Our View: Kern's two open Assembly seats on primary ballot

23 May 2026, 12:23 · The Fresno Bee

Three candidates are competing to replace Democrat Dr. Jasmeet Bains as the 35th Assembly District representative. The district covers northwest Kern County and includes the cities and towns of Delano, Arvin, Lamont, McFarland, Shafter and parts of Bakersfield. Bains is not running for reelection.

The three candidates competing in the June 2 primary are Bakersfield Councilman Andrae Gonzales, a Democrat; McFarland Mayor Saul Ayon, a Republican; and emergency room nurse Ana Palacio, a Democrat.

The two candidates receiving the most votes advance to a runoff in the November general election. Those two candidates should be Gonzales and Ayon. Both have elected experience and public service records that present clear choices for voters. Palacio has experience in healthcare and as a labor union organizer and lobbyist, but she lacks elected experience.

Ayon has 30 years of public service, including his service with the Kern County Sheriff's Office and then as a McFarland High School teacher.

Elected to the McFarland City Council in 2020, Ayon notes he has worked with developers and city officials to streamline the city's building processes, and promoted affordable housing, infrastructure improvements and economic development. In the Assembly, he wants to help make the state more welcoming for industry by getting rid of what he says are unnecessary regulations.

Gonzales has served on the Bakersfield City Council since 2016. Before he was elected to the council, he served for six years as a member of the Bakersfield City School District board of trustees. Professionally, Gonzales works as the executive director of Stewards, a nonprofit organization that works with vulnerable people in Kern and is an appointed representative payee service. He is also a co-founder of several local nonprofit organizations in Kern County, including Faith in Action, Children First, Kern Alliance of Nonprofits and The Hub of Bakersfield.

He told The Californian that his primary goal as an assemblyman would be to make sure underappreciated Kern County receives the resources it deserves from Sacramento and to change a system that seems to tilt against the underdog. Gonzales, considered to be a business-friendly Democrat, said he would push back against what he believes are burdensome regulations stifling local oil producers and agriculture.

"Through our bipartisan interview process, (Gonzales) demonstrated a clear commitment to policies that support a strong and resilient local economy," Dana Brennen, chair of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber's political action committee, told The Californian.

A contest in the November general election between Andrae Gonzales and Saul Ayon will give 35th District voters the best choice.

32nd Assembly

Kern County Supervisor David Couch, a Republican, is running unopposed on the June 2 primary ballot to replace Republican Stan Ellis as the 32nd Assembly District representative.

A longtime Bakersfield businessman and first-time lawmaker, Ellis was sworn into office in March 2025. By September, he announced he would not seek reelection. Although he said serving in the Assembly was a great honor, Ellis told The Californian he was deeply frustrated by his first several months in office.

"Not being able to put my time where my knowledge is best suited, that's my real frustration," Ellis said.

The 32nd Assembly District includes portions of Kern and Tulare counties, including the cities of Exeter, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, Maricopa and Taft, as well as portions of Bakersfield and Visalia.

Couch is a longtime local elected official. He served on the Bakersfield City Council from 1999 to 2013, when he was elected to the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

"I've complained about the state government for a long time. I feel like I ought to give it my best effort to make a difference at the state," Couch told The Californian. "I don't think it will be easy by any stretch of the imagination."

Without a primary challenger, Couch will not face an opponent in the November general election. He is expected to be sworn in as the next 32nd District assemblyman.