Armed with $49,000 to her opponent’s $1.8 million war chest, Atwater auditor Joanna Garcia Rose stunned political observers by getting more primary election votes in the 27th Assembly District race than the incumbent.
The 39-year-old Republican finished two percentage points – a difference of 1,130 votes – ahead of Democratic incumbent Esmeralda Soria in a district that stretches from Merced to Fresno County.
Whether she can duplicate the results in November remains to be seen, especially in a district that is heavily Democratic (50.3% registered Democrats to 16.1% registered Republicans).
Gracia Rose is Latina. Her great grandparents immigrated from Guadalajara, México.
Latinos of voting age make up 51% of District 27.
Garcia Rose, a Merced County native, believes the primary vote resulted from people wanting change from their elected officials.
“I think my messaging is resonating and clear with the voters,” said Rose. “Change is not going to come from someone who is bought and paid for by a party and entrenched in focusing on their fundraising.”
Garcia Rose said she will work with Democrats, who currently hold a 62-18 advantage, to pass laws.
“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to pass legislation if I come up with a good idea, and we come up with a decent compromise across the board,” said Rose.
The Merced County Republican Assembly believes Garcia Rose can win in November despite Soria raising more campaign funds in March alone – $53,700 – than Garcia Rose’s total haul.
It’s a “very promising fact going into the general election. We believe Joanna is a strong leader with strong local connections and her message resonates with the voters in her district,” the assembly told The Fresno Bee. “The November election will be tight. Joanna has a strong base and it is growing everyday.”
Gracia Rose received a degree in agricultural business from Fresno State and graduated from San Joaquin College of Law. She describes herself as “a hard-working mom.” Gracia Rose has worked for the state and thinks she can use her knowledge of intact laws to help Madera and Californian citizens.
Water for agriculture is a top priority
She wants to streamline water laws and regulations to help farmers obtain more water evenly. Gracia Rose has worked with different agencies as a tax auditor and noticed that these agencies are supposed to create fairness and equity with funding and regulations.
“If you look at DMV, people get charged registration fees for their driver’s licenses, and there’s no debate about it,” said Rose. “One county doesn’t pay more for a driver’s license than another county because it’s uniform across the board, and everyone has the opportunity to get a driver’s license.”
Rose mentions that this isn’t the case for water rights because there are subdivisions that make farmers compete against each other. She believes the focus shouldn’t be on arguing about who deserves water but on distributing it fairly among farmers.
“It’s a scarce resource, we need to manage and make sure that we are focused on getting and saving more of it,” said Rose. “I can take my problem-solving skills and come up with a solution that hopefully works for everyone across the party lines to make California get on a better track.”
Local control for education
Rose also wants to focus on other reforms in the state, such as education.
She wants more local control over education, with more evenly funding and less state bureaucracy. Rose wants to see an equal opportunity for every child to succeed in going to college or trade school, but it needs to start from grade school.
“The state has focused on a lot of personal social issues and making decisions for families that they shouldn’t be making,” said Rose. “We need to stop spending money on those things and start having our taxpayer dollars go back to the teachers.”
Rose wants to save the “working class” from the highest gasoline prices in the country, and crumbling roads. She questions why California’s high taxes can’t translate into better road conditions found in states like Texas.
“I actually had a friend who passed away on Highway 99 in an area where there was construction several years ago,” said Rose. “These roads are dangerous, and they pose a risk to everyday citizens doing what they need to work and take care of their families.”
Her other priorities are listed in her campaign web page.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 6:00 AM.