15 NOVEMBER 00

Voters backed six Democrats, who will join the 80-member state assembly in January. New members are:

• Assembly District 6: Joe Nation (D-Marin County), environmental activist and member of the Marin Municipal Water District Board, who replaces Kerry Mazzoni (D), termed out and widely considered to be a contender for appointment as Gov. Davis's Secretary of Education.

• Assembly District 11: Joe Conciamilla (D-Antioch), Contra Costa County Supervisor, replaces Tom Torlakson (D), who won the state Senate seat in Senate District 7.

• Assembly District 16: Wilma Chan (D-Oakland-Alameda-Piedmont), president, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, replaces incumbent Audie Elizabeth Bock (I). Chan is the highest-ranking Asian-American woman elected to office in California.

• Assembly District 21: Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), Santa Clara county supervisor, replaces Ted Lempert (D), who is termed out. An alumnus of Cal, he received his master's degree in city planning and a law degree from Boalt Hall.

• Assembly District 23: Manny Diaz (D-San Jose), San Jose City Council member, will replace Mike Honda (D), who ran successfully for Congressional District 15. Diaz is interested in diversity and issues of educational access.

• Assembly District 24: Rebecca Cohn (D-Cupertino, San Jose, Saratoga, Los Gatos), businesswoman, will replace Jim Cuneen (R), who ran unsuccessfully for Congressional District 15.

New members of the state Senate are:

• Senate District 7: Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch, Walnut Creek), assemblyman, who replaces incumbent Richard Rainey (R). A graduate of Cal, Torlakson has been interested in Berkeley's earthquake preparedness program and welfare reform.

Joining the U.S. House of Representatives are:

• Mike Honda (D-San Jose), assemblyman, who won Congressional District 156 and replaces Tom Campbell (R), who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. Honda is an educator and has been supportive of UC issues.

• Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena), state senator, won Congressional District 27, beating incumbent James Rogan (R). While in the Senate, Schiff served on the budget subcommittee for education finance and was supportive of the university.

• Susan Davis (D-San Diego), assemblywoman, won Congressional District 49, replacing incumbent Brian Bilbray (R). Davis is a Berkeley alumna, social worker and strong supporter of education. The main campus of UC San Diego and its medical center are in her district. "Susan Davis has been, and will likely continue to be, very supportive of UC in Congress," said Steve Ardetti, assistant vice president and director of state governmental relations in the Office of the President.

State election bodes well for the university