Watsonville City Councilwoman Ana Ventura Phares is gearing up
for a long road ahead that she hopes leads to the local 28th
Assembly District seat, and recently nabbed a crucial endorsement
from the former Assembly speaker that she believes will aid in her
campaign efforts.
Hollister – Watsonville City Councilwoman Ana Ventura Phares is gearing up for a long road ahead that she hopes leads to the local 28th Assembly District seat, and recently nabbed a crucial endorsement from the former Assembly speaker that she believes will aid in her campaign efforts.
Local Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, is vacating the seat in 2006 and plans to run against incumbent Senator Jeff Denham for the 12th District Senate seat. While the primary entrance deadline is two months away, Phares, a democrat, will be duking it out on the campaign trail with republican candidate Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau.
Although Salinas won’t endorse a candidate until after the primaries, he said he would support Phares if she was the only democrat.
“I think she’ll be a fine candidate,” he said. “She has that local government experience that helps someone who wants to go to Sacramento.”
Although Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero, also a democrat, has not officially entered the race, she has said publicly that she is exploring the possibility.
While Perkins said he sees Caballero as a “formidable” opponent, he expects to benefit if she enters the race.
“It wouldn’t hurt too much to have two democrat mayors slugging it out in the primaries,” he said.
Phares began campaigning three months ago but was recently endorsed by former Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Fred Keeley even though the deadline to enter the race is two months off.
“I (am) impressed with her leadership skills and her ability to bring people together to achieve common goals,” Keeley said in a press release. “Sacramento needs more effective legislators like Ana and that is why I’m endorsing her candidacy for the state Assembly.”
Phares said she will focus her campaign on issues such as providing affordable housing, protecting farm land and making sure all students get a quality education. She also plans on spending time in San Benito County and is searching for a Hollister campaign office to occupy one day each week during the race. Phares, who is also a lawyer, resigned from her position as human resources manger with Santa Cruz County in order to concentrate on the race.
“I’m really looking forward to being in San Benito County,” she said. “I’m really the type of person who enjoys problem solving and looking at the big picture to improve the quality of life for families and businesses.”
As a republican, Perkins said he faces an uphill battle even though he won’t have to face an incumbent; he vied for the seat in 2004 but lost to Salinas.
“I’m still in the position of the underdog,” Perkins said. “I’m always going to be behind because of the way the district is gerrymandered.” The district is 50 percent democrat, 30 percent republican and 20 percent undecided, Perkins said.
And while Phares grabbed Keeley’s endorsement early in the game, Perkins doesn’t expect it to do her much good.
“Keeley is a little bit off to one side,” he said. “He is very much a democrat, but he is a little bit too extreme.”
Like Phares, Perkins plans to focus on education but will also make improving transportation and water availability some of his hot-topic issues.
Perkins will need to gain support outside of his core constituency of farmers and ranchers, and will need to garner a broader base of support in order to win in 2006, he said.
“I have to be able to reach beyond my base,” Perkins said. “In this district that candidate has to be more middle of the road.”
Although he is slightly behind his opponent in terms of campaigning, Perkins said it is too early to tell how the race will shape up.
“I’m prepared for a battle,” he said. “But we don’t know what the battle is going to look like.”
Perkins believes he will do well in San Benito County thanks to his ag-based background, but is more concerned about traditionally democratic areas such as Santa Cruz.
“My interests and my background fit very well with San Benito County,” he said. “I’m interested in rural concerns and small towns.”
