Posted on Sun, Jan. 22, 2012

We have an interesting race shaping up in the new 10th Congressional District, which includes all of Stanislaus County and southern San Joaquin County. In this case, interesting means high-profile, expensive, potentially nasty and spiced up with some relative newcomers to politics.

Who are the players?

• First there's Jeff Denham, a first-term congressman who made no secret that he would be running for this district. In fact, he announced his candidacy earlier this month but didn't even bother calling a press conference because no reporters would have attended. Everyone already knew he was running.

Denham's record in a nutshell: Elected to the state Senate by defeating a well-known Democrat on his own turf, staved off a mean-spirited recall, won a tough Republican primary in 2010 and then easily sailed into the House of Representative, where he's a proud member of a defiant freshman class.

• And then there's Jose Hernandez, who has both the disadvantage and advantage of never having held elected office. His claim to well-deserved fame is from another arena — as an astronaut. Hernandez grew up in the northern San Joaquin Valley, the son of farmworkers. He's a "local boy makes good" story and he's widely known in the Latino population, especially in San Joaquin County.

As our Washington, D.C., reporter Mike Doyle noted this past week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified the 10 District as one of its best hopes to reclaim control of the House. That will mean big financial support for Hernandez, plus lots of consultation support.

But I'm not finished. There are three other men who have taken out preliminary papers to run:

• Mike Barkley of Manteca decided early last year, following the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, to run for Congress and he has a Web site that outlines — at length — some of his ideas. Barkley is, in his own words, a liberal Democrat who wants to "shut down the gun madness," make abortion available on demand, recognize gay marriage in all jurisdictions and adopt a Medicare-type program for all ages. There's more, but I think you get the drift.

Barkley told me knows that he's a longshot, but he's willing to try anyway, loaning himself the money for his campaign and putting in hours in the old-fashioned way, by knocking on doors. He says he has visited 11,000 households since last spring and hopes to reach 50,000 by June. If you want to know more about Barkley, go to his Web site: www.mjbarkl.com.

• Mark Anthony Garcia of Oakdale, co-owner of Garcia Family Bail Bonds and Most Wanted Wine Company. His wife, Angela, said he will be issuing a formal statement within a couple of weeks.

• Troy McComak, a 26-year- old Patterson resident who works as a substitute teacher and is trying to launch a paintball business. His political experience is limited to an unsucessful run for student body vice president at California State University, Stanislaus, and time as an appointed student senator. McComak said he is not affiliated with any political party. He was inspired by the success of Aaron Schock, the youngest member of Congress, who won in 2010 as part of the tea party wave. McComak told me that he is on the tea party mailing list and agrees with some but not all of its positions.

Why, I asked him, would he run for Congress rather than starting smaller, say running for the Legislature or a local seat? His answer: "I like to play the game on extra difficult," a reference that works for paintball and maybe for politics, too. McComak said he'll be putting up a Web site.

Even in an open primary, such as we'll have in June, I'm skeptical whether Barkley, Garcia or McComak can knock off the bigger names. But if they are active at forums, on social media and elsewhere, they will make the race a little more interesting.

• • •

Most people are not good public speakers, even politicians. A truly articulate speaker tends to get my attention, and that was the case at the Modesto Irrigation District board meeting on Jan. 10. The speaker: Jake Wenger, a 28-year-old Modesto farmer who I suspect could find some success running for office some day. He is the son of Paul Wenger, the state Farm Bureau president. Where did Jake learn to speak so well? In Future Farmers of America; he was the state president in 2001, the year he graduated from high school.

A couple of other thoughts about that MID meeting: On an issue as important as whether to continue negotiating with San Francisco over purchasing MID water, I think every director should explain the reason for his vote. I hope Glen Wild will do that next time.

And when MID board chair Tom Van Groningen promises there will be "appropriate time" for the public to review the water sale deal before the board votes again, I'd like to hear a definition of "appropriate." I hope it amounts to weeks and not just a couple of days.

• • •

Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, will again chair the Senate Ag Committee this year and also a new Subcommittee on Invasive Species — those being the beetles, fruit flies and other pests than can wreak havoc on the ag industry. Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, also will be on the invasive species subcommittee.

Sly is editor of The Bee Opinions pages. Contact her at (209) 578-2317 or jsly@modbee.com.