Speculation is already hot on who will run for two South Bay open State Assembly seats in 2016. In the seat that covers the area from Morgan Hill and Gilroy down to the Central Coast, District 30 Assembly Member Luis Alejo terms out in a year and a half. Karina Cervantez, current Watsonville City Council member and Alejo’s wife, is one name in the rumor mill. She seems to be following in her husband’s footsteps, as Alejo started out on the Watsonville City Council before his ascent to State office. Cervantez will enjoy the power that comes with Alejo’s support in the form of contacts and the campaign contributions they will draw.
Harvard Law alum and Gilroy City Council member Peter Leroe-Munoz is said to be eyeing the state seat as well. Leroe-Munoz is in his second term on the City Council of the garlic capital of the world. He spent five years as a Deputy District Attorney before moving to a San Francisco-based finance firm. Both potential assembly candidates are no strangers to labor, Leroe-Munoz received endorsements from Labor for both council races and the Monterey Bay Labor Council supported Cervantez in her quest for city council in Watsonville.
Up the peninsula, in Assembly District 24, currently held by Rich Gordon, Palo Alto City Council member Marc Berman has a strong lead on fundraising so far, amassing more than $60,000. Elected to the Palo Alto City Council in 2013, Berman is a patron of the New Leaders Council and part of the Truman National Security Project, with some background in campaigns. Berman’s day job is to raise money for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, so it’s not surprising that he’s raised a good chunk for his campaign already. Berman may find peninsula attorney Elspeth Famer as an opponent. Famer, a lawyer by trade, has been involved with the Democratic Party on a national and state level, mostly in fundraising. But so far she hasn’t put that fundraising talent to work on a State Assembly campaign.
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