Martín Chávez hopes to unseat one of the Valley’s longest-serving county supervisors

Stratford native Martín Chávez was a few months old in 1994 when Kings County Board of Supervisor Joe A. Neves was first elected.

Now, the 28-year-old Chávez is hoping to unseat one of the Valley’s longest-serving supervisors.

“Kings County is my home,” said Chávez, who was born and raised in Stratford, attended Stratford Elementary, Lemoore High School while dually enrolled at West Hills Community College Lemoore. “For me it was about staying in my community and helping improve it.”

It’s not an easy task for Chávez.

In the June primary, Neves got 47.79% of the votes, while Chávez got 29.67% . The other challenger, Eddie Neal, got 22.53% of the 2,605 total votes for District 1, which has 28,543 residents in a 131-square-mile area that includes Lemoore and Stratford.

“Over the past 28 years, virtually every aspect of our lives has changed that I don’t see the current incumbent keeping up with the change. So, for me it’s running to better the lives of our residents and better lives of every community member across Kings County,” said Chávez, who is a Republican, about making his debut as a candidate.

“I believe now, more than ever, we need a new voice. Someone that has not only experience but can take Kings County to the next level,” said Chávez.

Chávez said the incumbent was one of the few in the Valley who didn’t win outright in the primary.

“And that speaks to voters wanting a new voice, wanting a new alternative different than the incumbent,” he said.

The 2016 UC Merced graduate could become the second Latino on the board should he unseat Neves in November. Supervisor Richard Valle represents District 2, which includes Avenal, Corcoran, Home Garden and Kettleman City.

If elected Chávez will be the only Republican Latino on a county board of supervisors in the Valley.

“It would be an honor to be the first Latino to represent Kings County District 1,” Chávez said, adding that he is not only going to be the supervisor for the Latino community but will represent “every single one of my voters and constituents.”

“I am going to be, try my best and be the best supervisor I can be for Kings County and all of our residents and be a role model for every single community member of our community,” Chávez said, adding that there’s not enough Latino representation and even across the Valley.

Kings County is 55% Latino.

Chávez, who has a bachelor’s degree in economics, said he has been listening to the voters and seeing what their concerns are as he campaigns.

“I’m proud to say I’m the only candidate out there knocking on doors, meeting the constituents and learning their needs and hearing their concerns,” Chávez said, adding that constituents and voters throughout the district have voiced their need for infrastructure, improving the roads and highway system.

Chávez said, for example, families in Stratford are concerned about not having a turn traffic light off Highway 41.

He said the highway has become “really neglected” and “hazardous,” citing a Sept. 11 fatal accident.

“As a county board supervisor, it’s our job, if elected, to not only voice that concern up the chain, to our Assembly members and state Senate members and the state legislature to get funding to improve that road, 41 has long time been neglected”, Chávez said, adding that there’s also issues with public safety when it comes to supporting the county fire department that serves families in Stratford and Kettleman City.

Chávez believes that the county supervisors need to start investing in the youth.

You can see Chávez’ signs scattered throughout Highways 41 and 198 in Kings County.

Chávez said Valley residents travel a lot and those signs were placed to build name recognition as people commute to work or the coast to escape the 100-plus degree weather.

“There is a lot of Lemoore and Stratford population that work and go all the way to FedEx, there in Kettleman City to work or they go to the coast to work,” said Chávez.

This is the first time Chávez is running for public office. He has been appointed to the Stratford Public Utility District, which he has served since 2017.

Chávez said he has an “array of supporters. The farming community has been really supportive of me, a lot of people I’ve worked with over the years, including people like the my former employers.”

To this day Chávez said he has raised close to $60,000 to get his message out as an effective candidate.

In talking to voters, Chávez said “people are ready for change. They’re ready for a new voice.”

“You don’t have to look any further than Stratford. Both me and the current incumbent live in the same community, and if you drive through Stratford there is Martín Chávez for supervisor signs scattered throughout the city,” Chávez said. “Even though we live in the same community.”

