State Senator Jeff Denham posted a perfect score on the
California Farm Bureau Federation’s 2005 legislative scorecard,
tallying far better than Assemblyman Simon Salinas, his opponent
for the 12th Senate District seat next year.
Hollister – State Senator Jeff Denham posted a perfect score on the California Farm Bureau Federation’s 2005 legislative scorecard, tallying far better than Assemblyman Simon Salinas, his opponent for the 12th Senate District seat next year.
The CFBF, which represents 87,000 members, gave the state’s Assembly members and senators one point for each vote in support of the Bureau’s position on 14 key legislative issues. The scorecard was released Wednesday. Because one bill was held in the Senate Committee, Assembly members had one additional vote.
Denham, R-Merced, was one of 11 senators – all Republicans – with perfect scores. Denham is also the Senate Agriculture Chairman.
“Agriculture is important to this district and it’s one of the main issues that I originally ran on,” Denham said Thursday. “I’m a farmer myself.”
Denham’s 2002 campaign focused on education and agriculture and he expects his next campaign will do the same.
Salinas, D-Salinas, posted a 4 out of 15 on the CFBF scorecard for Assembly members, which included two points for not voting on bills opposed by the Farm Bureau. Not a single Democrat, in either the senate or assembly, recorded a perfect score.
Salinas believes the scorecard was too narrow in its scope of bills.
“You have to look at the overall picture, including some of the other bills I’ve worked on,” he said. “(Farmers and ranchers) can be assured that I will always listen to them and work for them.”
Salinas was not worried the score would hinder his support from farmers and ranchers in his upcoming race against Denham.
“At the end of day I think I’ve always had strong ag support,” he said. “I’ve always advocated for the ag industry when they needed someone.”
San Benito County Farm Bureau Board member Joe Zanger believes the CFBF scorecard is simply another tool for voters.
“When it comes to politics, Denham is more aligned with the CFBF, but that doesn’t mean Salinas doesn’t support ag,” he said. “We’re only looking at 15 of the more than 2,000 votes cast this year. Those 15 votes carry a lot of weight, but it is not the only barometer we use to judge politicians.”
Although Republicans generally scored higher than Democrats, CFBF Spokesman Dave Kranz said the organization is nonpartisan.
“We work with Republicans and Democrats alike,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure both parties protect California’s family farms.”
Less is more for the CFBF when it comes to legislative regulations.
“Here in California we are more heavily regulated than many other states,” Kranz said. “And to the extent that new requirements are placed on California farmers it makes it that much more difficult to compete in the marketplace.”
Nancy Griffin, the executive manager of the San Benito County Farm Bureau, agreed.
“(Local farmers) are very proactive because it’s their business,” she said. “Every time there’s a new fee it takes money out of their pockets.”
A vote for agriculture interests was often in conflict with other considerations. The CFBF often took stances on legislation that clashed with environmental interests. For example, the CFBF opposed a bill that would have expanded penalties for minor pesticide violations.
Other votes were not strictly related to agricultural interests. For example, one of the bills attempted to raise the state’s minimum wage, which would have affected all businesses, not just agriculture.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected]
