Redistricting pits ‘sister against sister’ in Central Valley state Senate race

The 2018 general election delivered good news for Latinos in the San Joaquín Valley when, for the first time, they got two representatives on the state Senate.

Former Assemblymember Anna Caballero won in the 12th state Senate District, which stretches from her hometown of Salinas and crosses into Merced and other portions of the Valley.

Melissa Hurtado was serving on the Sanger City Council when she upset Republican incumbent Andy Vidak to capture the 14th state Senate District.

Redistricting, however, will pit friends against each other after Caballero’s district shifted eastward and eliminated Salinas where she once served as mayor.

That sets up an intriguing race because both have common supporters, from labor unions to elected officials.

The redistricted 14th District stretches from Atwater and Merced in the north, to Coalinga and Huron in the south, and Sanger and Reedley to the east. It includes Orange Cove, Selma, and a southern chunk of the city of Fresno.

Latino citizens of voting age population account for 53.14% of the new district.

Caballero’s parents come from a family of copper miners in Arizona. Hurtado’s parents immigrated from México and worked in the fields and packinghouses.

Both were sworn in together at a public ceremony at a Fresno union hall.

Hurtado, who told Caballero in a Wednesday morning telephone call about her own re-election bid, likened the upcoming race to “sister running against sister.”

Caballero is 66 years old; Hurtado is exactly half that age.

Both senators said they want to continue their work helping farmworkers and the ag community, and focusing on issues like health access, water and jobs.

“You never want to run against a friend,” said Caballero.

“She’s been a great ally for the Central Valley,” said Hurtado of Caballero.

Caballero: ‘I wanted to stay where the heart of the district is located’

Caballero announced she was running for re-election on Monday.

“I have represented Merced, Madera and Fresno counties since my election to the California state Senate in 2018,” said Caballero in a press release. “I have worked in close partnership with community and neighborhood leaders and elected officials from Merced, Madera and Fresno counties, and I look forward to continuing to support their efforts to improve the lives of their families and communities.”

Caballero, in a Tuesday interview, said the new district includes 47% of her current district.

Her current district covers the cities of Salinas, Hollister, Los Baños, Livingston, Chowchilla, Dos Palos, Firebaugh, Mendota, Coalinga, Huron, Kerman and the communities of LeGrand, Caruthers and Planada.

“The bottom line for me is that I wanted to stay where the heart of the district is located,” said Caballero, who purchased a home in Merced a few years ago “because I was spending so much time in the Central Valley.

The state’s redistricting commission, said Caballero, “did a very tough job. I’m satisfied with the district.”

The 14th District leaves out Salinas, which Caballero called “sad” because it is now in a district that is less likely to have a Latino representative in the state Senate.

Caballero called Hurtado a colleague and friend who has helped her on Central Valley issues.

The re-election campaign “requires that you not take things personally,” she said. “I don’t like dirty campaigns and I don’t like calling people names; and, I don’t expect that I’m going to.”

Caballero will be a formidable candidate, having won four of five races (she lost a state Senate bid in 2010) and has raised more than $9 million for those campaigns.

Caballero is a lawyer who once worked for the California Rural Legal Assistance. Born in Arizona, she graduated from UC San Diego and earned her law degree from UCLA.

Hurtado: ‘My identity is being an advocate for the Central Valley’

Hurtado released a press statement Wednesday afternoon announcing her re-election bid.

The current 14th District currently covers the southern portions of the City of Fresno and the east side of Bakersfield. Cities in the district include Sanger, Parlier, Orange Cove, Dinuba, Woodlake, Lemoore, Hanford, Lindsay, Porterville, Delano, McFarland, Wasco, Shafter and Arvin.

Hurtado said it was the redistricting commission that pits two incumbent Latinas against each other. The shape of the new district, she said, “was out of my control.”

“This has been one of the toughest decisions that I’ve had to make in my Senate career,” said Hurtado, who upset Vidak in 2018 by taking 55.8% of the vote against the incumbent.

The campaign against Vidak, she said, “was just a different situation.” Hurtado expects a clean race.

“I want to make sure my family is supportive of what I do,” said Hurtado, who noted she has lived in the same house with her parents since she was 10 years old. “My sister (Sanger City Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado) lives two houses down; my brother lives a block away.”

Hurtado said Caballero is a close friend and supporter in the state Senate.

“Both of us want to go back to the Senate, but, as I said, this is a situation that neither one of us want to be a part of,” said Hurtado, who was born in Fresno and raised in Sanger.

Hurtado, who worked as a community organizer and served on the Sanger City Council, said she got many calls encouraging her to run for Congress in retiring Rep. Devin Nunes’ redrawn district.

“I just don’t think that at this time that this is something for me,” said Hurtado.

Congressman Jim Costa, D-Fresno, announced last week he would run in the new 21st Congressional District.

“I’ve been able to accomplish so much in the Senate that I want to continue to do that work,” said Hurtado.

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 29 de diciembre de 2021, 1:01 p. m..