Meet Andre Sandford, an Independent for California State Assembly

Andre Sandford is a member of the American Independent Party who is running to represent District 18 in the California State Assembly. On March 5, 2024, Sandford advanced from the non-partisan primary election along with one other candidate, incumbent Mia Bonta. On November 5, 2024, the two candidates will face off in the general election.

As a third-party and GoodParty.org Certified candidate, Sandford is committed to bringing a fresh perspective to the California State Assembly. GoodParty.org spoke with Sandford about his campaign and his vision for the future of District 18.

Andre Sandford: An Independent Candidate for Oakland and Alameda

California’s State Assembly District 18 includes the Oakland and Alameda areas, including Emeryville, West Oakland, Eastlake, East Oakland, and Bay Farm Island. 

The district has been represented by a Democratic representative since 1963. The current incumbent, Mia Bonta, is a Democratic representative who assumed office in 2021. In the 2022 election, Bonta competed against a Republican candidate, Mindy Pechenuk. This year, Sandford beat both Pechenuk and another Republican candidate, Cheyenne Kenney, in the non-partisan primary on March 5. 

This was a historic moment for Sandford, as few minor-party candidates for state legislature have advanced to a general election ahead of partisan opponents.

“I was able to win over two Republicans. I believe I was the first non-partisan or third-party candidate to ever win with opponents in the state of California, so that was really huge,” Sandford said.

Sandford said he chose to run for office outside of the two-party system because he feels that neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party fully represents his views.

“I have some conservative views, I have some progressive views, and I have some moderate views, so I can align with everybody,” Sandford said. “What I learned in the primary is that sometimes when you try to say, ‘Hey, I agree with you on this point, but as far as finances, I don't agree,’ you tend to see people and parties trying to suck you into everything a party might have — versus saying, ‘Hey, I just like these three key things. I stand differently.’”

To Sandford, collaborating and making progress is more important than partisanship.

“Even within politics, we can still make deals, we can still compromise, and we can still get things done. That's what I think America has started to lack, and that's what I want to bring into politics,” he said.

Bringing Change to California’s 18th District

A series of traumatic events inspired Sandford to run for office and bring change to Oakland and Alameda. When his son was only eight months old, Sandford was robbed outside of his apartment at gunpoint. Within a couple weeks, he was robbed again, this time with his family nearby.

After these events, Sandford knew he wanted to make a difference. Running for the California State Assembly presented the perfect opportunity.

“The assembly is the lower level of the California house that creates policies that increase or decrease the state budget,” he said. “It's really, really essential because they allocate funds to state programs as far as corrections, all public safety sectors, affordable healthcare, transportation, and just about every sector in the state. They allocate funds to nonprofits and for-profits as well. Every entity in California is affected by what the assembly member decides to vote for and not vote for.”

Economic development, public safety, and affordable housing are issues close to the heart of Sandford’s campaign.

“I'm running a small, grassroots campaign for the people, to ensure that we keep jobs in our district in the state of California and that we have public safety. Public safety is a huge issue in the state of California, which contributes to businesses leaving and which contributes to the high unemployment rate,” Sandford said.

Voters in District 18 have a variety of views on how best to address the issue of public safety. Sandford said it is important to listen to these diverse views and find solutions that work for everyone.

“I've been able to create a proposal for a public safety assembly bill that is really robust and allows for everybody to be accommodated,” Sandford said. “I'm willing to work with people with my assembly proposal, because I feel like it's the people that need to be involved in creating assembly bills.”

When it comes to affordable housing, Sandford emphasized the need for long-term solutions, in addition to short-term fixes such as emergency rental assistance. Lowering the cost of building permits is one solution that Sandford sees as viable in the long term.

Beyond any single issue, Sandford said the most important thing he wants voters to know about his campaign is that he is listening to the community.

“When you start to knock on doors and really listen to the people, you realize that [for example,] everybody might just want economic development; that might be the main topic that everybody wants,” Sandford said. “You really need to figure out what is going wrong, because the people ultimately are the individuals who are, one, being affected, and two, paying your salary. If you are really working for the people, you're going to listen to them and try to make that change.”

An Experienced Advocate for California

Sandford brings a variety of experience with him into office. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, he has been a resident of Oakland for the past six years. Since graduating with a master’s degree in behavioral science, he has worked in social services, with a special focus on children’s social welfare.

Sandford has worked with child protective services (CPS), the foster care system, and supporting transitional youth in Oakland. He is currently involved with the San Francisco Emergency Rental Assistance Program (SF ERAP), where he is a manager.

“I manage 17 amazing individuals, and we work with the community to keep them housed by giving them funding for back rent and future rent to be able to make sure that they're housed,” he said. “Also, we were able to provide linkages to other community programs and create events so they could come out to learn more. I designed programs, managed programs, and wrote grants as well. I think all of that encompasses what I would need to be able to effectively hold this position.”

Sandford previously served as the executive administrator to the chief of police in Detroit, as well as the executive administrator to the associate commissioner of corrections of the state of Alabama.

He said that these experiences have prepared him well to serve in public office.

“I supported the commissioner to manage all of the male prisons, and at the time, it was the second largest prison system in the state of Alabama,” he said. “I definitely have the education [for the State Assembly]. I definitely have the experience and leadership, and I definitely want to make sure that we keep developing young leaders and keep developing individuals to come in after me, so we can ensure that we have a great future.”

The Independent Movement

As a member of the American Independent Party, Sandford is one of many third-party and independent candidates running for office across the United States. These candidates are bringing change to their communities by offering voters meaningful alternatives to the status quo.

Want to learn more and become part of the independent movement? Learn more about how GoodParty.org is supporting third-party candidates like Sandford here. 

Or join our nationwide network of voters, volunteers, and candidates who are passionate about making a difference. You can get involved by booking an info session or joining GoodParty.org’s Discord server.

Know an independent or third-party candidate running for office, or interested in running for office yourself? Check out GoodParty.org’s free campaign tools, which independent and third-party candidates like Sandford are using to run effective campaigns.

Sandford said that GoodParty.org’s campaign tools have been immensely helpful during his legislative campaign.

“As far as running a campaign, as far as literature, information, and how to structure your campaign, it was so much help just having templates available and having the data available for you once you go Pro,” Sandford said. “They are able to give you information about your district and the precincts, how many doors you need to knock, how many calls you need to make, and how many impressions you need to make. That was vital. For any campaign, you need to be able to see those numbers constantly so you can be able to thrive. GoodParty.org is the best tool to make sure that you know where you are at.”

You can also visit Sandford’s campaign website here.