Juan Telles is running for Modesto City Council District 2, representing West Modesto, South Modesto, the Airport neighborhood and downtown. His campaign centers heavily on housing, infrastructure and bringing more investment into neighborhoods that have historically seen less of it.

In this episode, we talk about why developers often overlook communities like District 2, what Modesto can realistically do to encourage more housing and mixed-use development, and how Telles sees public-private partnerships fitting into that work.

We also get into his years in community organizing, his vision for the Tuolumne River area, and why he decided to move from advocating outside City Hall to running for a seat inside it.

A conversation about Modesto, but also about a question familiar across the Central Valley: what does it actually take to bring investment into neighborhoods that have been waiting for it?

Pedro Naveiras is running for Bakersfield City Council Ward 3, an open seat currently represented by longtime Councilmember Ken Weir.

In this episode of Flor Unmuted, Pedro talks about growing up in East Bakersfield, his path from local schools and CSU Bakersfield to a career as a prosecutor, and why he decided to run for City Council.

We get into his priorities for Ward 3 and Bakersfield, including public safety, homelessness, city spending, infrastructure, and economic development on the east side of town. Pedro also discusses how his experience prosecuting gang and violent crime has shaped the way he thinks about prevention, youth programs, mental-health response, and the role local government can play before someone enters the criminal justice system.

We also talk about his vision for downtown and East Bakersfield, his approach to political endorsements and independence, and his promise to hold quarterly town halls if elected.

In this episode:

• Why Pedro Naveiras decided to run for Bakersfield City Council
• His background as a local, state, and federal prosecutor
• Public safety beyond policing
• Youth intervention and partnerships with local schools
• Homelessness, treatment, and city resources
• Infrastructure and long-term city planning
• Economic investment in East Bakersfield
• What Ward 3 residents should expect from their next councilmember

Learn more about Pedro Naveiras and his campaign: https://pedroforbakersfield.com/

Flor Unmuted independently determines its guests, questions, coverage, and editorial positions. An appearance on the podcast does not constitute an endorsement.

In this episode of Flor Unmuted, Flor sits down with Emma De La Rosa, Land Use and Transportation Policy Manager with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, for a Central Valley-focused conversation about California Proposition 45, CEQA, and what faster development could mean for rural and unincorporated communities.

Emma is a first-generation college graduate of UC Merced and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In her work with Leadership Counsel, she partners with residents from environmental justice communities to advocate for clean and affordable drinking water, equitable housing, sustainable transportation, just land-use policies, and policies that improve community health and quality of life.

The conversation begins with Emma’s own story and the communities she works alongside across the Central Valley, including places that have experienced decades of disinvestment and environmental burdens. From there, Flor and Emma break down what the California Environmental Quality Act currently does, how Proposition 45 would change environmental review for certain projects, and why those changes matter beyond Sacramento. Pasted text

They discuss the tension between economic development and public health, how residents participate in decisions about projects proposed near their homes, whether promised permitting savings would reach consumers, agricultural land and development pressure, and the growing debate around data centers. Emma also explains why Leadership Counsel opposes Proposition 45 and what she believes Central Valley voters should consider before casting their ballots. Pasted text Pasted text Pasted text

This episode presents Emma and Leadership Counsel’s perspective on Proposition 45. Official voter information and arguments from supporters and opponents can be found through California’s voter guide here: https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/45/index.htm

Susie Nava knows College of the Sequoias from the student side of the equation.

As a single mother attending COS, she remembers juggling work, transportation and childcare while trying to earn her degree. Now she’s running for the College of the Sequoias Board of Trustees in Ward 5, which includes Hanford.

In this episode of Flor Unmuted, Nava joins me to talk about what access to higher education actually looks like from some of the Central Valley’s smaller communities — and where she believes COS can do more.

We talk about transportation between campuses, childcare, internet access, expanding programs in Hanford and creating stronger pathways between community college and jobs needed here in the Valley. Nava also discusses her interest in behavioral-health workforce programs and how her professional background in quality assurance shapes the way she thinks about measuring whether programs are actually working.

We also get into some of the harder questions that come with governing: her support from organized labor, the responsibility trustees have to the district as a whole, what she would do during a budget shortfall, and the increasingly political fights surrounding diversity, inclusion and higher education.

Nava talks openly about trying to navigate those questions as a candidate in a rural and politically conservative part of the Central Valley — while making the case that students should feel welcomed at COS regardless of who they are or where they come from.

In this episode: • Rural access to higher education • Transportation and childcare barriers • Expanding programs at COS Hanford • Behavioral-health and workforce pathways • Labor, adjunct faculty and trustee responsibilities • Budgets, data and measuring student outcomes • Diversity, inclusion and the politics surrounding higher education • What Nava hopes to accomplish in Ward 5

Follow Susie Nava’s campaign on Facebook and Instagram at Nava for COS.

Subscribe to Flor Unmuted for more conversations about the people, politics and decisions shaping California’s Central Valley.

We are a voice, together.

Susie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/navaforcos?igsi=anRnNzV3YTdsYTNs

Dave Wescott is running for Kern High School District Trustee Area 1.

A Bakersfield native, Marine veteran, newly licensed attorney and parent with children approaching high school, Wescott says his path into politics began by showing up at public meetings and speaking during public comment. Now, he’s asking voters to put him on the other side of the dais.

In this episode, we talk about what a school board trustee can actually control, KHSD spending and staffing priorities, academic outcomes, career and apprenticeship pathways, religion and politics in public schools, and how Wescott believes trustees should respond to the people who show up at public comment.

Wescott also talks about his own unconventional path after high school — from barely graduating, to serving in the Marine Corps, working in several industries, earning college degrees and eventually becoming an attorney.

One of the central questions in the conversation: What should high school actually prepare students for?

