As Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, wraps up his third term—and his last as an assemblyman, per California's old system of term limits—he's been mulling a potential run for Congress.
With Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, retiring after 23 years on the job, it opens up a long-occupied seat for congressional hopefuls who would've never been able to take on a well-liked incumbent.
Running for Congress isn't an easy feat—it takes big money and widespread support to win, especially since the only Dem to announce his plans to run so far is Jimmy Panetta, a deputy district attorney and son of Leon, who will likely bring great fundraising capability to bear.
Facing those odds, Alejo has opted instead to run for a local race in 2016, seeking the seat of Monterey County Supervisor for District 1.
But his campaign for supervisor will likely also be costly as he takes on a seasoned, well-funded incumbent, Fernando Armenta, who's represented Salinas on the Board of Supervisors since 2000.
Also in the race is Salinas City Councilman Tony Barrera, who challenged Armenta in a three-way election in 2012 and came in second, beating former Salinas Councilman Sergio Sanchez.
Alejo announced his candidacy Monday morning in a YouTube video, and explained his choice to run for supervisor:
"Monterey County is grappling with many significant local challenges, from having the highest homicide rate among youth in all of California to far too many families living in poverty, homelessness not being adequately addressed, not enough economic development or jobs being created to scores of other problems that have been festering for far too long.
"These are the issues that inspired me to forgo seeking a job across the country in Washington and instead pushed come home so that I could roll up my sleeves and get working on improving the quality of life right here in our local neighborhoods."
Alejo says he moved from Watsonville, where he previously served on City Council before his elected to state Assembly, to Salinas about a month ago, so he now lives in District 1.
Alejo has also already formed a committee to run for state Senate in 2018, when the four-year seat currently occupied by Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, next opens up.
His wife, Karina Cervantez Alejo, is running for his Assembly seat, as is former Assemblywoman Anna Caballero.
Armenta sees Alejo's move and Senate committee as evidence that he wants to use the county supervisor seat as just a temporary stepping stone.
"Do you want somebody who’s always been here, was here yesterday and will be here tomorrow, or someone who will be gone tomorrow?" Armenta says. "I don’t think he’s here to stay."
Alejo says he spoke to Armenta years ago and Armenta told him 2013-15 would be his last term in office, opening the seat to a newcomer.
Armenta says he's long been committed to running for a fifth term, and doesn't remember telling Alejo he planned to vacate the seat.
"That was three years ago," Armenta says of his conversation with Alejo. "Maybe I told [him] that, maybe I didn’t, I can’t recollect."
Barrera already expects he'll be out-fundraised and out-endorsed by his opponents, but says he's eagerly campaigning for supervisor again anyway.
"There lacks a collaborative effort, which is critical to get anything done," Barrera says.
He's unfazed by the fact that Armenta will likely again garner more money, and Alejo is a strong political player.
"If Jerry Brown came to District 1, I would still run because it’s in my heart," Barrera says.
"I’ve lived here for more than 40 years in District 1. This is home. If I can make a positive difference, I’m going to try.
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