CA governor candidate Becerra compared Fresno to Disneyland during campaign rally
Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra compared Fresno and the Central Valley to Disneyland seven times during a campaign pitch focused on restoring the California Dream.
The Democratic frontrunner made the unlikely comparison to a crowd of more than 300 people gathered at the Doubletree Hilton in downtown Fresno on Saturday afternoon.
Becerra — the former state attorney general and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary who was raised in Sacramento — focused his rally on themes of family, opportunity in the Central Valley and his ties to the region. He called on the predominantly Latino crowd to make sure their families cast votes.
Becerra stressed his wife Dr. Carolina Reyes’ family ties to California’s fifth largest city. The crowd cheered when a speaker mentioned Reyes grew up in the unincorporated Fresno County community of Calwa and graduated from Hoover High.
Though his remarks were light on policy proposals, Becerra said he would help build a California where future generations could start a family, afford a home and finish their education “without going massively into debt” — like his immigrant parents from Mexico and their children were able to achieve.
“In the Valley there’s a lot at stake, and so to each and every one of you, my family in the Valley, your future governor knows that this is home,” Becerra said. “And I want this to be like my daughter Clarissa would say, Disneyland.”
Donning a white guayabera shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, Becerra said his three daughters grew up with fond memories of visiting Fresno because it’s where they got to play with their cousins, eat “all sorts of stuff,” and run around and ride quads on a relative’s five-acre parcel of land in Clovis among chickens and pigs. He said they would get upset when their daughters left Fresno because the family fun was akin to a trip to the Anaheim-based theme park.
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“This is Disneyland. This is the best place to be. This is where your dreams come true,” he said.
Among the attendees were environmental groups, labor unions, and current and former elected officials including Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Assemblymembers Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) and Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno), Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco, Fresno City Councilmembers Nelson Esparza and Annalisa Perea and Mayor Rey Leon of Huron and Maria Pacheco of Kerman, Henry R. Perea and Juan Arambula, among others.
Several governor hopefuls are visiting the Valley over the weekend vying for support with less than two weeks before the June 2 primary decides which top two candidates will go on to the primaries.
Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton shared the stage in Clovis on Friday at an event hosted by the Fresno County and City Republican Women Federated.
Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor and another leading Democratic contender in the race, had events scheduled in Lemoore Saturday morning, and plans to visit Fresno in the late afternoon.
Young voters bet on Becerra
Among the speakers at Saturday’s event were Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and India Buenrostro, president of the Fresno County Young Democrats — the first of the chapters statewide to endorse Becerra.
“We knew from the beginning that this campaign was about protecting opportunity and making sure the next generation has the opportunity to achieve the California dream,” Buenrostro said.
Maybe attendees said they had already voted for Becerra or were planning to do so.
Humberto M. Gomez Sr., a retired United Farm Workers organizer from Parlier, told The Bee in Spanish that he was supporting Becerra because of his support to expand healthcare access through the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
Gomez said he’s tired of politicians on both side of the aisle stopping in the Central Valley only during campaign season and then forgetting the region once election season is over. He’s concerned about water access and pesticide contamination in rural communities.
“They always forget about us,” he said. He’s hopeful Becerra will make good on his word to not forget about the Valley.
“Si no hace algo (por el Valle), le jalamos las orejas,” he said in Spanish.
If he doesn’t show up for the Valley, Gomez said, “we’ll pull his ears (and reprimand him).”
