A candidate forum in Kern County was held on May 21, bringing together community members, youth, and local leaders to meet the candidates running for Congress, the State Assembly, and the State Senate. All nine candidates were invited, but only three: Manreept Kaur, Randy Villegas, and Ana Palacio confirmed their attendance and participated in addressing community questions and concerns. Each candidate was given one and a half minutes to answer each question provided by the moderator.
The forum opened by asking candidates what their top three priorities would be and how those priorities would impact communities throughout the Central Valley.
The question highlighted how these direct goals would shape the work needed for communities throughout the Central Valley. Given that many communities in the central valley are known to be heavily disadvantaged with educational barriers, economic exploitation, environmental inequality, and health disparities compared to other areas across the state.
Manreept Kaur, current vice mayor of the City of Bakersfield and professor at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), who is running for CA State Senate District 16, responded by acknowledging that she will uplift the voices and stories of those in the Central Valley by bringing them with her to Sacramento, in hopes of bringing awareness to the issues that impact these communities.
“My top priority is number one, being able to tell the stories of our valley in Sacramento and bringing results back. So often we hear that California is the fourth strongest economy. So why do our communities not look and feel that way? When you’re all working hard at labor is what’s making us the fourth strongest economy. Number one, we need voices that reflect our lived experiences,” said Kaur.
She further added that representation matters and that changing who serves as elected officials is important, as it shifts the direction of resources available to these communities. Kaur also acknowledged that community safety is another priority for her.
“Number two is that we ensure that our communities stay safe and our families stay safe here. That means staying safe from ICE. This is not new to us because we work together, protecting our families from rising costs, from the threats of ICE, and making sure the Central Valley doesn’t continue to be forgotten by Sacramento. Those are my priorities,” said Kaur.
Randy Villegas echoed similar priorities and placed greater emphasis on healthcare, immigration, and affordability. Villegas is currently running for the US Congressional District 22 against Jasmeet Bains and David Valadao. In his response, Villegas noted that the Central Valley used to be one of the most affordable regions in the state.
“We used to talk about the Central Valley as one of the only places where you could afford to buy a home and still live a good quality of life, and that dream is getting further and further away. That’s when I get to Congress, I’m going to fight for legislation that is going to ban corporations from buying single-family homes,” declared Villegas.
According to research, the current median price for a single-family home in the Central Valley region rose to 1.6 percent in comparison to the previous year.
Villegas also added that he plans to ban private prison detention centers nationwide.
Ana Palacio, a nurse at Kern Medical who is running for CA State Assembly District 35, connected the issues of affordable healthcare to what she witnesses in her line of work.
“Not just healthcare for everybody, but also the access to healthcare so that our rural communities, our unincorporated communities, also have the same access to healthcare and the resources that they need to stay healthy. Health is the foundation,” said Palacio.
She also touched on the point that without these resources being invested, how can individuals work, go to school, or support themselves or their families.
Environmental concerns and the need for greater civic engagement were also discussed, with all three candidates sharing their perspectives. The Central Valley is known to be exposed to pollution, pesticides, water extraction, and land overuse, all of which continue to harm residents of these communities. One prime example of this is Ridgecrest, a rural community in Kern County, which is currently on the verge of having a data center built, with significant impacts on pollution and water scarcity.
Kaur called for protecting the environment in California and pointed out the advocacy that is missing in these key issues. She added that many elected officials are not particularly keen on preserving the environment in these areas because they are unfamiliar with where they live or do not breathe the same polluted air as their constituents.
Villegas expressed support for families and communities directly impacted by these challenges.
“We have to make sure we’re actually fighting for farm working families who are on the front lines of all these environmental injustices,” he said, “We need to make sure that we have protections for our working families right now.”
Ana Palacio explained the need for communities to come together and hold those in power accountable so that these injustices do not continue.
“We need to get the right people into the right seats to keep these things from happening and to hold these bigger corporations accountable for the pollutants that they have been causing,” said Palacio.
Lester Panita Rodriguez, a Bakersfield College student studying medical assistant explained that he has been following the candidates. Rodrguez emphasized that the absence of the other candidates shows that they are not doing the best they can to represent people.
“They know that they are affecting us in a bad way and that they are not working for the people they’re supposed to. I feel like that says a lot about them right now,” said Rodriguez.
Silva Romano, a community member and organizer shared a similar sentiment noting that the absence of the other candidates is a reflection of their veracity in representing our communities.
“These spaces are designed so that they can come here and build a relationship with their communities, and learn from the community on what their necessities and concerns are,” said Romano.
He went on to explain that all three candidates addressed the need for more youth programs and facilities to be made available throughout the valley.
The forum was also recorded and broadcast by Radio Bilingue three times this week, beginning:
Saturday May 29 at 8 p.m
Thursday, May 28, at 4 p.m.
