With less than a year left in his term, Assemblyman Stan Ellis used an hourlong interview with the Kern Valley Sun to take stock of the issues facing his sprawling district, from river flows and a shuttered fish hatchery to oil regulation and rural hospitals, and to say where he believes the state has fallen short of its rural communities.
Ellis, a Bakersfield Republican who took office in March 2025, represents Assembly District 32, which stretches from the Kern River Valley across the oil fields of western Kern to the desert communities of Ridgecrest and Indian Wells Valley. His term ends in December 2026, and he will be succeeded by David Couch, who is running unopposed.
Of everything raised, the subject that moved him most was the Public Safety Power Shutoffs that battered the valley last summer. By the end of the hour, Ellis said he would call Southern California Edison to find out how the utility plans to prepare for the coming heat…