Assembly race heats up with big names.

The Central Coast's open congressional seat has stolen the show in recent days, after Congressman Sam Farr announced he would retire after 23 years on the job. An opportunity to run for this district in Congress, without having to face off against an incumbent, is rare.

Less rare: to see newbies go up against each other for state Assembly, where assemblymembers term out after 12 years max.

That's thanks to a 2012 voter-approved change to term limits, allowing state-level officials to serve six two-year terms in the Assembly; for officials elected prior to that date, the old three-term term limit applies. 

It applies for Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, who terms out next year when his third term ends, leaving an open seat. 

There are at least four candidates vying for that seat, including political heavyweight Anna Caballero, who announced her campaign for Assembly Thursday afternoon, flanked by elected officials outside Salinas City Hall, where she served as a city councilmember and mayor early in her political career. 

She'll face off with at least two other Democrats, including Luis Alejo's wife, Karina Cervantez Alejo, who was first elected to Watsonville City Council in 2013 and currently serves on the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Cervantez Alejo has already established a sizable fundraising lead and long list of endorsements.  As of June 30, she had nearly $145,000 in the bank. 

Gilroy City Councilman Peter Leroe-Muñoz also announced his candidacy early, and reported $25,000 as of June 30. 

One Republican, John Nevill of King City, has indicated he plans to run for the seat. Nevill has launched a campaign committee, but so far has not reported any fundraising. 

Caballero has a late start, but she's also had this job before, albeit for a slightly different district, which changed due to redistricting. Caballero served two previous terms in the state Assembly, then lost to State Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, in 2010. 

That means she has only one remaining two-year term she could serve in the Assembly if she wins.

But under the old term-limit system, Caballero can serve a total of 14 years in the Legislature, more than newer electeds who can serve just 12. The difference is she can't do more than three total terms in the Assembly; the next step would be the State Senate, where she could serve two four-year terms.

Supporters say they met to find and recruit a candidate to run for the open District 30 seat starting in April, and unanimously settled on Caballero, and worked to recruit her from Gov. Jerry Brown's cabinet. 

(Caballero resigned Nov. 11 from her position as Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.) 

“We as the community found her as a candidate, sought her. She said, 'Absolutely,'” said Erica Padilla-Chavez, a Hartnell College trustee and CEO of the Watsonville nonprofit Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, introducing Caballero Thursday afternoon as she announced her candidacy. 

San Benito County Supervisor Robert Rivas also spoke about that process: "What we wanted was a candidate whose values are solid, who understood state government, who could go to Sacramento and produce results for us," Rivas said.

Then, seeming to take a thinly-veiled dig at Cervantez Alejo, Rivas said, "We wanted a candidate and we wanted a leader who was from our community— someone supported by local people, and not special interest in Sacramento."

Cervantez Alejo has collected dozens of small campaign donations from local people already, as well as several political action committees. The California Latino Caucus Leadership PAC gave $7,400; several other Democratic candidates have donated; the International Paper PAC in Washington, D.C., have $1,000; and the Pacific Water Quality Association PAC in Sacramento gave $500.

When Farr announced his retirement last week, Caballero said she considered running for his seat instead.  

"I had myself thinking for a minute I might be interested in running for Congress.

"My heart is in running for the Assembly, and I needed to stick with that decision."

Caballero says her to priority if elected would be affordable housing. Her proudest accomplishment in the Cabinet is a managerial accomplishment: participating in the governor's reorganization plan, merging and dropping different departments. She says she eliminated hundreds of state cell phones and vehicles. 

Luis Alejo weighed in with this statement: "Voters are rallying behind Karina Cervantez Alejo because they want an assemblymember who is running to improve local neighborhoods, not somebody who is just running to further her political career."

As Alejo prepares to term out, he also points to the fact that Caballero would have just one Assembly term to serve, before considering a run for State Senate again in 2018—a seat that Alejo is also considering. 

"The campaign will post a clear contrast: Do we want to look to the future or look toward the past?" Luis Alejo writes.

Alejo himself is contemplating a move to Salinas, where he could take on incumbent Fernando Armenta for county supervisor next year; he's also mulling a run for Congress. 

Update: This story has been updated to reflect Prop. 28, the change approved by California voters in 2012 changing term limits.