Hollister
– Republican restaurateur Ignacio Velazquez is continuing in his
campaign for the 28th Assembly District seat against Democrat and
Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero in the wake of a costly write-in
campaign aimed at Democratic voters that failed to garner but a few
votes for the businessman in the June
primary.
Hollister – Republican restaurateur Ignacio Velazquez is continuing in his campaign for the 28th Assembly District seat against Democrat and Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero in the wake of a costly write-in campaign aimed at Democratic voters that failed to garner but a few votes for the businessman in the June primary.
Velazquez, owner of the Vault Restaurant in downtown Hollister, is fighting an uphill battle in the heavily Democratic district, and local pundits have predicted his political efforts will fail to generate enough voter enthusiasm to beat Caballero.
Velazquez spent $30,000 sending out fliers advertising that he had qualified as a write-in candidate for the Democratic Party in the June primary. Although the San Benito County Elections Department hasn’t finished counting the number of votes Velazquez received from Democrats as a write-in candidate, there weren’t many. In San Benito County, where Velazquez has the most name recognition, 31 registered Democrats selected a write-in candidate. Even if final numbers show they all voted for Velazquez, it wouldn’t counter the 58 registered Republicans who chose write-in candidates other than Velazquez on June 6.
Despite the numbers, Velazquez believes his write-in campaign efforts were fruitful.
“The idea was to communicate with Democrats and get rid of partisanship,” he said. “And we succeeded in doing that.”
Velazquez said his campaign will continue to pick up steam as the November election draws near.
“I think we have a lot of momentum and a lot of excitement around this campaign,” he said.
Caballero, who soundly defeated Democratic challenger Ana Ventura Phares in the June primary, isn’t concerned about Velazquez’s election bid, campaign manager Rick Rivas said.
“We’re focusing on the November election, and the mayor is working on a plan for the 28th district that she will bring to Sacramento,” he said. “Mr. Velazquez spent a lot of money and didn’t get many votes. We had an opponent and still got more votes than him.”
Fellow campaign official Robert Rivas said Caballero is taking Velazquez’s campaign earnestly, despite his poor showing at the primary polls.
“She’s still taking it seriously,” he said. “He’s a candidate and he’s got a lot of money to spend.”
Velazquez’s campaign has been largely self-funded, while Cabellero’s coffers are filled with money from political supporters, according to campaign finance documents.
Brett Rowland covers public safety and state politics for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
