Will GOP Latino assemblyman from Modesto give up law enforcement job? Here’s what he plans
Juan Alanis is preparing for his first term in the California Assembly and putting final touches on plans to retire from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, a top staff member said.
Joshua Whitfield, his chief of staff, said Monday that Alanis will no longer work in uniform after the Legislature begins its new session Jan. 3.
Whitfield shared the retirement details in answer to an unsubstantiated rumor that Alanis might keep working as a sheriff’s sergeant in the courts while serving his first two-year term in the Assembly.
Alanis’ official retirement date will be in June. He won’t actively work as a sheriff’s employee after Jan. 3 but has comp time and vacation built up from his 28-year career in law enforcement, Whitfield explained after the assemblyman’s office was contacted by The Modesto Bee.
A first-time elected official, Alanis is assuming a public office that has paid Assembly members a base salary of $119,702 a year, plus a $214 per diem. He is going through the state government orientation process and is hiring staff for his Sacramento office and district office at Tenth Street Place in Modesto.
The freshman lawmaker was elected to represent the 22nd Assembly District, which includes two-thirds of Stanislaus County and part of Merced County.
The Republican is part of a shrinking GOP minority in the Legislature; the party now holds only 18 of the 80 Assembly seats. As part of a growing Latino membership in the Legislature, Alanis was one of three Republican Latinos elected to the Assembly in November.
Alanis learned this month he is not welcome in the California Latino Legislative Caucus, a Democratic group that has excluded Republicans throughout its 50-year history.
“Unfortunately, Latino voices have been excluded from the conversation and left out of the Latino Caucus because of party registration,” Alanis said in an email sent to The Sacramento Bee. “However, as a Latino member, I remain committed to working with any member from the Latino Caucus that want to have open dialog in the hopes we can deliver favorable legislation, not just for Latinos in California but for all Californians.”
Alanis emerged as a county sheriff’s candidate four years ago in Stanislaus County and built a base of support when he captured 48% of the vote in a loss to Sheriff Jeff Dirkse, who was supported by the previous sheriff.
Alanis was poised for a rematch with Dirkse this year, but he discerningly changed course after redistricting created a new political map in Stanislaus County. He was the top vote-getter in the June primary for the new 22nd Assembly District and defeated progressive Democrat Jessica Self in the November midterm election.
“He is relevant because he won the district by 16 percentage points and that gives him a mandate to lead the 22nd District,” Whitfield stressed.
Alanis introduced his first two bills after a swearing-in ceremony Dec. 5 in Sacramento. One bill proposes to lower the state income tax for middle- to low-income taxpayers.
He also introduced a bill to guarantee investments in water infrastructure and “sufficient healthy forest and wildfire prevention to protect California,” according to a news release, which said the bill would combat wildfire risk and spur workforce development in rural areas.
“Californians pay the highest income taxes in the nation, leaving far too many families struggling,” Alanis said in the news release. “I will fight for real policy solutions to ensure that every Californian can afford to live in the Golden State.”
Alanis has a district office in downtown Modesto, at 1010 10th St., suite 5800. Phone: 209-521-2111. His Sacramento office is at 1021 O St., suite 4640. Phone: 916-319-2022.
