Delano vice mayor announces county supervisor bid
Aug. 18—Delano Vice Mayor Salvador Solorio-Ruiz has launched a campaign for the Fourth District seat on the Kern Board of Supervisors in the 2024 election.
Let Delano be a lodestar for the Fourth District, Solorio-Ruiz said in a press release Friday, where other communities otherwise left behind can rally around.
But to make that possible for a district composed of working-class folks, Solorio-Ruiz said, their leader needs to be a grassroots champion, one who properly represents their values.
As supervisor, he continued, he would put Kern County's taxes to good use "to reflect our communities' values."
Earlier this month, Wasco Vice Mayor Alex Garcia launched his campaign for the same seat, which is currently held by incumbent David Couch.
Both Couch and Garcia said via emails Friday that they were declining to offer immediate comment on Solorio-Ruiz's announcement. Couch added that he would be in touch soon.
Solorio-Ruiz said he first took interest in the seat about two years ago, while watching county meetings.
"For years, I've been listening in and I strongly believe that District 4 communities are not represented in terms of the issues we care about," he said Friday.
In that time, Solorio-Ruiz said that issues of public safety and homelessness, at least in Delano, have been dealt "band aid solutions by the current supervisor." He noted similar priorities with handling continued vacancies in law enforcement and fire departments.
During his time as vice mayor, Solorio-Ruiz said he and the Delano City Council have invested heavily into the city's growth, including new businesses, public safety and adding of more than 1,000 housing units, according to a press release.
"In my second year on the council, I championed to provide over $50,000 to Bakersfield College for students in Delano who attend the community college," Solorio-Ruiz said.
The son of immigrant farmworkers and a lifelong Delano resident, Solorio-Ruiz said he understands "hard work, community-building and the American dream."
"Kern County is at an inflection point; we cannot afford absent leadership in the crucial time we are in," Solorio-Ruiz said. "Families in District 4 need a supervisor who is determined, willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work for the people, not false promises."
Kern's Fourth District touches 10 cities including portions of Bakersfield and the agricultural communities of Delano, Arvin, Lamont and Shafter, among others.
Among his endorsements from local leaders and advocates is District 5 Supervisor Leticia Perez, who said Friday that since she met Solorio-Ruiz several years ago, what stood out about the candidate is his work ethic.
"What I saw in him from jump street was an unparalleled work ethic," Perez said of Solorio-Ruiz. "I have never seen anybody in a room outwork Sal Solorio-Ruiz. And I mean working — collecting cards, listening to people's perspectives."
The two built a professional relationship before Solorio-Ruiz began working on Perez's Assembly run last fall. Perez likened Solorio-Ruiz to Michael Rubio, who won the Fifth District seat in Kern County after defeating likely winner Pete Parra in 2004, becoming the youngest elected supervisor in California at the time.
"He has the same heart and the same work ethic as Michael Rubio, and that's exciting for me," Perez said.
Candidates may officially file for candidacy starting Nov. 13, while the election will take place on March 5.
