Republican Neil G. Kitchens, an agriculture businessman and fifth generation rancher, has thrown his hat into the ring for the open 17th Senate District seat. The position is currently held by Bill Monning who is terming out. This is not Kitchens’ first attempt at political office. In 2018, he ran for California’s 30th Assembly District to replace termed out Assembly Member Anna Caballero. While he advanced to the general election, he was ultimately defeated by current Assembly Member Robert Rivas.
Kitchens will be joining John Laird and Kevin Saunders in vying for the Senate seat. Laird, the current frontrunner is a former Santa Cruz City Council Member, former State Assembly Member and most recently served as the State Secretary for Natural Resources under Governor Jerry Brown. Saunders is a former Marina mayoral candidate with a checkered history ranging from being served with a restraining order after his expulsion from Monterey College of Law to missing a deadline to file campaign papers because he was in jail on charges that he threatened and stalked a witness in a case.
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