Presidential candidate Julian Castro makes campaign stop in Sonoma County, dishes on upbringing, platform, impeachment

Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro on Thursday made a fundraising stop in Sonoma County, seeking a cash injection for a campaign he says will end in little more than a month should he fail to qualify for the November debate.

The Sonoma County visit, organized by Puma Springs Vineyards CEO Barbara Grasseschi at Windsor’s El Gallo Negro restaurant, is part of a California tour that saw Castro bouncing in a low rider in Oakland on Wednesday and will take him to San Diego later this week.

Castro, whose home base is San Antonio, Texas, drew cheers when he called climate change the biggest threat to the nation’s future and promised to immediately reverse one of President Trump’s signature rollbacks on environmental protection.

“My first executive order will be to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord so that we lead again on sustainability,” Castro said.

The fundraiser lined up with an emailed plea for donations. Pointing to the need to hit 2% in four major polls, Castro, who is averaging 1.3%, told supporters he needs to fund “emergency ads” to boost that polling.

Before Thursday, Castro had raised less than $1,000 from Sonoma County residents, according to the Federal Election Commission. Scott Atlas, the campaign’s finance chairman, didn’t have specifics on the amount raised Thursday, but said the event was “quite the Sonoma County welcome.”

“They are happy. They’re very happy,” Grasseschi said. “We raised a good amount of money.”

With impeachment proceedings targeting Trump rocking Washington, D.C., and the nation, Castro was booked solid with media appearances Thursday morning, causing him to skip a key gathering of local Latino leaders at Sonoma State University. He apologized for his absence later in the day at the fundraiser, where the crowd of roughly 100 skewed Latino but featured just one “Julian 2020” hat.

Alfredo Sanchez, a Santa Rosa resident since 1969, said he was attracted to Castro since hearing Castro’s mother was part of the Chicano movement of the 1960s.

“I’m Chicano, and I’m supporting him to see what I can do to help,” Sanchez said.

He said he found Castro’s story inspiring. The presidential hopeful was raised by a single mother who herself was raised by a single mother and he became the youngest member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet after being the youngest city councilman in San Antonio history.

Grasseschi introduced Castro as attendees gathered around in the outdoor patio space at El Gallo Negro, sipping wine from Healdsburg-based Chavez Family Cellars. Those on hand included Sebastopol Mayor Neysa Hinton, Santa Rosa City Schools trustees Ed Sheffield and Jenni Klose and Windsor Councilwoman Esther Lemus.

“He was selected by our amazing president - not this one - our amazing President Barack Obama (to become) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,” said Grasseschi, who has been a leading force bringing 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to Sonoma County for fundraisers.

So far this year, Grasseschi has hosted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Kamala Harris and now Castro.

The push to defeat President Donald Trump has underscored much of that activity, and some of Castro’s best applause lines touched on Trump, even as he ticked off his priorities in a 20-minute stump speech: investments in mental health care, criminal justice reform, measures to achieve gender equity in pay, immigration reform and moves to combat climate change.

He shared some of his life story, and promised to ensure all people have the opportunities he has enjoyed.

“The only reason I can stand here before y’all with the opportunity that I had in life is because my family and I worked hard, like the families here … but also because America worked hard for me and my family,” Castro said.

He closed his remarks by sharing his vision of his first day in the White House, giving himself a chance to reprise a zinger he rolled out to great fanfare during a June debate on MSNBC. To the departing Trumps, he would say “Adiós,” Castro said.

As for where the first couple would go, Castro imagined a return to New York or Mar a Lago, the president’s upscale Florida resort.

But a woman in the audience interjected with “Jail!” and Castro smiled widely before continuing, over laughter.

“Or somewhere,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or at tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @tylersilvy.