By Darla A. Baker
With Assemblyman Vince Fong withdrawing from the Assembly ballot in the upcoming primary election, Ken Weir announced he will be throwing in his hat as a write-in candidate for District 32.
Weir has been interested in the state’s legislature for many years, and felt the representation of former assembly members Jean Fuller, Kevin McCarthy and Vince Fong was strong in past years. Now that Fong is running for Congress, Weir said he was compelled to run for the Assembly seat and build on their work as a strong advocate for California.
“I decided this would be the time for me to run, and Vince generously gave me his endorsement,” Weir said.
Of the many issues California is currently dealing with, Weir said two are of particular concern to him. The first is fuel production.
Said Weir, “Energy is the lifeblood of our economy. It doesn’t matter where you are at or where you are from, if you don’t have energy, you are going to be in trouble. Unfortunately for us in California, we have a governor who is trying to kill new energy and production. I don’t understand how that goes together, and I don’t know if the Governor knows that a huge portion of our income comes from energy production. To me, it’s self-defeating.”
The second issue of great concern to Weir is our food supply.
Said Weir, “I don’t know of any country in the world that thrives and does well if it doesn’t have food and water. So, those are the two main items that California produces here in the valley. If we are looking to strip all of that away by draining all the water out into the Pacific Ocean, then there is no hope here. It will just be a desert. That has to stop and it has to stop soon.”
If California doesn’t turn things around soon, Weir said that both our fuel and our food production resources will continue to be jeopardy.
Said Weir, “(It) makes no sense unless you want our nation to depend on foreign countries for these basic needs.”
Weir served as Bakersfield’s vice mayor from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2020 to 2022. He was elected to the Bakersfield City Council in 2006 and continues to serve in this capacity.
In addition, Weir was an elected trustee for the Bakersfield City School District from 1992 to 2006.
As a certified public accountant, Weir said he has become garnished vast knowledge on California laws as well as federal tax laws.
Said Weir, “The federal tax law is developing into their, the Governor’s and the House’s, own little fiefdom… It doesn’t go with any common sense. The tax laws are overwhelmed right now. When Trump came through, he tried to simplify and ferret out all the things that weren’t right and weren’t fair to people. Now, we have other people putting their hands into the pie, and there are no restrictions.”
Weir said he doesn’t understand how California ended up with a $60 billion deficit this year after having a $90 billion excess previous.
Weir said his top priority as Assemblyman will be working side-by-side with Senator Shannon Grove to raise awareness within the legislature and all its members as well as Governor Gavin Newsom’s aides on the damage existing policies have had on California and will continue to negatively affect the state’s sustainability.
His focus on these issues has also gained him Grove’s endorsement in the upcoming election.
Born in the mid-west, Weir has lived in Kern County for all but five years of his life. His commitment to his community can be found in his long history of advocacy. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and the California Society of Certified Public Accounts.
He has served as the chair of the Kern County Republican Party since 2017, and is the former director of the Girl Scouts – Joshua True Council.
In addition, he is a past treasurer and director of St. Vincent de Paul Service Center and Thrift Store.
Said Weir, “I am going to be a strong advocate for Kern County and in this area. We are going to come, and we are going to go out there and take care of our own people and our own economy here and build it. In spite of what other people say, there are ways to build this economy, and that’s what we need to do to. In Kern County, in particular, they are making it very difficult for us here.”
Although California has a lot of work ahead to iron out the issues that are on everybody’s minds these days, Weir said there is still hope for us if we incorporate common sense into our existing policies.
Said Weir, “I think there are brighter things ahead for Kern County as long as we determine what we want. It’s up to us and it is going to be difficult because we have people fighting against us. But, we can do that. I know we can do that. If we can just pound some common sense into the people in Sacramento, we could end up with a really thriving economy with good things for kids and schools.”
Remember, to vote for Ken Weir in the upcoming primary, voters will need to write his name in as an add-on candidate.
For more information, visit kenweir4assembly.com.
