David Castellon

dcastell@visaliatimesdelta.com

Allen Ishida hasn't been a fan of California's governor.

Not that Jerry Brown was the first governor to concern the Tulare County supervisor, who said he also has had issues with how Brown's predecessors, Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran the state.

But it was Brown's policies that Ishida said pushed him to announce during a K-Tip radio interview that he's running to become governor.

Ishida made no mention of his gubernatorial aspirations during the weekly Board of Supervisor's meeting in Visalia. But during a break, he confirmed that he had thrown his hat into the 2018 gubernatorial race, having filed an intent to run with the California Secretary of State's Office.

The announcement came as a surprise to some, because prior to his last election in 2012 — in which he ran unopposed — Ishida announced that if he won he wouldn't run again after completing his third, four-year term on the board.

And his plan when he made the announcement was to get out of politics, Ishida, a Lindsay-area resident, said Tuesday.

"When I ran the first time, I said I would serve three terms. This is my third term," he said, adding that he will honor that campaign promise.

As for his decision to shift years and seek the state's highest office, Ishida, a Republican, said, "The state of California legislation is dysfunctional.

"The light finally went on that the policy of the state is driven by the governor," he said. "And many of the regulations that affect our everyday lives are a result of actions by state employees," a combination of department heads and members of independent boards and commissions carrying out the governor's policies.

Those boards and commissions are imposing regulations and fees without the need for legislative approval, and "I think many of them are out of control," Ishida said.

"Its been an accumulation of many of these regulations that drove me to run. This has been going on for years," he said Tuesday, adding that if he is elected he would direct his appointees to find and cut unnecessary regulations while streamlining others.

"I would probably look to recruit people more from county and city governments" for many of these jobs and appointments, Ishida said, explaining that workers for counties who administer state-funded and state-mandated programs would be particularly well-suited, as "they know the pitfalls of [providing] these services because of state regulations."

As for his opinion of the current governor, Ishida said, "I think he is basically honest. I do not agree with his policies — with all his policies."

For example, while Ishida supports the development of high-speed rail service from San Francisco to Los Angeles, as does Brown, the supervisor has strong objections to how it's being done.

"I think we should buy and secure the right of way before we start any construction. And I'm talking about the rights to the entire line," which hasn't happened, he said.

Ishida also expressed concerns that California's finances aren't in good enough shape to ensure the rail project can be fully funded.

"We cannot do it now. I believe the state is almost at its bonding limit."

The timing of the project also is an issue for Ishida, who said the money and resources going into the developing and building the high-speed rail line should be going into programs to find and preserve water in the state.

On the Board of Supervisors, issues Ishida has been most vocal about have included preserving agricultural land, conservative spending practices and preserving and improving short-haul rail lines to move goods from Tulare County to cross-country freight lines in Fresno.

But his most passionate issue has been water, calling for conservation efforts and funding for programs to help small communities get clean water and help farmers get water for their crops and livestock years before California's current drought hit.

In November, voters in the state passed a $7.5 billion water bond to pay for water conservation and storage projects, but Ishida is critical that Brown signed the proposition with a provision giving the state two years to develop a system for scoring water projects to determine their priorities for funding.

"The process is too long," and the projects getting money need to be chosen sooner, said Ishida, who is vice chairman of the recently-formed Water Working Group for the California State Association of Counties.

"We have not solved the problems we have in California," he said. "The problems we have in California are not partisan problems. They're real problems."

With the gubernatorial election more than three years away, it's far too early for anybody to file as a candidate. Ishida said he filed his intent to run on Friday, and the California Secretary of State's Office shows only one other intent to run filing for the governor's seat.

It was submitted by California's lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who previously ran for governor and lost in 2010.

As for who else may run for governor in 2018, among Democrats, speculation has included former state controller and former eBay executive Steve Westly, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, hedge fund billionaire and environmentalist Tom Steyer, current Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and state Treasurer John Chiang.

On the Republican side, Ishida's potential opponents include Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

A big part of the reason the field of potential gubernatorial candidates is so wide is that many seem just as as likely to make runs to fill Barbara Boxer's U.S. Senate seat, as she's not seeking re-election next year.

And Brown will not be able to seek a third term as governor because of California's term-limit rules.

With so many well-known, well-funded names that could end on the ballot for governor, Ishida — whose only political experience is representing a lesser-known rural county, seems a huge underdog.

But the supervisor said he can work around that, his 11 years as a supervisor — which has included working with Sacramento lawmakers and state committees — has been a good training ground to learn how state government works.

"It will be difficult to raise funds compared to these individual. But they owe people. I don't owe anybody."

Right away, Ishida said, he needs to raise at least $50,000 to get his campaign on the ground.

In comparison, Newsom reportedly had $3 million left over from his successful re-election campaign last year, and the Los Angeles Times reported that he raised $727,000 in just two weeks after filing his intent to run for governor.

Despite their apparent advantages, Ishida said he welcomes Villaraigosa and Newsom if both end up in the governor's race, as he figures the votes they get from supporters in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, respectively, will cancel each other out on election day.

As for why Ishida's starting his campaign so early, he said it's because he'll need that extra time to travel to more urban areas of the state to meet people and get his name known among voters outside of the South Valley.

"That's a time and commitment you cannot accomplish in a year-and-a-half campaign. I'm not Arnold Schwarzenegger," Ishida said, adding that after completing his last term as a county supervisors at the end of 2016, he plans to devote himself full time to campaigning for governor.

"To me, name recognition isn't really important. It's more important to meet people."

About the candidate

•Who: Allen Ishida, 67

•Occupation: District 1 supervisor, former citrus farmer

•Marital status: Married, father of three, with four step children and four grandchildren

•Higher education: Fresno State University bachelor of science degree in business administration.

•Previous elected office: None