Rivas stresses job creation
Newcomer drew inspiration from his grandfather
Growing up in Paicines, Robert Rivas, 30, has always been around
some sort of activism or politics.
Rivas stresses job creation
Newcomer drew inspiration from his grandfather
Growing up in Paicines, Robert Rivas, 30, has always been around some sort of activism or politics.
Rivas, who was raised by his grandfather and his single mom, remembers his granddad waking up early to head out to rallies asking for better pay at his job as a mechanic at Almaden Vineyards.
“He worked for better working conditions – he was overworked, underpaid,” Rivas said. “I saw what he went through in the struggle he had to endure to get a better raise and to get the best working conditions.”
And it was watching his grandfather fight for more rights where Rivas, who is running for San Benito County supervisor in District 3 against incumbent Pat Loe, found what he wanted to do, he said.
At California State University, Sacramento, Rivas furthered his political ambitions by graduating in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. During his time there, Rivas served as a legislative intern for former District 28 Assemblyman Simón Salinas.
“It was a good learning experience to learn how the state capital worked,” Rivas said.
Since graduating, Rivas has spent time on multiple campaigns and staffs, helping him learn more and more about local government, he said.
Rivas has spent time recently as Monterey County’s senior board of supervisors clerk.
“I see how they (the supervisors) interact and how they accomplish things,” Rivas said. “They have been a great experience and a great learning tool.”
For the past year, Rivas has served as an on-call paid Hollister firefighter, spending roughly 12 hours a month on the job, training or being called out. Rivas now thinks it’s time to help out the county and bring a new energy to the supervisor position, he said.
“It’s time we need something different in this county,” Rivas said. “We need new energy and that’s energy that I have.”
To do that, Rivas first plans to help reduce the high unemployment rate of more than 20 percent, which he thinks is the biggest problem the county faces, he said.
“The number one thing should be job creation,” Rivas said. “We need a plan that will support our local business.”
Rivas plans to create an assessment of the economic impacts in the county, to try and find what the local government needs to improve on to attract businesses.
“It is a culture that isn’t so friendly to work with and we need to change that,” he said. “What we need to do is – what I’ve proposed in my campaign – I want to create a job creation coalition. We need better collaboration.”
Rivas preaches being proactive in searching for business to set up shop in San Benito County.
“We need to really sell San Benito County.” Rivas said. “We can’t expect entrepreneurs to come to San Benito County [on their own]. We need to look for them – we need to seek them.”
That includes Solargen, a solar panel company that is planning on installing a series of solar panels in south Benito County.
“I think solar energy is a good thing,” Rivas said. “The concept is good for the county, our state and our country.”
Solargen would also bring the county a much-needed infusion of jobs, but its negatives are still being worked out, Rivas said.
Rivas also wants and expects the community to lend a helping hand and give their opinions on job creation and other county issues.
But keeping the budget in mind is something that will need to be watched, Rivas said. He said he hopes the public will have more involvement.
Rivas said he wants to allow the public to have more involvement about cuts that will be made and to allow the government to be more transparent.
One of the biggest issues facing the county is the lack of recreation activities and the possible permanent closure of Clear Creak Management Area, he said. Clear Creek is something Rivas is ready to fight for to stay open, he said.
“When you look at San Benito County, we have very few recreational activities for our children and adults,” he said. “We need to fight and protect the ones that we have. Clear Creek brings a lot of business to Hollister and Tres Pinos, and we need to fight for it.”
Rivas said he hopes to see San Benito County grow for the better over the next four years.
“It’s because I genuinely care about San Benito County, the state and the country,” he said. “Public service is a noble thing – it’s always easy to criticize the government, but it takes a strong effort to change it.”
Robert Rivas
Age: 30
Occupation: Monterey County’s Sr. Board of Supervisors Clerk, Hollister paid on-call firefighter
Elected political experience: none