Wescott argues that students should have greater exposure to union apprenticeships and skilled-trade careers alongside the more familiar college and military recruitment options. He also explains why he believes his experience as a parent, veteran, attorney and former public commenter would shape how he approaches the board.

In this conversation:

• Why Wescott decided to run for KHSD Trustee Area 1
• His criticism of some of the board’s recent political priorities
• What he believes should happen when district budgets get tight
• Teacher staffing and administrative spending
• How he would measure success after four years
• Apprenticeships, unions and career pathways after graduation
• His own experience as a struggling high school student
• Religion, constitutional limits and litigation risk in public schools
• How he would work with trustees who disagree with him
• What an elected official owes the person standing at public comment
• Why he believes Area 1 needs new representation
• And, to end on a lighter note, what 18-year-old Dave would think of the person he became

Guest: Dave Wescott Race: Kern High School District Trustee, Area 1

Flor Unmuted is an independent political media platform covering California politics through the Central Valley — local government, education, campaigns, voter behavior and the politics of everyday life.

Most voters will never attend a Kern County Board of Education meeting. Many probably couldn’t tell you what the board actually does.

But the decisions made there can reach students across Kern County — particularly students navigating expulsion appeals, interdistrict transfers, county-run programs, special education, homelessness, transportation barriers, and other challenges that can push families deeper into the education system.

In this episode of Flor Unmuted, I sit down with Anastasia Hopper, candidate for Kern County Board of Education Trustee Area 3.

We talk about what the county board actually oversees, who trustees are ultimately responsible to, the growing influence of national culture-war politics on local education boards, special education, literacy, attendance, transportation, and the financial decisions facing county education programs.

Anastasia also talks about her experience as a special education parent, why she decided to run, what she would prioritize during her first year in office, and why she believes Area 3 is ready for new representation after more than three decades under the same trustee.

And I ask her one of the questions at the center of this race: When a trustee’s personal beliefs, the loudest parents in the room, and the best available evidence point in different directions, which one should guide the decision?

Listen to the full conversation.

Learn more about Anastasia Hopper

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590334954413&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anastasiaforkcboe3

Donate or Volunteer: https://tinyurl.com/ty5vnmsu

Some of the most consequential offices on your ballot are also the ones you hear the least about.

Jevon Price serves as the Area 3 Director and Treasurer for the Tulare Local Healthcare District. He was elected four years ago and, with no challenger filing against him this year, is set to serve a second term.

In this episode of Flor Unmuted, we look at what a local healthcare district actually does — and why Tulare offers a particularly important case study.

Tulare Regional Medical Center closed in 2017 following years of financial and governance problems and the district's bankruptcy. The hospital eventually reopened under Adventist Health, but the public healthcare district still owns the facility and other assets. Today, the district is navigating the unfinished hospital tower, its relationship with Adventist Health, healthcare workforce shortages, and California's approaching 2030 seismic requirements.

Jevon and I discuss:

• What healthcare district directors actually control
• The governance failures surrounding Tulare's hospital closure
• Financial safeguards implemented since the district's bankruptcy
• The relationship between the public healthcare district and Adventist Health
• What could happen if Adventist eventually leaves Tulare
• The unfinished hospital tower and plans to complete it in phases
• California's 2030 hospital seismic requirements
• Emergency transportation and healthcare access in rural communities
• Nursing, physician and healthcare workforce shortages in the Central Valley
• Financial pressure facing hospitals serving large Medi-Cal populations
• Why healthcare, transportation, housing, food access and quality of life are difficult to separate in the Valley
• Why obscure down-ballot offices deserve more attention from voters

Jevon and I are friends and have worked alongside each other in Central Valley politics. That relationship is disclosed in the episode and does not change Flor Unmuted's editorial independence or the questions asked.

This conversation is less about one election than the layer of local government most of us don't think about until we need it — and what Tulare's history can teach other Central Valley communities about who is responsible for keeping healthcare close to home.

Candidate Conversations continues with Stacy Boyce, candidate for the Visalia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 1.

In this conversation, Stacy discusses what motivated her to run for office, her background in special education and trauma-informed practices, the Redwood High School incident, school safety, diversity, accountability, rebuilding trust with families, and what she believes effective school board leadership should look like.

We also discuss:

• Why she decided to run for office
• Trauma-informed education and childhood adversity
• Student safety and school climate
• Working with colleagues who disagree
• Parent engagement and transparency
• Her priorities if elected

Two updates occurred after this interview was recorded.

First, at the end of our conversation I asked Stacy where listeners could donate to her campaign. The following morning she let me know she had decided not to accept campaign donations at this time. Instead, she hopes to build a volunteer-powered campaign and says the greatest way supporters can help is by volunteering, introducing her to community members, hosting meet-and-greets, distributing campaign materials, or offering endorsements.

Second, after announcing this interview, a member of the Visalia community reached out with a question regarding the district's proposed bond, staffing reductions, and public trust in district finances. I shared that question with Stacy after the interview and invited her to respond.

In part, Stacy wrote:

"I understand why some community members feel this way. Before asking taxpayers to invest additional dollars, the district has to demonstrate that it is being a careful steward of the resources it already has."

She went on to say that questions about previous bond measures, staffing reductions, and administrative spending deserve clear, factual answers, that fiscal oversight and transparency are among a school board's most important responsibilities, and that the district should do more to help parents understand school finance while making participation more accessible—including providing interpretation for Spanish-speaking families at School Site Council meetings.

You can read Stacy Boyce's complete written response here: [INSERT LINK]

As always, Flor Unmuted welcomes thoughtful questions from the community. When relevant issues arise after an interview has been recorded, I'll do my best to bring those questions directly to candidates so listeners can hear their responses in context.