Simon Salinas
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Simon Salinas (born October 8, 1955) is a
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
politician. He was a member of the California State Assembly district 28 from 2000 to 2006. His district included all of Salinas and
Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...
. Before going to the Assembly, Salinas was a County Supervisor, a City Council Member, a community college instructor, and an elementary school teacher. Salinas is a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
. He left the assembly in 2006 because he was termed out. He surprised the political establishment by not challenging
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent
Jeff Denham Jeffrey John Denham (born July 29, 1967) is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. Denham first won election to th ...
for the California State Senate district 12. Salinas returned to local politics and was elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in 2006, representing District 3. Salinas has lived most of his life in the Salinas area, growing up around agribusiness. He has one son.


Background


Family life

Salinas was born in
Slaton, Texas Slaton is a city in Lubbock County, Texas, United States founded by German immigrants. Slaton was the westernmost German settlement in Texas. The population was 6,121 at the 2010 census. Slaton is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statisti ...
, one of twelve children of migrant farmworkers. His family originates from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, where his mother attended school until the 3rd grade. His father had no formal education and originally came to the United States under the Bracero Program in the 1940s, living and working in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
. He returned to Mexico, married, and years later returned with his wife and children to the United States in the 1950s, settling in Texas. This was the beginning of his experience as a farmworker over a 15-year period of fieldwork that included many migratory moves between the states of California and Texas, working in cotton and orange fields and whatever else was in season. Later, when Simón and his family picked up contract labor work, he picked strawberries in the central coast region of California at the age of 9. Due to the seasonal farmwork they followed, Simón moved constantly and never fully settled for long periods of time in one place. For his parents, this pattern continued until their retirement in 1985.


Education

Simon Salinas finally settled permanently in the city of
Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self ...
, at the age of 18, so that he could focus on his education. He graduated from Watsonville High School in 1974, and then went on to Claremont McKenna College to receive a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and
Latin American Studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, history ...
in 1978. In 1981, Simón earned a Bilingual Teaching Credential from
San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
and in 1984 graduated with a J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School in California.


Teaching

Salinas credits his motivation in seeking a higher education to his parents, who instilled in him the motivation to succeed. He points to the example set by his father who, without any formal education, taught himself to read and write. It was this fact that encouraged Salinas to take advantage of the educational opportunities his parents were never given. Salinas was a bilingual 6th grade teacher at Bardin Elementary School in east Salinas. He became a professor at
Hartnell College Hartnell College is a public community college in Salinas, California. Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell is one of 115 schools that constitute the California Community Colleges, one of the three higher education systems in ...
, in Salinas, from 1989 through 1993.


Local politics

Salinas began his public service career in June 1989 when he was elected as the first Mexican-American to serve on the Salinas City Council. During his tenure with the City of Salinas, Mr. Salinas served as Mayor Pro-Tem. Salinas was first elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in 1993, representing District One, and was reelected in 1997. During his second term, he was elected Chair of the Board and was the first Mexican-American to serve on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in over 100 years.


State legislature

In 2000, Salinas ran for the California state Assembly. After winning the Democratic primary, he won an expensive, hard-fought general election against Republican
Jeff Denham Jeffrey John Denham (born July 29, 1967) is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. Denham first won election to th ...
, who went on to be elected state Senator in 2002. Salinas was sworn in to represent the 28th District in the California State Assembly on December 4, 2000. He authored legislation addressing issues in affordable housing, agriculture, healthcare, public safety, transportation, local government, and education. For his legislative efforts on these and other issues, he was named "Legislator of the Year" by a few organizations that include Skills USA-VICA, California Transit Association, the
League of California Cities The League of California Cities is an association of cities within the state of California, founded in 1898. Most of the state's 482 cities are represented in the league. The League publishes ''Western City'', a monthly magazine, and holds an annu ...
, and the American Planning Association. In Salinas's first year in the Legislature, he sent 11 bills to the Governor and 9 were signed into law. Salinas served as the Chair of the Local Government Committee and as a Member of the Agriculture, Education, Health and Housing, Community Development Committees and other non-profit organization. He was Chair of the Select Committee on Rural Economic Development and vice president and co-founder of Caminos Del Arte, a non-profit organization that provides services for at-risk youth. As an assembly member, Salinas was a supporter of the 2006 bond measures. He was also a supporter of raising taxes, universal healthcare, improving social services, closing loopholes in
Proposition 13 Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. The initiative was approved by California voters on J ...
, and independent redistricting.


Return to local politics

On January 9, 2007, Salinas became a Monterey County Supervisor, this time representing the 3rd district. He retired from the Board of Supervisors in 2019.


References

*http://www.smartvoter.org/2004/11/02/ca/state/vote/salinas_s/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020235/http://www.maplight.org/map/ca/legislator/105 *http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/d3_supervisor.htm *http://www.proyectovision.net/english/success/salinas.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070702013321/http://sv.ca.lwvnet.org/files/Simon_Salinas_interview_Feb2006.pdf
HighBeam
*http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OOpOPcaikoYJ:www.redshift.com/~pguest/lwv/voter/*SimonSalinasLegislativeInterview.doc+Simon+Salinas&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=13&gl=us *http://www.smartvoter.org/2002/11/05/ca/state/vote/salinas_s/endorse.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070928104155/http://www.cacities.org/resource_files/24975.FoH-8-8-06.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20070630220003/http://vote2004.sos.ca.gov/Returns/stasm/2859.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20070630193702/http://vote2002.sos.ca.gov/Returns/stasm/2859.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Salinas, Simon Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Salinas, California American politicians of Mexican descent 1955 births Claremont McKenna College alumni County supervisors in California California city council members Living people People from Watsonville, California 21st-century American politicians