Who is supporting the underdog in the state Senate District 16 race?
Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio might be the underdog in the state Senate District 16 race, but the son of immigrants has the backing of the United Farm Workers as well as Dolores Huerta and the Dolores Huerta Foundation Action Fund along with a broad coalition.
“I’m running for state Senate because I want to continue doing what I’ve been doing at the local level, which is advocating for working families, advocating for the marginalized in our communities, advocating for the vulnerable, because I don’t see it happening,” said the 26-year-old Osorio, who at a young age ran for city council in Delano. “And I’m really, really grateful for the support I’ve received so far.”
Osorio said that his experience as first-generation American has served as motivation for his advocacy and community involvement, witnessing the many struggles his immigrant parents from México – his father is from Guerrero and his mother is from Oaxaca – went through and how politics have impacted his family and himself since the day that he was born in Orange County.
Osorio represents the residents of Delano, the second-largest city in Kern County after Bakersfield.
He said a few years ago, an incident that involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that had been conducting targeted immigration enforcement operations throughout the area lead to an accident that took the lives of two farmworkers and left five children of the immigrant family orphaned.
That triggered a spark for Osorio to run for office after seeing a lack of leadership to defend immigrant families. He ran for city council at age 22 and was one of the youngest members elected to city council.
“UFW was like one of the only organizations that spoke up against this incident,” Osorio said, adding that he organized high school and college youth to protest with a press conference at city hall and a march.
“Being in the city of Delano, we have a history with the activism and legacy of the UFW, César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, but they were like, we haven’t really seen anything like this where we feel motivated, inspired to participate in our communities,” said Osorio.
With a population of 51,428, according to the 2020 Census, Delano, whose major industry is agriculture, was a major hub of farm worker organization efforts and Chicano political movements.
Osorio said he has “stepped on some toes, just trying to push forward social and economic issues that others don’t see as important or necessary.”
“But I do because if we really want to show our community residents and our youth that we are listening to them, that we are seeing what’s actually happening, we can continue to inspire people to participate,” Osorio said. “And when we have our communities participating, when we have our communities heard, I think that’s where we have the most potential for change.”
And with the primary election less than a month away, Osorio is “going to go as hard as we can. And we’ll see what happens.”
Osorio, a Democrat, is facing incumbent Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, and former Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, and Republicans David Shepard and Gregory Tatum in the nonpartisan primary election on June 7.
Osorio has been canvassing all over the district, as well as doing phone banking sessions to get his message out that he will fight for “a sustainable future for the Central Valley” to the constituents.
Just on May 5, Osorio spoke to an auditorium of Bakersfield high school students about “persevering despite being the underdog.”
Running a grassroots campaign, Osorio said he is not taking money from corporations. State records show him with less than $39,000 in his campaign account. (Parra has $62,000; Hurtado $650,000).
“We’re not taking any money from the fossil, the fossil fuel or oil and gas industry, or taking money from industrial, agriculture, etc,” Osorio said. “We run a grassroots campaign because it’s fundamental to what we believe in, which is our only connection should be directly to the people.
“We don’t want to have all these special interests impacting the way we vote because we see it impacting how other legislators vote,” Osorio said. “So that’s why, we’re running a grassroots campaign, collecting many small dollar donations in. it’s been going well, we’re here with many volunteers who are making phone calls for us or canvassing with us.
“I think it’s a message that inspires people, when you get to explain what that means, what does a corporate free campaign mean,” Osorio said.
In terms of endorsements, Osorio said he is proud to have “the endorsement of Dolores Huerta, the UFW and some of these organizations that have been working in the Central Valley for so long to protect our air and to protect our water.”
While there are other Democrats in the race, Osorio said when people see who is supporting his campaign, “which is community, advocacy organizations and community leaders, you see the differences.”
Osorio makes a reference to the Spanish saying ‘dime con quién andas y te dire quien eres’ which translate to ‘tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are’ to point out who is endorsing him on this race, which also includes California Environmental Justice Alliance Action, Working Families Party, California Young Democrats, Courage California, California Democratic Party Ventures Council, Clean Water Action, California Environmental Voters and a few other organizations.
“The people who are supporting me, are people who are rooted in community, who are rooted in uplifting and addressing the issues that matter to us,” Osorio said. “There’s a reason why I have support of organizations that prioritize safe clean and affordable drinking water. We know the impact that agriculture has had on our air and on the water that people drink.”
“There’s a reason why they’re supporting me when we know how oil and gas is producing jobs, but at the same time, it’s drilling near low-income communities like Arvin, Lamont,” he said.
Osorio said he got the support of the UFW and Dolores Huerta because “I’ve shown to be a fighter for farmworkers and working families in which, you know, people who have been elected already at the state level, have not been able to regain that trust from these organizations and individuals.”
“For me, there’s other elected officials who have broken their promises and turned their backs on a community and I will continue to show these organizations and the people of the Central Valley that you know, my intentions are genuine, and I hope that the people who are supporting me are a testament to that.”
Osorio’s family moved to Delano when he was about 7 years old. He graduated from César Chávez High School and was the first in his family to go to college. His sister Brianna, who is four years younger, will be graduating from UC Merced this May.
Osorio has a bachelor’s degree in political science and cognitive science from UC Berkely and a master’s degree from USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
