San Benito grad considers District 28 election in 2010
Tony Ruiz remembers the first time he met Rick Rivas.
”
He called me up and said he wanted to volunteer,
”
said Ruiz, who taught as a political science professor at local
community colleges and has been active in San Benito County
politics for years.
”
He told me he was 14.
”
San Benito grad considers District 28 election in 2010
Tony Ruiz remembers the first time he met Rick Rivas.
“He called me up and said he wanted to volunteer,” said Ruiz, who taught as a political science professor at local community colleges and has been active in San Benito County politics for years. “He told me he was 14.”
Rivas showed up at the Democratic Party headquarters with his grandfather, and Ruiz said he knew something was amiss. The skinny kid standing in front of him with braces looked like he could have been 8. Ruiz eventually found out Rivas was only 11.
The braces are long gone, though Rivas is still tall and lanky, and his love of politics has never faded. In fact, he is putting together a committee this summer to explore a run for state assembly.
Assemblywoman Anna Caballero has filed her intent to run for State Senate in District 12, a seat that will be vacated by Jeff Denham when he terms out in 2010, which will leave the race for the 28th Assembly District seat wide open.
More than 17 years ago, Rivas, now 28, started work on his first campaign.
“I was afraid they wouldn’t let me work,” Rivas said, of fudging his age with Ruiz. “I thought if I was 14 maybe they would put me to work.”
Ruiz found the boy to be passionate about politics from an early age.
“That’s all he cared about,” Ruiz said. “The thing that fascinates me is he laid out his future. He said he wanted to be class president his freshman and sophomore years [in high school] and then student body president his junior and senior year. Then he said he was going to Santa Clara [University] and then probably he would get a master’s or a PhD. He did all of that.”
Running for political office was never on his list of things to do.
“One thing I admire about Rick is that he has never struck me as a politician,” said Doug Emerson, a Hollister city council member. “He never expressed an interest to run for office, but I have seen in him a desire to solve problems in small communities.”
Rivas studied public policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he received his master’s. He has worked on the campaigns of San Benito County supervisors and city council members, and has worked as a political consultant on city and school bonds measures. He was a major player in passing Measure A, a $90 million school bond for Alisal Unified School District, and he volunteered his time to help pass Measure T, a 1 percent sales tax increase in Hollister approved by voters in 2007.
“He is very organized and he gets down to the facts,” Emerson said, of his experience working on Measure T. “He knows our problems and he knows the situation with small towns, rural areas.”
Rivas served as a campaign manager for Anna Caballero during her successful bid for the 28th assembly district, which incorporates parts of San Benito, Santa Clara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. He later worked as a legislative aide to Caballero in Sacramento, and most recently is the director of public affairs for the Civil Justice Association of California, a nonprofit coalition that works to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.
“I worked in the state capitol,” Rivas said. “I helped to get legislation signed and on advanced issues dealing with gang prevention. I know how to build coalitions and how to get things done.”
When Rivas and his brother Robert, who has worked with him on political campaigns, first heard Caballero was considering a run for a different office, they began brainstorming who might be a good candidate.
“He said, ‘Who can we find to be the best person for this seat?'” his brother said.
Robert Rivas said no one stepped forward so his brother decided to explore a run himself.
“To be frank, the reason I am taking this on is we need fresh ideas,” Rick Rivas said. “The state is almost bankrupt. We need people from various backgrounds. We can’t continue to do what we are doing in Sacramento and expect things to improve. It is time for new ideas, for fresh ideas.”
For Rivas, that starts with sound fiscal policy.
“Making sure we balance the budget is not conservative or liberal,” he said. “We’ve got to be smarter.”
If anything poses an issue in the race, Rivas’ brother Robert believes it might be his younger brother’s age.
“I think the biggest challenge is probably the fact that he is so young,” said Robert, noting that if Rick were elected, he would be 30 by the time of the swearing in. He also noted that younger people have been elected in other districts. “He brings so much experience at his age. He brings a fresh, new approach.”
Emerson agreed.
“I look at our elected officials that have strong leadership skills and Rick has demonstrated those outside of public office,” Emerson said. “Just because you have been in public office doesn’t mean you have acquired them or have them.”
Ruiz can’t help but see a glimpse of Barack Obama in his young protege.
“In a sense, he brings the attitude of a changing society,” Ruiz said, adding that he sees a younger generation as more interested in solving problems than serving special interests. “They focus more on the problem and put everything on the table.”
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