Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) says she’s seriously considering a run for the California Senate. With Sen. Jeff Denham termed out and Supervisor Simón Salinas, a former assemblyman, recently bowing out, Caballero figures the timing is right.

“The time to make a decision is now,” Caballero says, adding that by now, she means sometime this summer. But she’s not ready to rule out another term in the Assembly.

In addition to stating her intention to run for a third term representing the 28th Assembly District, which includes the Salinas Valley, Caballero has formed an exploratory committee eyeing Denham’s District 12 Senate seat in 2010. While the Assembly district has long been locked in for Democrats, the Party is eager to replace conservative Denham with a progressive lawmaker. Dems launched an unsuccessful recall campaign against Denham after he refused to cast the final needed vote to approve the state budget in 2007. However, the 2008 recall election was a flop, and Denham easily retained his post.

“THE SEAT SHOULD BE HELD BY A DEMOCRAT WHO UNDERSTANDS RURAL CALIFORNIA.”

“My personal opinion is that [the seat] should be held by a Democrat and someone who understands rural California,” Caballero says. “I’ve spent the last 17 years representing a rural community.”

But winning the Central Valley district won’t be easy for Caballero, whose Salinas Valley turf is only a sliver of the Senate district, which includes Merced, Stanislaus, Madera and San Benito counties.

So far only one other candidate, Republican Anthony Cannella, has filed an intention to run for Denham’s Senate seat. Cannella, son of former Democratic Assemblyman Sal Cannella, is mayor of Ceres in the San Joaquin Valley. He says he may throw his hat in the ring because of the state’s threat to raid local government coffers – one of the reasons Caballero left her Salinas mayoral gig to run for the statewide office. “We cannot have the state of California come in and ‘borrow’ our money,” he says.

Caballero’s move toward the Senate has triggered a cache of candidates to replace her in the Assembly.

San Benito County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, Watsonville City Councilman Luis Alejo and Gilroy school board member Francisco Dominguez have all filed intentions to run, and Hollister Mayor Eugenia Sanchez and Rick Rivas, Caballero’s former campaign manager, say they are also interested.

So far no one from Monterey County has formally entered the race, though rumored names include Salinas Union High School District Board Member Margaret Serna-Bonetti and Salinas City Councilman Sergio Sanchez. Serna-Bonetti says people have approached her about the Assembly seat, but says she is focusing on the November school board election. “I’m concentrating on getting reelected,” she says, declining to comment about her future political plans.

Sanchez says he will consider representing the 28th District if no one from Monterey County steps up to raise enough money, run a strong field campaign and hit the ground running in Sacramento. “I don’t think someone from Hollister, Gilroy or Watsonville can win Salinas,” Sanchez says.