Cannella fends off Bagley for 12th Senate District

State Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, fought off a Democratic challenger in his bid for a second and final term in the California Senate.

Cannella had 62 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Democrat Shawn Bagley, with 100 percent of precincts partially reporting as of 4:43 a.m. Wednesday.

The incumbent will serve a redrawn district that stretches across six counties and includes west Modesto, Ceres, Merced, Patterson, Newman, Los Banos and Salinas. Bagley, a produce broker in Monterey County, ran an underfunded, grass-roots campaign in the sprawling district.

Cannella thanked his opponent for a spirited, civil campaign and especially was grateful for his supporters.

“My supporters have been incredible to help me get to this point,” Cannella said. “It has been a good four years, and we have a close Valley caucus that has done a good job for the Valley. We will continue to do that in the next four years.”

Bagley, who never has held public office, said, “The voters have spoken.” He felt he garnered enough support to justify running in 2018 to try to capture the seat for the Democratic Party. Cannella terms out at the end of 2018.

“My goal was to get my name out there and my policies out there,” Bagley said. “(Cannella) outspent me 10-to-1 and outraised me 33-to-1. I am pleased with the results.”

Cannella helped put Proposition 1 on the ballot, proposing $2.7 billion for surface water storage that’s sorely needed for farmers in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys. The senator wants to push water projects forward in a second term and work on rebuilding public infrastructure to create jobs in the region.

The Republican worked with members of both parties to pass legislation during his first term and expects that will continue on issues such as building a strong economy, ensuring a reliable water supply and providing quality education for children.

Cannella’s re-election campaign spent $658,000 through Oct. 18, compared with $57,000 spent by Bagley. The former mayor of Ceres held 2-to-1 margins in counties in the San Joaquin Valley while splitting the vote with Bagley in Monterey County. His father, Sal Cannella, served in the Legislature before him.

The incumbent and Bagley were in agreement over the need for additional water storage in California but disagreed about groundwater regulation bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this year. Bagley said regulations are needed to halt the depletion of aquifers. Cannella thought the bills were hastily written and gave too much authority to the state water board.

Cannella’s legislation in his first term included a bill that established criminal penalties for anyone sending “revenge porn” over the Internet. He was a joint author of legislation that requires prevailing wages to be paid in public works projects in charter cities and wrote a bill to improve financial transparency for state agencies.

In Senate District 8, state Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Twain Harte, routed Democratic challenger Paulina Miranda of Fresno County. Berryhill had 67 percent to 33 percent for Miranda.

This story was originally published November 4, 2014 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Cannella fends off Bagley for 12th Senate District."