BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra made his first visit to Kern County since winning the June primary election to endorse state Sen. Melissa Hurtado's reelection campaign.
Becerra, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration, joined Hurtado as she kicked off her reelection campaign. State Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón also attended, and all three spoke with reporters during a media availability following a press conference.
Becerra currently holds an 18-point lead over Republican challenger Steve Hilton, according to a University of California, Berkeley poll. Hilton's last 2 appearances in Kern County came in May.
With oil permitting returning to Kern County, Becerra addressed his approach to the oil industry.
"We would want to make sure we continue to stabilize our supply. We want to make sure we're able to drop prices of fuel, and I want to make sure I'm following the lead of Senator Hurtado as we discuss those issues that are critically important here in Kern County."
As water concerns continue to grow amid California's golden mussel outbreak, Becerra said he supports the legislature's proactive response.
"I love the approach that the legislature is taking to try to prevent this from getting worse. For me, anything we do that acts early versus trying to remediate- let's prevent these kinds of difficulties that will cost us a ton of money."
When asked about uncertainty among growers over future water access, Becerra said he wants a more collaborative and transparent process as annual allocations are determined.
"We would sit down with the stakeholders for water. We would make sure we find out what the the need, the actual need is, and we find out what kind of supply we have what the predictions are for what we'll have, and then we start to make sure we allocate it appropriately… That everybody has foresight about what kind of water supplies we're going to have, so we don't go into each year uncertain about what we can use for the ag community."
Election Day is Nov. 3; voters can find more election information on the Kern County Elections Office website.
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