Member of the State Assembly, District 29

Robert Rivas grew up in Paicines. He served two terms on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors before Salinas Valley voters sent him to the Assembly in 2018. He has chaired the Assembly Agriculture Committee and served as vice chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus. Since June 2023 he has been Speaker of the Assembly. That job sets which bills reach a vote.

He says he is running to keep the district's concerns front and center in Sacramento. As speaker he backed a new law on data centers. It requires them to report their energy and water use to regulators. The issue came up after data center projects were proposed near the district.

He promises to keep pushing on jobs, housing and health care access. He says growing good paying jobs means strengthening what he calls the whole pipeline. That means schools, business support and infrastructure together. He also points to state funds he helped direct to mental health and substance use treatment in the district.

Dennis P. Sanchez is a small business owner in construction and landscaping. He has about 30 years in the trade and is a lifelong resident of the district. He has served on the Odd Fellows Cemetery Board. He advanced from the June primary with 18.1% of the vote. He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

He says he is not running to build a political career. He says he wants to serve the communities that raised him. He has no record in elected office. The clearest documented fact about him is that he is challenging a sitting Assembly Speaker, something few candidates attempt.

He promises more transparency before big data center projects are approved. He says residents deserve clear information about water use, power needs and jobs created. He also wants housing and economic development planned together. He wants higher pay too, so local departments stop losing trained officers to jurisdictions that pay more.