The 10 races involving Latino candidates in the Valley to keep an eye on
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado and former Assemblymember Nicole M. Parra have taken different roads in the final stretch of the state Senate District 16 race in hopes of securing a spot in the November general election.
For four straight day, Parra has crisscrossed the southern San Joaquín Valley for rallies and cruises down main streets to muster support for her campaign in an open seat in a heavily Democratic district that appeared hers before Hurtado backed away from a showdown of incumbents in the 14th state Senate District.
Hurtado relied on social media and televised commercials to reach a district that is new to her. Redistricting put her Sanger home in the same district as state Sen. Anna Caballero. After initially embarking on a re-election battle against Caballero, Hurtado announced on Feb. 22 that she would instead run in the 16th district.
Hurtado and Parra are not the only candidates in the race, in which the top two finishers regardless of party affiliation survive to the November general election.
Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio is the other Democrat in the race. Fourth-generation farmer David E. Shepherd – whose great-grandfather migrated from Guanajuato, México – is a Porterville Republican who has garnered endorsements from major GOP leaders like Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Parra kicked off her meet and greets in Avenal on Friday morning. She is scheduled to conclude her fifth day of such campaigning on Election Day (June 7) in Tulare before watching election results in Corcoran along with comedian Paul Rodríguez.
She will have visited 28 communities in a district that stretches from just south of Sanger all the way to Arvin.
If money is the only factor, Hurtado has an overwhelming edge based on raising more than $770,000 in her bid for a second four-year term. Parra has raised about $284,000.
The district – which includes the cities of Kingsburg, Dinuba, Woodlake, Hanford, Corcoran, Porterville, Avenal, Delano, Wasco, McFarland, Arvin and a chunk of east Bakersfield.
Why this race is the No. 1 to watch: An incumbent running in a new district against a former Assemblymember, plus a 26-year-old mayor and a 29-year-old farmer makes for an intriguing race. Only two of them will make it to the November runoff.
Fresno County sheriff’s race
There will be no runoff in this race in which voters will determine if heavily Latino Fresno County will have its first Latino as its top sheriff, or if they will repeat recent votes that have turned the reins over to someone within the sheriff’s department.
Fresno Police Deputy Chief Mark Salazar is banking on his 25-year law enforcement career where he has established strong ties with community leaders and reached out to youth.
However, if Salazar is to defeat Assistant Sheriff John Zanoni, who has the endorsement of Sheriff Margaret Mims, he will have to end a streak of a sheriff incumbent or sheriff insider winning every time since 1954.
Why this race is the No. 2 to watch: Salazar, who grew up in a crime-infested East Bakersfield neighborhood, is mounting the most serious campaign of an outsider. A victory would mean the county’s top two law enforcement officers (the other is Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama) are Latino.
Assembly District 27
Termed-out Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria has harvested the major donations and piled up the most cash – about $630,000 – among the four candidates, which includes colleague Mike Karbassi.
She is a target, however, based on the $320,000 in independent expenditures spent by the opposition.
The Republicans are former Merced County Sheriff Mike Pazin and Amanda Fleming.
Why this race is the No. 3 to watch: Esmeralda could increase the Valley Latino presence in Sacramento with a win in November, and wins by Assembly incumbent Joaquín Arámbula and Leticia Pérez in the 35th Assembly District.
Fresno City Council District 1
The Perea political dynasty rests in the hands of Annalisa Perea, who is looking to jump from the State Center Community College District board to the Fresno City Council.
The city planner has raised more than $345,000 in her bid to replace a termed-out Esmeralda Soria on the council. She would follow in the footsteps of father Henry R. Perea and brother Henry T. Perea.
Her biggest challenger appears to be Gary Catalano, a marketing/government affairs professional who lost to Soira eight years ago by 526 votes. He has raised $226,000.
The other candidates are former councilmember Mike Briggs and former police officer now insurance agent Jeremy Preis.
Why this race is the No. 4 to watch: In a field of four, it will be difficult for any candidate to get the 50%-plus 1 to avoid a runoff, but it would be interesting to see how close Perea comes.
