Blakeslee earns Farm Bureau endorsement in special state Senate election

» June 3, 2010 «

Pointing to his record of bipartisan success in the state Legislature, the California Farm Bureau Federation has endorsed Sam Blakeslee for state Senate. Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, currently serves in the state Assembly and seeks election in the 15th state Senate district, which includes all or part of five Central Coast counties: Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.

Blakeslee will be one of four candidates on the ballot for a special election in the district on June 22, to fill the unexpired Senate term of Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado.

“We have supported Sam Blakeslee since he first ran for the Assembly in 2004 and he will make an excellent addition to the state Senate,” California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger said. “He is the sort of legislator that Sacramento needs: someone who can work across party lines to get things done.”

Wenger noted that Blakeslee has supported the state’s Williamson Act farmland conservation program—considered one of the most successful environmental programs ever enacted in California—that he has taken an active interest in potential production of biofuels and has worked to have state agencies consider the business impacts of the regulations they enforce.

“As a representative of key agricultural regions along the Central Coast, Sam Blakeslee recognizes the crucial role that family farms and ranches play in improving both the economy and the environment,” Wenger said. “As a business owner, he understands that state government can help to stimulate job growth—or can stifle it through regulations that tie businesses in knots. We need his leadership in the state Senate.”

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 81,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

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