Tony Barrera

Candidate for City Council Member, Salinas, District 2 · City of Salinas, Councilmember

Tony Barrera grew up in a migrant farmworking family that moved from Sinaloa, Mexico to border towns and eventually to California's Imperial Valley; both his parents were migrant farm workers. He has lived in Salinas for about five decades. As a teenager he was active in sports and volunteered with the Boys Club (now the Boys and Girls Club), an experience he credits with sparking his interest in community work. He was first elected to the Salinas City Council in November 2006 and has served continuously since. In July 2026 he was appointed to chair the Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) Board of Directors. His council work has focused on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, ADA accessibility, and close scrutiny of the city budget, including retirement costs.

Barrera has made street safety for people walking and biking, along with ADA compliance, a recurring focus of his work. He frames local business support as central to the city's fiscal health, arguing that businesses provide the tax revenue and jobs Salinas depends on. On the budget, he has pushed colleagues to scrutinize spending line by line rather than approve it by default, particularly around the city's rising retirement obligations.

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