A Voice for the Valley

By Shawn K. Bagley

Why Shawn's in the race

"I'll be a voice for the Valley" says Shawn. "For 30 years I've worked to bring food from field to market in a community that feeds the world. Now as State Senator I want to work for the people who help feed the world. I'll fight for jobs, education, healthcare and agriculture policies that help our families thrive and keep Salinas Valley the Salad Bowl of the world."

Shawn wakes up before dawn every day and travels the Salinas Valley, where he watches farmers and workers get ready for harvest for the day. Strawberry farm workers doing calisthenics to get in shape; farmers starting up their tractors; crew buses full of workers heading out to fields of the many diverse crops of fresh fruit and vegetables.

He sees farmers and farm workers work hard every day and every day it is Shawn's job to sell the fruits of their labors: corn in Mendota; yams and sweet potatoes in Livingston, bell peppers in Hollister: asparagus in Firebaugh, watermelons in Atwater; iceberg lettuce in Huron; cantaloupes and honeydews in Los Banos; apricots in Patterson; fresh figs in Chowchilla; tomatoes in Newman and Merced; grapes in Fowler and Kingsburg; garlic in Coalinga; and all the crops in the Salad Bowl of the World, the Salinas Valley.

Shawn understands all the variables that affect business in District 12. He watches all the small and large business firms in the service industry that depend on the success of agriculture, water, the environment, and Acts of God that can make or break companies. Shawn has worked for years on advocacy efforts with diverse coalitions between farmers and farm workers inclusive of the Salinas Valley's Latino community.

As Shawn drives home from work every day, he sees field trucks loaded with the harvest that day, along with the hundreds of long haul trucks fully loaded, running from this cooler to that cooler hurrying to get on the road to market places across the country to deliver fresh food.

Shawn cares about the dignity of workers and how labor plays a huge role in the District. Shawn cares about their health care, their education, their economic security, their quality of life. As a longtime activist, Shawn brings people together through his business and community service throughout the years. Shawn can connect with voters in Senate District 12 and make Sacramento more responsive to their aspirations.