Chris Ward

Assemblymember Chris Ward, a Democrat representing California's 78th Assembly District, has served in the state Legislature since winning his seat in 2020 and securing re-election in both 2022 and 2024. ^[1,2] A San Diego-based lawmaker with degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, ^[3] Ward built his political career through local government, serving on the San Diego City Council before entering the Assembly. ^[4] He has risen to prominent leadership positions including Speaker Pro Tempore, Assistant Majority Leader, and Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. ^[5] With a 19% CFC Biblical Values Scorecard rating, Ward has been one of the California Legislature's most active proponents of policies that the California Family Council opposes. Most notably, he authored AB 1955, the so-called SAFETY Act, which CFC has condemned as a "government-imposed wall of secrecy between parents and their children" ^[10,11] — a measure that strikes at the heart of CFC's conviction that parents are the primary educators and moral guardians of their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Born in Germany in 1976 to a family with deep ties to the U.S. military, Chris Ward spent portions of his youth moving between duty stations before settling into an academic path that led him to a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and a Master in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard. ^[1,3] Before entering politics, Ward worked as a researcher at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego and later served as an environmental planner. ^[3,4] He then transitioned into legislative work as Chief of Staff to State Senator Marty Block for eight years. ^[4]

Ward entered elected office in 2016 when he won the San Diego City Council seat for District 3 with nearly 59 percent of the primary vote. ^[4,8] On the Council, he authored San Diego's Equal Pay Ordinance, led the ban on Styrofoam containers, and chaired the San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless. ^[3,4] He won election to the Assembly in 2020 and has held leadership roles including Speaker Pro Tempore and Assistant Majority Leader. ^[1,2,5] He chairs the Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism and serves on the Budget, Labor and Employment, Local Government, Privacy and Consumer Protection, and Transportation committees. ^[2]

His 12.0% Biblical Values Scorecard rating across 104 scored floor votes reflects consistent divergence from CFC's worldview framework. His voting record has supported abortion access expansion over the sanctity of human life, government-directed education over parental authority and school choice, and progressive social mandates over religious liberty protections.

Ward has also authored measures to reduce access to firearms and expand the behavioral health workforce. ^[3] He authored AB 2316, creating California's first community solar program, though it has faced implementation challenges. ^[6,9] As Chair of the LGBTQ Caucus, Ward has positioned his legislation as protecting vulnerable students ^[7] — a framing CFC respectfully but firmly rejects, arguing that true protection of children requires parental involvement, not parental exclusion. Ward is a parent of two young children and lives in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego. ^[3,5]