22nd Congressional District
Incumbent David Valadao, R-Hanford, has proven a formidable opponent in a district that is heavily Latino and heavily Democrat. That was until four years ago when he lost a close race to Democrat T.J. Cox.
Redistricting has made the district more favorable to Democrats (43.1% registratration to 26% for Republicans). About 60% of the residents are Latino.
Democrats are trying to win back this seat, which could decide who wields the power in Washington, D.C.
Assemblymember Rudy Salas is Valadao’s challenger this time around. Valadao has a healthy $2.1 million in his campaign warchest, while Salas has about $593,000.
There are two other Republicans on the ballot, including former Fresno City Councilmember Chris Mathys, the subject of some blistering campaign ads that paint him as liberal.
Why this race is the No. 5 to watch: Should Salas win in November, he could become the first Latino from north of Los Ángeles/Santa Bárbara to win election to Congress.
Fresno City Council Districts 3, 5, 7
There should be no drama about the re-election efforts by Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias (District 3), Luis Chávez (District 5), and Nelson Esparza (District 7) due mainly to their huge advantage as incumbents.
Arias has raised almost $200,000. Chávez, who would extend his council stay to 10 years with a win because of a special election he won six years ago, has raised about $232,000. Esparza has raised $294,000.
Why this race is the No. 6 to watch: Should the three incumbents win and Perea end up replacing Soria, the Fresno council would have a Latino majority for the third time in history.
Fresno County Board of Supervisors District 4
Four years ago, incumbent Buddy Mendes skated to his second term in 2018 without an opponent. This time, he faces 2014 challenger Daniel Parra and José Ramírez, a former city manager from Livingston, Firebaugh and Orange Cove.
Mendes has spent some of the $236,000 he has raised in campaign funds on television commercials featuring an endorsement by Mario Santoyo of the Latino Water Coalition.
Ramírez has raised almost $188,000 for his political campaign debut, and has the backing of former supervisor Juan Arámbula.
Why this race is the No. 7 to watch: It is likely that Mendes could win outright and avoid a runoff in November, but should either Ramírez or Parra, a member of the Fowler City Council, advance and win there would be two Latinos on the board for the first time in history.
Tulare County Board of Supervisors District 4
Four years ago, Eddie Valero became the second Latino ever elected to the county board of supervisors and third ever to sit on a board that oversees a county that is 65.6% Latino.
In his re-election bid, Valero has drawn three opponents: Educator Kelly Culver and businessman Scott Harness, both of Dinuba; and Melvin K. Gong of Orosi
Valero has been endorsed by four of the Dinuba City Council members. Dinuba is the largest city in the district.
Why this race is the No. 8 to watch: Valero, an Ivy League graduate who said he always runs as if it is his first race, will look to be the only Latino to win a re-election in Tulare County. Former Supervisor Kuyler Crocker lost his re-election bid in 2020.
Kings County Board of Supervisors District 1
Martín Chávez, a 2016 UC Merced graduate didn’t waste time in making his first bid for public office. He is challenging District 1 incumbent Joe Neves, who has been on the board since 1995.
Chávez, a Republican, is currently a farmer relations director for Pacific Farm Management Inc.
His primary focus is on agriculture and water, followed by jobs, public safety and transportation.
Why this race is the No. 9 to watch: Should Chávez win, he would be the second Latino on the county board of supervisors. Kings County is 55% Latino.
Assembly District 22
There is no incumbent in this redrawn district centered around Modesto. It is a true swing district with registration broken down to 40.4% Democrat, 32.9% Republican, and 19.3% no party preference.
Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Alanis, who lost a close bid for sheriff in 2018, has collected more than $220,000 in donations, the most among the four-candidate field.
Chad Condit, son of former Congressman Gary Condit, has raised $140,000 for his bid. Other candidates are Jessica Self and Joel Gutiérrez Campos.
Why this race is the No. 10 to watch: Alanis is a Republican, which would make him the first Latino with that party affiliation to be in the Assembly from the Valley.
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 6 de junio de 2022, 9:02 p. m..