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Anna Caballero Running For Assembly, Not Congress

Former Assemblywoman Anna Caballero hopes to return to the California State Assembly.

Her announcement Thursday came as a surprise to some who thought she would run for the Congressional seat of retiring Representative Sam Farr.

But standing in the sunlit courtyard of the Salinas City Hall where she served 15 years as councilwoman and mayor, Anna Caballero announced she is running for the state Assembly seat now held by Luis Alejo.

District 30 Assemblyman Alejo can’t run again because of term limits.   The district represents Gilroy, Salinas, Watsonville and southern Monterey County.

Caballero served in the Assembly before, but left to become a member of Governor Jerry Brown’s cabinet as Secretary of Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. It’s a post she resigned last week.

Her announcement to run for the State Assembly came as speculation mounted that she would join the race for the 20th Congressional seat.  At her news conference she said she considered it.

“Right after Congressman Farr announced that he was no longer going to run for office, I received a whole series of calls.  But you heard here today that I've spent probably the last six months contemplating this particular race, and in the end, what I decided is that timing is everything, and  my heart is in running for the Assembly. And I needed to stick with that decision,” said Caballero.

Caballero will be running against Assemblyman Luis Alejo’s wife, Karina Cervantez Alejo.  She’s currently on the Watsonville City Council.  Cervantez Alejo announced her plan to run back in April.

Doug joined KAZU in 2004 as Development Director overseeing fundraising and grants. He was promoted to General Manager in 2009 and is currently retired and working part time in membership fundraising and news reporting at KAZU.
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