The two democratic candidates for the local 28th District
Assembly seat will bring their campaigns to Hollister Thursday with
discussion topics ranging from education to preservation of
agriculture
– all in the hopes of gaining local support for their respective
campaigns.
Hollister – The two democratic candidates for the local 28th District Assembly seat will bring their campaigns to Hollister Thursday with discussion topics ranging from education to preservation of agriculture – all in the hopes of gaining local support for their respective campaigns.
Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero and Watsonville City Councilwoman Ana Ventura Phares – both vying to win the June 6 democratic primary election – will each speak Thursday at the Board of Supervisors chambers. The event was organized by the local Democratic Central Committee.
Central Committee member Louise Ledesma said her organization invited Caballero and Phares to Hollister in hopes of giving local democrats the opportunity to get better acquainted with the candidates, however all members of the community are invited to attend. Ledesma said that each candidate will speak separately.
“It’s not going to be a debate between them,” she said.
Rick Rivas, Caballero’s campaign manager, said his candidate will be ready to answer questions from the audience Thursday, likely on issues such as the environment, education, healthcare and transportation, he said.
“We know that roads, Highway 25 and the bypass are big issues in Hollister,” he said.
Rivas said that Caballero has made several trips to Hollister to speak with elected officials and others, and had a law practice in the city for about two decades.
“She’s coming back home, in a sense,” he said.
Phares said she will likely discuss issues ranging from agriculture and open space to public safety, education and health. She said that she had success as a Watsonville City Council member working with developers, farmers and environmentalists to strike a balance between growth and preserving ag land and open space in the Pajaro Valley.
“I look forward to being in Hollister more often,” she said.
Before the candidates speak Thursday, the Central Committee will hold a meeting at 5pm. Ledesma said the public is welcome to attend the meeting. She said that the committee is seeking people to volunteer to be precinct captains, which will try to rally democrats in their area to get out and vote.
Though there are two democrats in the 28th District race, local businessman Ignacio Velazquez is cruising to the republican primaries unopposed. Last month, republican Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, pulled out of the race, saying he wanted to concentrate on defeating a slow-growth initiative in Monterey instead.
Term limits preclude Simon Salinas (D-Salinas), who currently holds the 28th Assembly seat, from running again. Though he considered making a run at State Senator Jeff Denham’s seat this year, he decided instead to run for the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
