Election Nov. 6 – Assembly District 30 candidates answer Rotarians’ questions
Robert Rivas, (D), and Neil Kitchens, (R), attend Aug. 28 Gilroy Rotary meeting
Published in the September 5 – 18, 2018 issue of Gilroy Life
Robert Rivas
Neil Kitchens
The Gilroy Rotary Club hosted the two California Assembly District 30 candidates — Democrat Robert Rivas and Republican Neil Kitchens — at the Aug. 28 meeting. The two men answered questions about what they thought were important issues for the district and their priorities in Sacramento.
The forum was moderated by Gilroy Rotarian Susan Patereau and a half-hour audio of the candidates can be heard by going to Gilroy Life’s website at the webpage www.gilroylife.com/2018/08/29/gilroy-rotary-club-august-28-2018-district-30-candidates-forum.
“We don’t want it to be a debate so much. We’re not looking for a winner,” said Gilroy Rotarian Whitney Pintello. “We just want to inform our members more about the candidates. A lot of us haven’t had a chance to meet the candidates in person, so it’s a nice chance for us to hear their ideas from their own mouths.”
In the June primary election for Assembly District 30, San Benito County Supervisor Rivas finished in first place and Kitchens, a Monterey County businessman and rancher, came in second out of five candidates in the race to replace termed-out Assemblymember Anna Caballero.
The district includes all of San Benito County, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Watsonville, Salinas, Soledad, King City, Gonzales, and Greenfield. Also running in the primary were Democratic Gilroy City Councilman Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Watsonville City Councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez and Salinas policy and government manager Bill Lipe.
Rivas won 44.1 percent of the vote, Kitchens received 31.4 percent, Leroe-Muñoz had 10.6 percent, Coffman-Gomez had 7.7 percent and Lipe had 6.1 percent.
Gilroy Life will publish a story with more details about the candidates’ remarks at the forum before the election.
For more details on the two candidates, visit their websites at www.votekitchensforassembly.com and www.rivasforassembly.com.
On another election note, in the Sept. 8 Conversation & Coffee with the Mayor, Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco has invited candidates for the city council to meet with the public and answer questions. It will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Gilroy City Council Chambers, 7351 Rosanna St.