The two candidates running for the District 29 Assembly seat in the Nov. 8 election are Assemblymember Robert Rivas and candidate Stephanie L. Castro. Rivas has represented California’s 30th Assembly District since 2018 and is the incumbent candidate for District 29 following the Dec. 2021 redistricting of the assembly.
BenitoLink sent Rivas and Castro identical sets of questions. BenitoLink contacted several of Rivas’ offices, sent emails and left phone messages. Rivas did not respond.
Stephanie Castro, 50, was born in Santa Clara and was raised in South San Jose. She has lived in Hollister since 1998. Castro is a teacher; she earned her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from California State University, Chico, her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from CalStateTEACH and her Single Subject Secondary Art Credential from the University of Phoenix.
BenitoLink: List your top three policy or legislative priorities. If elected, how do you plan to get these priorities enacted?
Castro: My top three legislative priorities will focus on the California economy, water storage in California, and infrastructure here at home in California.
- To address the economy, I do recognize the problem of inflation which is more a national problem. But there are small things we can do to alleviate some of the problems in California. We still have supply chain issues at the ports which created shortages in inventory which then leads to higher prices on products. I will look into what we can do to facilitate the movement of product through our ports. High fuel prices are obviously a problem nationwide, but especially here in California. We in California pay the second highest gas tax in the country. There are other states that have cut or reduced their gas tax to help their people during this tough inflationary time in history. I believe we should do the same to help our people in California.
- In California, we have for many years not even addressed the water shortage issue. We need to start today by talking about this issue. We need to add water storage to the agenda and look for ways to increase the amount of water available to the people of California. We need to look for available land and to lift some of the environmental regulations that prevent us from even talking about this serious issue. Farmers, who feed us, have had the amount of water they need to use suddenly cut significantly. In some cases, in the valley, they weren’t allowed to use any water, in part because of the Delta Smelt. I believe the people of California are more important than a species that isn’t even native to our area. California should also look at desalinization as an option. Israel successfully gets almost all of its water through desalination.
- Our infrastructure needs to be looked at as a priority. California used to have the best roads in the country years past. Now this is no longer true for the most part. Bridges need to be inspected for safety and repaired if necessary. Some infrastructure is local, but where California is responsible, we need to take it seriously. I will look at what is going on in Sacramento and find the waste we need to cut in order to find the money for these projects. The focus needs to be brought to the hwy 25 and 101 interchange. For those who are drivers in that area, they know it demands attention so that the safety of our residents is put at a high priority.
BenitoLink: There is a shortage of certified mental health workers in California. How do you plan on meeting the mental health care needs of the people in your district?
Castro: Mental health is so important. Many of the homeless have these issues and if we solved this problem, you would in part solve the homeless problem. I would like to see any left-over COVID funds going to mental health care in order to make sure we have some additional funding in mental health. Many people in the health field were let go because they would not get a vaccine shot. This has to stop. Many good and brilliant people were let go and others who wanted to go into the field would not, because of vaccine mandates. I will try to open this door.
BenitoLink: The nation is experiencing a teacher shortage, and California is among the states most affected. We’ve heard from teachers that the added responsibilities, crowded classrooms and wages are factors for retiring or choosing a different career. What would you do to attract qualified teachers to public schools?
Castro: I believe there are highly qualified teachers out there that are ready and willing to teach. I know, because I am a teacher. The system has failed some of them and they are not having their contracts renewed for whatever reason. One of their reasons to cut back on teachers is to cut back on spending. Which brings me to this topic; the number of administrators in the system that in general, make far more in wages than do the teacher. The last statistic I saw was 2.5 teachers for every administrator. I would look at any overlap in administrator duties and eliminate that administrator. The amount of money saved by doing this is enormous. I also have an article by edsource.org entitled “A guide to making the California teacher shortage even worse.” It talks about the many hoops a prospective teacher must jump through first: an “induction” training course, hours of zoom, preliminary credentialing, piles of course work, and the list goes on. These overwhelming things all have to be looked at if you want to attract teachers to this profession. We can talk about the teachers’ unions and what we can do about that. The unions exist to the benefit of the union (a lot of money), the teachers (a little money), and at the bottom of the list, students (not necessarily the priority). Another reason for leaving the profession could possibly be the vaccine or masking mandates. Those need to be lifted to attract teachers as well.
BenitoLink: Local jobs have long been thought of as the solution to our congested roads. What types of business do you think are appropriate for San Benito County and how would you help attract suitable companies to start up or relocate here.
Castro: I am a capitalist and therefore very pro-business. I would like to see more high-tech jobs come to our area that will bring with it higher paying wages. Also, the small business startup is the heart of this country. I get excited about the entrepreneurial spirit in this country. The majority of workers in this country work for small businesses. To have that choice in San Benito County between what kind of business someone wants to work for would be fantastic. With new business comes more tax revenue which would be used for the infrastructure. Of course, there is the business of managing growth, but that is a local issue. To encourage companies to plant their business here would, in my view, require at least some incentives, such as long- or short-term tax benefits and the easing of any unnecessary regulations that may exist.
BenitoLink: Housing is a major issue statewide. What do you think the state’s role should be in easing the housing shortage?
Castro: The government puts a lot of restrictions that I assume are not necessary onto builders of homes. I assume this, because a few years back, it was a lot simpler to get a home built. I remember a short time back when they in California added an impact fee of nine thousand dollars to the cost of a home. A lot of these types of fees and taxes seem to fall onto the homeowner ultimately. Just look at your property tax bill, loaded down with fees and bonds, etc. These types of things need to be looked at.
In conclusion: How will I get these things enacted? I will put forth common sense bills that address these issues and reach across the aisle for solutions, so we can get these projects enacted or problems solved.
Robert Rivas, 42, was raised in Paicines, California, where his grandfather was a farmworker at Almaden Vineyards. Assemblymember Robert Rivas has represented California’s 30th Assembly District since 2018. In 2020, he was appointed Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee and elected as Vice-Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus. Rivas served two terms on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors prior to becoming an Assemblymember.
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