ag-related legislation. Per The Stockton Record's April 18 forum coverage, Adams stated, in the context of water policy, that "we shouldn't be taking any water away from our agriculture" while supporting investment in water-table recharge. Per the same Stockton Record coverage, Owen has spoken generally about supporting small businesses but did not detail an ag-specific platform at the forum. Per the same source, Nobriga called for the reversal of state water and farming regulations she described as harmful. The Democratic candidate from Waterford has not articulated a public position.
Highway 99 and infrastructure
Per The Stockton Record's April 18 forum coverage, Adams said investment has been focused too heavily on highways rather than rural roads, particularly outside Stockton and Sacramento, and called for more local road funding plus investment in alternatives to driving including bus and rail. Per the same coverage, Owen focused on construction practices and state regulations on roadwork materials, arguing that road quality differs across counties because of construction methods rather than traffic; he also criticized Caltrans for shifting freeway-ramp project costs to local governments. Per The Stockton Record, Nobriga said the core problem is mismanagement rather than funding levels and called for putting "the right people" in management positions. Per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, Shoemaker has identified Highway 99 corridor improvements as a top priority. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Flora has secured ongoing transportation funding through Sacramento channels but has not made highway investment a central platform plank in coverage available to us. The Democratic candidate from Waterford has not articulated a public position.
Homelessness and housing affordability
Per the Lodi News-Sentinel, Adams supports a housing-first approach to homelessness combined with state-level investments in eviction-prevention programs, stronger tenant protections, mediation services, and early intervention for people exiting foster care, prisons, or the military. The News-Sentinel reports he has called for cutting red tape that slows shelter and housing development and for more support for public-private partnerships. Per Sacramento Bee coverage of his Assembly record, Flora has authored legislation establishing a Manteca-area homeless navigation center and emphasizes local-government control over state mandates. Per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, Shoemaker calls for reducing permitting delays and increasing housing supply alongside accountability for state homelessness spending. Per Sacramento Bee coverage and the Stockton Record's forum coverage, Owen emphasizes practical solutions that move people toward stability while protecting public spaces. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Nobriga proposes tax breaks for landlords as an incentive to lower rents. The Democratic candidate from Waterford has not articulated a public position.
Cost of living and the insurance crisis
Per the Sacramento Bee's editorial endorsement, Owen's most distinctive platform plank is on the property-insurance crisis affecting foothill and rural portions of the district. The Bee reports he calls for a "happy medium" that brings insurers, regulators, and property owners to the same table. Per Sacramento Bee coverage of his Assembly record, Flora has worked on the state's broader fire-insurance regulatory environment. Per his Lodi News-Sentinel candidate questionnaire, Shoemaker emphasizes lower energy costs and tax relief as core cost-of-living priorities. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Adams supports campaign-finance reform and broader public-services investment. Per Sacramento Bee coverage, Nobriga calls for tax breaks for landlords and reversal of state gas taxes. The Democratic candidate from Waterford has not articulated a public position.
How and when to vote
The June 2, 2026 California primary uses a top-two system: the two highest vote-getters advance to the November 3 general election regardless of party affiliation. Vote-by-mail ballots have already been mailed to all registered voters in San Joaquin County. Ballots can be returned by mail (postage paid), dropped at any official drop box, or returned in person at the Registrar of Voters office in Stockton. Voters can also vote in person at any vote center in the county during the ten days preceding Election Day.
About this report, corrections, and methodology
About Lodi411.com and LodiEye
Lodi411.com is a citizen-funded civic information platform that augments the local media Lodi citizens already read — the Lodi News-Sentinel, Stocktonia / The Stockton Record, and other regional news and civic information sources — by making that information more findable in one place. We are not a newsroom and have no journalists or reporters.
LodiEye reports are an experiment in AI-assisted reports of interest to Lodi area residents. The founder / editor uses a collection of AI tools as documented below. Every source is quoted and referenced in the published report so any reader can verify the chain themselves. The full AI methodology is published at lodi411.com/ai-methodology.
This article is an introductory overview of the six certified candidates for the California 9th Assembly District seat and their stated positions, as reported in the trusted news sources our research AI surfaced. Where this article reports a candidate's position, that report reflects what the source material says; readers are encouraged to verify against the linked references and to consult the candidates directly for authoritative, up-to-date statements.
Corrections and updates
Corrections appended on this date by the Lodi411.com editor. Original article published earlier in May 2026.
An email from candidate Matthew Adams (D), originally posted to a Lodi-area Democratic discussion group, was forwarded to the Lodi411.com editor. Adams identified concerns with the original article. A follow-up review checked the article against the trusted news sources it drew from and against secondary sources (the candidates' own materials, including campaign websites and Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey responses). The follow-up review confirmed several specific items where the original synthesis exceeded what the trusted sources supported. The corrections below address those items and cite the source consulted for each.
