Brawley hosts town hall for IID, California District 36 candidates

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA) - Residents in Brawley has the chance to hear directly from local candidates during a town hall on April 9, 2026.

Candidates running for seat on the Imperial Irrigation District board and democrats running for California State Assembly District 36, which includes Imperial County, squared off as they fielded questions about energy rates, the proposed data center, water usage, and taxes.

"One of the things that we have failed to do is to keep up with inflation. Inflation has grown in the last since 2015 by 33 percent," said IID Division 1 board member Alex Cardenas.

Former El Centro Mayor Tomas Oliva is running as a democrat to unseat republican incumbent Jeff Gonzalez for Assembly. Speaking to KYMA outside of the event he explained why he decided to run for office.

"We are not getting what we need in this district from the incumbent. That person is not delivering whatsoever. And we need to wake up and understand that," he said.

Oliva said his main issues of focus are education, healthcare, and transportation. He has also been outspoken against the planned massive data center, which, if pushed through, will be the biggest data center in California.