And the reason for that Chávez said is because he is someone that has stepped up for his community time and time again.

“When Stratford was without water, when our wells picked up sand and they weren’t getting water into the community back in 2018, there’s one person that stepped up for our community. The current incumbent didn’t, and I was the one stepping up there even though all four wisdom teeth had been removed, I was on ABC 30, I was on KSEE 24, I was on KVPR,” Chávez said. “And I’m someone that the community has seen that not only do I talk the talk, I walk the walk. And for that reason, my record speaks for itself, and people are, were excited, you know.”

“Stepping into this race, for some it might be scary, for some it may be daunting , but for me it was actually the complete opposite,” he said, adding that a lot of people have been waiting for him “to kind of take the next level and serve my community so I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received from friends in the district, from a childhood friends, from community members, from neighbors to even people I’ve met throughout my professional life.”

Many of that support have come out to knock on doors for Chávez as well as has donated to his campaign

Chávez is a first-generation college student. His parents, who are immigrants from México, are farmworkers.

“My accomplishments are their accomplishments, you know. It takes a village to raise a child and I believe it,” Chávez said.

For people looking at the general election and this race, Chávez said a vote for him “means a vote for our county’s future.”

“A vote for me means that I’m going to work to make sure public safety is top or one of our top priorities at the county level. Put youth issues at the forefront of that we need to start investing in our youth. Whether it be programs throughout the county or whether it be parks. That’s what voters are voting for,” Chávez said.

As someone who comes from the farming community, Chávez said he understands the needs of the growers as well as those of farmworkers.

“I come with a new perspective and as a perspective of someone who has been raised in Kings County, has gone on to receive a higher education, and now it’s looking to serve our community,” Chávez said, adding that he has experience in real estate, experienced in a nonprofit world, the private sector.

Chávez works asv a farmer relations director for Pacific Farm Management Inc.

“I’m bringing all those traits to Kings County, and I look forward to serving all the residents at Kings County, even if they’re not in my district.”

Joe Neves

Chávez is facing a very experienced opponent in Neves.

“I have the experience and knowledge to continue to serve the people of District One in Kings County. Water issues, housing concerns and public safety are all issues that face Kings County. Medical care and transportation are also projects that I continue to address at the local level,” said Neves of why he is seeking reelection.

Neves, 64, is a fourth-generation farmer who went to Stratford Elementary School, graduated from Lemoore High School in 1976 and went to West Hills Community College as well as University of Phoenix and Brandman University.

Neves took office in January 1995 and has been on the county board since then.

“Groundwater management plans and drought preparedness has received more attention since the current drought continues to challenge current water use regulations. I look forward to planning for the water use in the future of Kings County,” Neves said, adding that homelessness is a growing concern “as affordable housing cost continues to rise.”

“The Housing Authority and Community Development Department continues to enact programs that assist people in their current housing needs and future demands that will limit homelessness.”

Neve said that public safety funding dealing with current inflation of the economy will be a challenge for budgets.

“Wage and benefits for staff along with increased cost of equipment are factors in establishing long-tern needs of public safety,” he said. “Medical care and transportation have evolved since the pandemic to meet the needs of the public. Modern operations to adapt to a world after the health emergency and better serve people.”

Neves’ family farming operation includes diversified farming, beef production, and trucking of agriculture commodities. Neves worked on the family farm through high school and college until 1986 when he became manager of the Stratford Public Utilities District, a special district serving the community’s needs of public works.

If reelected Neves said he still has things left for him to accomplish.

“I would like to accomplish in the next four years, a plan to recover from the drought and the pandemic. Improve broadband service for employment and an educational demand for the betterment of staff and students is a goal,” Neves said. “Telemedicine and telepsychiatry will expand services when wireless connections are improved is now possible with federal and state funding.”

When asked what he thought of his challenger, Neves said “I do not know my challenger very well. As I continue to work with service clubs, community-based organizations and schools; we have not had any common projects that we have worked on together.”