State Senate candidate Greg Aghazarian launched a campaign commercial this week with a bold, if unlikely, call for change: Make the state legislature a nonpartisan body.

Aghazarian, a termed-out Republican assemblyman from Stockton, describes the current legislature as a broken system in the 30-second commercial.

"So let's fix it, by making legislative races nonpartisan, just as we do for city councils, mayors and supervisors, where people vote their districts, not the party line," Aghazarian says in the ad. "It's time to rock the system."

Kevin Spillane, a spokesman for Aghazarian's campaign, said the commercial stands in contrast to one Aghazarian's opponent, termed-out Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis), began airing this week.

Wolk's ad attacks Aghazarian for collecting full per diem travel expenses as a legislator even though he lives about 50 miles from the state Capitol.

"In reality, this is the same-old cookie-cutter, negative attack ad that's misleading and that people are tired of," Spillane said. "Greg's ad is about him talking directly to voters, and Greg's campaign is about a real nonpartisan approach."

Spillane said Wolk's criticism could also be fairly leveled at previous state senators in the 5th District Senate seat, including Democrats John Garamendi and Patrick Johnston and current state Sen. Mike Machado (D-Linden), who is termed out.

Tom Higgins, Wolk's campaign manager, said Aghazarian's commercial is an attempt by his campaign to find an issue voters care about.

"I don't think they have anywhere to go," Higgins said. He pointed out that Aghazarian raised a resolution to study the same idea in the state Assembly, but did so on the last day of the legislative session. "So I think it's political pandering so that he has something to talk about now."

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• Wolk launches TV ad over Aghazarian per diem collections