Caballero explores run for state senate in 12th District
At least four prospective candidates, including three from
Hollister, have expressed an interest in running for the state’s
28th Assembly District seat in 2010
– all with potential plans to run on the Democratic ticket.
Caballero explores run for state senate in 12th District
At least four prospective candidates, including three from Hollister, have expressed an interest in running for the state’s 28th Assembly District seat in 2010 – all with potential plans to run on the Democratic ticket.
Though first-term Assemblywoman and former Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero has not made a final decision on whether she will run for a second term in the district that stretches north from San Jose to King City and west from Watsonville to San Benito, she has formed an exploratory committee to look at a run for State Senate in the 12th District.
Sen. Jeff Denham, of Merced, is nearing the end of his term and has said he is running for lieutenant governor.
Of the possible candidates who are in the midst of forming their own exploratory committees to review a run for State Assembly, three are from San Benito County and one is from Watsonville.
They include Luis Alejo, a lawyer and first-term city council member in Watsonville; Jamie De La Cruz, San Benito County supervisor; Rick Rivas, a public relations director and a political campaign consultant (see story in the May 1 Pinnacle online at www.pinnaclenews.com); and Eugenia Sanchez, a kindergarten teacher and first-term city council member in Hollister.
Luis Alejo
“Every week since the word got out that Anna [Caballero] might not be running, people have been approaching me from different communities,” Alejo said. “I started talking to different leaders, and so far the support is very strong.”
Alejo has served on the Watsonville planning commission and is completing his first term on the city council as mayor pro tempore. When asked about the issues on which he ran for city council, he cited specific accomplishments since he has been in office.
“Our city council is really concerned about graffiti in Watsonville,” he said. “There was a lot of vandalism. It was making images of the local businesses, and the whole image of our neighbors and the city look bad.”
Alejo broached the subject with other politicians and the owners of a tech business. Through the discussion, the business owners selected Watsonville for a pilot program for a new technology that can catch vandals in the act. Devices have been put in places that are known for graffiti. The devices are activated by the sound of a spray can, and then send a signal immediately to police officers.
“They are able to catch people,” Alejo said. “In fact, they’ve arrested 37 persons … the people engaged will now be in charge of cleaning it up.”
Alejo works as a staff attorney in Monterey County and handles family law issues. He also worked as a legal aide lawyer for a time. He is a 1992 graduate of Watsonville High School; holds a dual bachelor’s from the University of California, Berkeley; a master’s of education from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of California, Davis.
He worked as a legislative aide in Sacramento, under San Jose representative Manny Diaz.
“Legislative aides are in charge of different policy areas,” he said. “Any bills, I would read those bills, make recommendations and do talking points for a wide range of policy issues.”
Daniel Dodge, a Watsonville planning commissioner, has known the prospective candidate since Alejo was a community activist out of high school.
“He has the ability to build coalitions across different groups of folks around the region,” Dodge said. “That’s what it takes to be able to have a dialogue with all sides. He puts in the extra work to do that.”
Dodge cited fundraising and name recognition as possible challenges for Alejo during a campaign “because Watsonville is a small part of the district. I think he would be more than willing to overcome that because of his ties across the district.”
Alejo stressed that he has worked with residents in all parts of the district.
“I’ve worked with low-income residents and a wide range of folks,” he said. “I didn’t take high paying jobs. I had a lot of economic opportunities – I could have worked elsewhere, but my goal was to get experience, make an education and then come home and serve my town.”
Alejo’s work has earned him the John F. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Public Service; the United Way Community Hero Award; the Martin Luther King Community Service Award; and the Association of Mexican American Educators Community Service Award.
Jamie De La Cruz
De La Cruz did not want to talk in detail about a possible run. When contacted by a Pinnacle reporter, he said this: “What I am doing right now is talking to my supporters and getting a feel for it, and talking to my family. The truth is I am waiting for Anna [Caballero] to make her announcement.
He said he would run on the Democratic ticket.
“I am still talking to my supporters.”
Eugenia Sanchez
“With all the changes happening and the economy, that has lent itself to change,” Sanchez said, of her decision to explore a run for state office. “Being involved in the city and schools – at that level – has an impact, but this is a crucial step for me. Being that voice is crucial.”
Sanchez, who took on the role of mayor when she was selected in the rotation in December, started out her political career to support her children in school. She started out on the District Language Advisory Committee and the English Language Advisory Committee, two groups that review bilingual education for the district.
When her children were first in school – they are now 15 and 17 – she received encouragement from an unlikely source.
Franz Schneider, now a board member for Community Pantry, was a teacher at the school that Sanchez’ daughter attended. He wasn’t her daughter’s teacher, but he connected with Sanchez and encouraged her to consider going back to school herself.
“I encouraged her to do whatever she wanted to do,” Schneider said.
Sanchez had earned an associate’s degree from Gavilan College, but had ended her education when she got married and had children. She took several years off before she enrolled at the California State University, Monterey Bay to finish her bachelor’s and earn a teaching credential.
“It took a while, but I always had that in my mind that I would go back,” she said.
Sanchez served on the Hollister School District board and is in the third year of her first term on the city council. She cites her accomplishments as helping to get the Measure T sales tax passed; the city council’s collaboration on creating a gang coordinator position to fight gang prevention; and steps to create an open-door policy for the council. She acknowledges that many of these items are still in the works, including filling the gang coordinator position.
“I’m contemplating office hours,” she said. “We’ve thought about creating a newsletter and sending it out to the school district or different places. We are trying to be as tech savvy as possible.”
Sanchez sees her approachability as one of her strengths.
“I’m really open to people’s insights,” she said. “I feel approachable and hope they feel comfortable voicing their concerns. And, of course, I am a collaborator.”
Schneider has not kept up with Sanchez in recent years, though he said he did knock on doors and talk to voters on her behalf during her run for city council and school board.
“She’s a lot more ambitious than I ever expected she would be,” he said. “But that’s not a bad thing.”