- Forum date: The original article stated the candidate forum at San Joaquin Delta College was held on April 17. The correct date is April 18, 2026. The forum was organized by the San Joaquin County Civic Alliance. Source: Hannah Workman, "Where Assembly District 9 race candidates land on water, crime," The Stockton Record, April 28, 2026.
- Fundraising chart removed: The original article included a column chart comparing reported 2026 fundraising activity by candidate. The chart's underlying values combined incompatible metrics across candidates as reported in the source material: Heath Flora's bar combined his $142,000 in direct first-quarter contributions with $49,500 in independent-expenditure committee support from Keeping Californians Working; Jim Shoemaker's bar reflected only the single itemized $11,800 donation from Robert Beadles, not his full first-quarter total; Matthew Adams's bar combined his approximately $9,500 in starting cash, his $10,000 candidate self-loan, and a $2,000 contribution from the Greater Lodi Area Democrats; Tami Nobriga, Brandon Owen, and the Democratic candidate from Waterford were shown at $0 when the source's actual characterization was that their reported activity fell below The Sacramento Bee's threshold for individual-donor coverage. The chart visually misrepresented the source data. It has been removed and replaced with a sentence-level description of what is and is not known from public reporting. Source for underlying figures: "Your guide to California's 9th District Assembly primary race," Sacramento Bee / Yahoo News, April 2026.
- Adams platform-plank attributions: The original article attributed several specific technical policy planks to Matthew Adams — "universal rent control," "market-rate linkage fee to fund a state housing trust," "right to counsel for tenants facing eviction," "aggressive Sustainable Groundwater Management Act enforcement," "ranked-choice voting," "opposition to ICE," and "ending cash bail." None of these specifics appear in the trusted news coverage of his campaign. The follow-up review against secondary sources (Adams's own campaign website and his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey responses) confirmed they are also not in his stated platform. The original synthesis added language and specificity that the source material did not support. The candidate-profile section, the homelessness issue section, and the water-policy issue section have been corrected to use only what the trusted news sources actually reported about Adams's positions, with secondary-source language used where the article describes his platform in his own terms. Sources consulted: Wes Bowers, "Woodbridge resident running for Assembly," Lodi News-Sentinel, December 30, 2025; Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record, April 28, 2026; Ballotpedia, "Matthew Adams (California)" Candidate Connection survey; Adams for Assembly campaign website.
- Perez first name: Two of the trusted news sources used in the original synthesis refer to the Democratic candidate from Waterford differently. The Sacramento Bee / Yahoo News refers to him as "Michael Perez." The Stockton Record refers to him as "Matthew Perez." The original article picked one without flagging the conflict. The discrepancy is now noted in the candidate-profile section. We are working to verify against the California Secretary of State's certified candidate list and will update accordingly. Sources: Sacramento Bee / Yahoo News, April 2026 ("Michael Perez"); Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record, April 28, 2026 ("Matthew Perez").
On other concerns Adams raised regarding endorsements and policy framing: where the trusted news sources our research AI used did not report endorsements he has received, those endorsements did not appear in the synthesis. That reflects what those sources covered, not a judgment about whether the endorsements exist. The references list below links every source consulted, and readers can see what was and wasn't covered.
Adams's critique pointed to a validation issue in my review of the synthesis: language was added that the underlying sources did not support. We are updating LodiEye's report process to do a final review of editor updates -- the editor is human after all. Readers who identify additional gaps are encouraged to contact editor@lodi411.com.
Lodi411.com is a citizen-funded civic information platform that augments the local media Lodi citizens already read. We are not a newsroom and have no journalists or reporters. LodiEye reports are an experiment in AI-assisted synthesis of trusted news and civic information sources. This report on the California 9th Assembly District primary was produced under that model. Lodi411.com uses multiple AI platforms, including Anthropic's Claude (primarily Opus and Sonnet models) and Perplexity AI across a variety of large language models offered by each. The full methodology is published at lodi411.com/ai-methodology.
Source Discovery (Research Phase): A research AI was used to identify trusted news and civic information sources covering the AD-9 race and to produce a research summary identifying the sources and the key information drawn from each. The trusted sources surfaced and used in this report are listed in the references section below. They include the Sacramento Bee, the Lodi News-Sentinel, The Stockton Record / Stocktonia, the Modesto Focus / Ceres Courier / Turlock Journal, CalMatters, the Nevada Independent / KUNR / APM Reports investigative consortium, and official records from the California Secretary of State, the California Democratic Party, and the California Federation of Labor Unions.
