Editor’s note: California will hold its 2024 Presidential Primary Tuesday, March 5. Besides the races for president and the U.S. Senate, to succeed Diane Feinstein, many local races need a primary to determine the November candidates.

The Town Crier is writing about the races for the U.S. Congressional District 41, California Assembly districts (AD) 36 and 47 and the Riverside County Board of Education District 4.

Seven candidates are vying to represent AD 36. The five Democratic candidates are Joey Acuna, Waymond Fermon, Egard Garcia, Tomas Oliva and Eric Rodriguez. The two Republican candidates seeking a place on the November ballot are Jeff Gonzalez and Kalin Morse. Of the seven candidates, the two receiving the most votes March 5 will be on the November ballot.

Jeff Gonzalez lives in Indio and is seeking to become the new Assemblymember for AD 36. He is married with four children, including three from his wife’s previous marriage.

Incumbent Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia announced in December that he would not seek reelection. AD 36 spans across three counties — Imperial, San Bernardino and Riverside. Lake Hemet and all of Garner Valley to the west of Highway 74 and much of the southern portion of Garner Valley, Anza and Sage are included in AD 36.

Going further west, it includes portions of Hemet and Winchester.

Although all of Imperial County is in AD 36, its 87,000 registered voters represent about one-third of the district’s total voters. Riverside County has the majority of the AD 36 voters, 58%, with merely 1% living in the San Bernardino portion of the district.

Gonzalez retired from the Marines after serving 21 years, became a pastor, now owns three small businesses and wants to continue to serve his community in the state Legislature.

Service truly seems to be the guiding light in his life’s journey,

He was in college and expected to join the Air Force since he had been a member of the Air Force ROTC in high school in New York. He graduated there but spent several years attending Moreno Valley High School.

As he passed the table, the Marine recruiter uttered a challenge that Gonzalez thought about and accepted. “You couldn’t do this anyway,” said the Marine.

“I looked at him. And at 19, I was a Marine,” Gonzalez said proudly. During his first active-duty tour, he had different several assignments. While serving on embassy duty, he learned to understand different ways of life, communications and thought processes.

He left active duty and was in the Marine Corps Reserves when 9/11 happened. He had a security job in New York City and was frequently confronting his personal feelings and encountering people’s reactions from such a devasting loss.

After three months, Gonzalez returned to active duty. During this tenure, he was in a counter terrorism group. Among his assignments, he toured in Iraq and Afghanistan several times as well as Southeast Asia.

“We were responsible for bringing warring factions to the table,” he said, describing many of his assignments. “This was called ‘village stabilizing operations.’”

These encounters taught him to take two fighting groups and find a means for their communication and a resolution.

However, he ended this active-duty tour disabled and distraught. Ten Marines took their own lives due to post-traumatic stress disorder. While not responsible, he craved the opportunity to help and prevent these actions.

He founded Saddleback Church in San Diego and became a pastor. One of the important programs in which he helped was called “PEACE.” It stands for promote reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick and educate the next generation.

“We were feeding and caring for the community,” he said.

Three years later he bought a technology company. It grew from three employees to 34. He founded a staffing firm.

This run for elective office is not Gonzalez’s first effort. Prior to COVID, he sought the former AD 56 seat. In 2018, Gonzalez won the Republican primary but lost the general election to Garcia, who garnered two-thirds of the vote.

Now Gonzalez says, “Every opportunity, with every challenge, there is a process of learning. I would do [the campaign] differently now. I recognize the need to serve the community and listen to the people.

“People are asking for communication and advocacy,” he continued. “They’re asking for change.”

In the current campaign, Gonzalez stressed that he hears about many issues and they are usually different from community to community. The three main topics he hears throughout the district are health care, affordability and safety, even in the schools.

Regarding the state’s finances, he said, “Adamantly, we need to balance the budget and not raise taxes.”

If elected, he said, “I would apply the same principles of finance that I apply to my company. If I didn’t, I’d be bankrupt. Don’t spend what you don’t have! If we can’t afford it, stop giving it away.”

He stressed that safety, education and the most vulnerable were priorities.

In the district, he is excited about the potential lithium development in the Salton Sea area, but stresses the government’s need to be responsible while managing the development. While there will be jobs, there are also people whose safety should be guarded.

As of Jan. 20, Gonzalez had only $9,800 in cash for the final month of the primary campaign. This has grown during the first weeks of February and he said there is more than $30,000 available for the final push.

Although running as a Republican, Gonzalez commented on the actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “We’re a country of laws and rules. While I support our right to protest, that was disorder. They crossed the line.”

He urged the district’s voters not to choose a party, rather they should vote for their values. He offers the reasons for choosing him: “My experience with the Marine Corps globally, as a pastor where I learned to listen and be empathetic, as a successful business manager, and as a Dad and husband.”