Election notebook: Bakersfield man may challenge Sullivan for city council
By The Bakersfield Californian
A Bakersfield man who was a truck driver and for fun shows chickens is interested in running against longtime Bakersfield City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan this fall for the Ward 6 seat.
Michael Branum, 32, has taken out nomination papers to run for the office, but hasn't yet filed them.
Sullivan's seat, along with potentially four more of the seven seats on the council, is up for grabs this fall. Sullivan has said she'll run again and has pulled nomination papers, but hasn't yet filed them.
"I really would like to make a difference in Bakersfield," Branum said Tuesday about his reasons for running. "We need to bring jobs to Bakersfield. ... We need to do something about our crime rate."
Branum said he was a contracted truck driver for the U.S. Postal Service until last year but is now unemployed. He said he graduated from Centennial High School and has an associate's degree in animal science from Bakersfield College and a bachelor's degree in organizational management from Ashford University, an online school in Iowa.
He also said he shows chickens in professional competitions and has tried to bring large competitions to Bakersfield.
"Most of the people I deal with ... think of Bakersfield as Buck Owens. We have a lot more to offer than Buck Owens," he said.
"We need to bring people to Bakersfield that want to stay and not just (be) a stepping stone (for those looking to move elsewhere) ... to make Bakersfield home for more people."
Rudy Salas stands far ahead of Pedro Rios in fundraising for his bid for a state Assembly seat, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday.
Salas, a Democrat and Bakersfield city councilman, and Rios, a Republican and former Delano city councilman, are running for the 32nd Assembly district seat.
From Jan. 1 until June 30, Salas raised $274,790, more than twice as much as the $112,948 Rios raised in the same period. As of June 30, Salas had $256,541 in cash and $1,476 in debt. Rios had $4,138 in cash and $39,948 in debt.
In the primary election in June, Rios beat out Kern County Supervisor Jon McQuiston, who had both more cash and more endorsements. That allowed Rios to advance to the general election, facing Salas.
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