Restructuring education and providing greater support for local
agriculture is the main thrust of Jeff Denham’s campaign for the
12th Senate District.
Restructuring education and providing greater support for local agriculture is the main thrust of Jeff Denham’s campaign for the 12th Senate District.
The 35-year-old Salinas businessman said if he is elected to the district, recently created by reapproportionment, he already knows what issues he wants to focus on immediately.
“Agriculture and education are two things that I am very passionate about,” Denham said. “Our agriculture industry needs a voice in Sacramento. Far too often we have urban politicians making decisions for our No. 1 industry and they don’t understand what that does to our local economy or our local industry.”
Denham, who owns Denham Plastics which makes plastic containers used in the agriculture industry, believes local farmers have been left without anyone to fight for their issues.
“I believe that our agriculture industry needs some representation and a strong voice – not somebody who is going to make back-room deals but somebody who is going to fight out there on the Senate floor,” he said.
Denham also runs a program that recycles the plastic containers and bins used in harvesting and agricultural production.
“I also have a food safety company where we wash, repair and set up sanitary programs,” he said.
The father of two said he also wants to put his business experience to use in Sacramento, reforming the state’s education system.
“I’m very passionate about changing education,” Denham said. “The one promise I do make is that if I am not changing and improving education in this state, then I don’t want to be (in office).”
A major component of his idea calls for forcing the state to allocate more resources for schools.
“I believe that if we’re going to hold our principals and school boards responsible, we have to give them the resources to be successful,” he said.
“This is a big sacrifice, but one I’d be honored to do if I can make changes in California that benefit all of us and gives us a world-class education system as opposed to what we have here today,” he said.
However, Denham said at the same time he is not going to let the state spend more than it is bringing in.
“I’m somebody who is going to be fiscally responsible, making sure that we are looking to the future and making the tough cuts,” he said. “In 2000 we had a $12 billion surplus and every politician you talked to said they were going to fix all of society’s woes with that surplus. Now we’ve got a $24 billion deficit.”