Source Validation (Editor Review): The human editor reviewed the research summary — both the sources selected and the key information surfaced — for consistency and trusted-source fidelity before the synthesis AI produced the publishable draft. Sources were prioritized in this order: California Secretary of State filings; court records cited in published reporting; named reporters' bylined investigations; official party endorsement records; aggregator and syndication content. Where multiple trusted sources covered the same fact, claims were cross-referenced. Where trusted sources conflicted (for example, the first-name discrepancy between The Sacramento Bee and The Stockton Record on the Democratic candidate from Waterford), the conflict has been flagged in the report rather than resolved by editorial judgment. Secondary sources (campaign websites, Ballotpedia self-submitted candidate surveys) are not treated as trusted sources for fact attribution; where used, they are explicitly labeled as such.
Synthesis (Drafting Phase): Claude Opus and Sonnet assisted in synthesizing the trusted sources into the candidate profiles, comparative table, endorsement grid, Kendo UI registration chart, and issue-block framework. Synthesis was instructed to attribute every factual claim to its source and to use only language supported by the source material.
Editorial Review (Pre-Publication): The Lodi411.com human editor reviewed the synthesized draft and references for consistency before publication.
Corrections (Post-Publication): Following publication, an email from candidate Matthew Adams was forwarded to the editor from a Lodi-area Democratic discussion group. The email identified concerns with the article. A follow-up validation pass checked the article against the trusted news sources used and against secondary sources (the candidates' own materials). The follow-up pass confirmed several specific items where the original synthesis exceeded what the trusted sources supported. Those items, with source attribution for each correction, are documented in the corrections section above. Lodi411.com is updating its standing AI instructions for both the research phase (clarifying trusted-source versus secondary-source treatment) and the validation phase (an independent AI verification step that checks every factual attribution against the source it claims to draw from) as a result.
Lodi411.com synthesizes publicly available trusted source material to make Lodi-area civic information more findable in one place. Every source is listed in the references section so any reader can verify the chain. We are not a substitute for the news organizations that produced the underlying coverage, and we will sometimes get things wrong; when we do, we correct publicly and visibly. Reader feedback is essential to how the platform works. Please contact editor@lodi411.com with corrections, questions, or sources we have missed.
References
Trusted news and civic information sources used in this synthesis
- Wolffe, Kate. "Four takeaways from The Bee's investigation into Assemblymember Heath Flora." Sacramento Bee, October 2025. sacbee.com
- Sacramento Bee Editorial Board. "The Bee endorses a Republican for California's 9th Assembly District. Who?" Sacramento Bee, April 24, 2026. sacbee.com
- Bowers, Wes. "2026 California Primary: State Assembly 9th District: Incumbent Flora faces biggest challenge yet." Lodi News-Sentinel, April 28, 2026. lodinews.com
- Bowers, Wes. "Shoemaker announces another run for office." Lodi News-Sentinel, December 10, 2025. lodinews.com
- Bowers, Wes. "Woodbridge resident running for Assembly." Lodi News-Sentinel, December 30, 2025. lodinews.com
- Workman, Hannah. "Where Assembly District 9 race candidates land on water, crime." The Stockton Record / Stocktonia, April 28, 2026. recordnet.com
- "Sacramento politicians love Modesto conservative Heath Flora, but local Republicans have given up on him." The Modesto Focus / Ceres Courier / Turlock Journal, February 2026. modestofocus.com
- "Tom McClintock endorses GOP Assembly leader Heath Flora's opponent for 2026." Sacramento Bee / Yahoo News, February 17, 2026. yahoo.com
- "Your guide to California's 9th District Assembly primary race." Sacramento Bee / Yahoo News, April 2026. yahoo.com
- California Democratic Party. "2026 Pre-Endorsing Conference Results." January 2026. cadem.org
- California Federation of Labor Unions. "2024 Pre-General Election COPE Endorsement Recommendations." San Diego, July 17, 2024. calaborfed.org
- The Nevada Independent / KUNR Public Radio / APM Reports. "GOP donor trying to reshape Nevada politics pushes radical conspiracy theories, repeatedly cites antisemitic propaganda." October 2022. thenevadaindependent.com
- California Secretary of State. "Certified List of Candidates for the June 2, 2026, Primary Election." March 2026. sos.ca.gov
- "A gusher of campaign cash: Industry groups give big in California legislative races." CalMatters, November 2022. calmatters.org
- San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters. Voter information accessed May 2026. sjcrov.org
Secondary sources consulted in the post-publication validation pass (not used as trusted sources for fact attribution)
- Ballotpedia. "Matthew Adams (California)" Candidate Connection survey responses. Accessed May 2026. ballotpedia.org
- Adams for Assembly. Campaign website. sites.google.com/view/adams4assembly
Questions, corrections, or sources we missed: editor@lodi411.com