By Jason Islas
Lookout reporter

April 23, 2014 -- Running for public office is not the biggest challenge Santa Monica resident Barbi Appelquist has faced.

Appelquist is a 10-year resident of the Westside, a mother, a wife and a cancer survivor. And soon, she hopes to represent Santa Monica, West Hollywood and the coastal cities south to Palos Verdes in the state Senate.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t push themselves to follow their dreams until they’re much older and they’re retired,” Appelquist told The Lookout Thursday.“Or they’ve had a life-changing event, which is what happened to me,” she said, sitting at a table at a gourmet coffee shop on Broadway. In March 2011, Appelquist learned she had a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. She said her doctor had previously misdiagnosed the condition, telling her she had only months to live.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t push themselves to follow their dreams until they’re much older and they’re retired,” Appelquist told The Lookout Thursday.

“Or they’ve had a life-changing event, which is what happened to me,” she said, sitting at a table at a gourmet coffee shop on Broadway.

In March 2011, Appelquist learned she had a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. She said her doctor had previously misdiagnosed the condition, telling her she had only months to live.

While Appelquist has recovered and there is little chance of the cancer coming back, the experience changed her life, Appelquist said.

She’s one of eight candidates -- seven Democrats and one Independent -- running to replace Ted Lieu as state Senate District 26’s representative.

Lieu left his seat wide open when he decided to make a bid to replace Congressman Henry Waxman who announced in late January that he would not run for reelection after 40 years representing Santa Monica and West L.A.

“What I constantly hear is that there is a lack of women with children running; a lack of young mothers in office,” said Appelquist, who has a 6-year-old daughter.

Appelquist is running against women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke, former state Assemblymember Betsy Butler, Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth, Santa Monica-Malibu School Boardmember Ben Allen and Col. Vito Imbasciani, who is the state surgeon of the California Army National Guard.

Appelquist, who will receive a master’s degree in public policy from Pepperdine University this month, said that while her experience as a corporate lawyer has given her a pragmatic perspective on many issues, she also has “a perspective of someone who has been going through things, who has seen things at the individual level.”

Her experience at Pepperdine, where she said she is often the lone liberal Democrat in many of the debates, has taught her how to reach across the aisle.

She wants to see the State take stronger action to keep film industry jobs in California and to take more aggressive stances against hydraulic fracturing, which environmentalists say is a threat to local natural resources.

Appelquist also wants California to adopt statewide standards for universal preschool. The daughter of a serviceman, she also wants to increase opportunities for veterans.

“We need to get programs in place to emphasize job training, skill training,” as well as mentorships, she said.

And, she said, she would look to support local law enforcement agencies and nonprofits like Homeboy Industries, which rehabilitates ex-inmates and prepare them for the workforce, as a way of addressing the fallout of Gov. Jerry Brown’s public safety realignment.

Facing prison overcrowding, the State passed legislation in 2012 that has led to the early release of thousands of nonviolent convicts from County jails to free up room.

Though she is a political newcomer in a crowded field, Appelquist is positive about her odds.

“Being a cancer survivor, I see the brighter side of things,” she said.

Appelquist and her opponents will square off during the June 3 primary. The top two vote-getters in that contest will advance to the General Election in November.

Related articles:

"Santa Monica School Board member Ben Allen Opens Headquarters for State Senate Race," April 15

“Sandra Fluke Wants to Make Political Debut as Santa Monica, Southbay State Senator,” March 28, 2014

“Top Army Surgeon Vies to Represent Santa Monica, Southbay in State Senate,” March 4, 2014

“Manhattan Beach Mayor Makes Bid to Represent Santa Monica, Southbay in State Senate,” February 26, 2014

“From School Board to State Senate, Santa Monica Native Hopes to Make the Leap,” February 11, 2014