Chad Bianco Wants to Put the California Dream Back in Farmers’ Hands

From Riverside Sheriff to Statewide Candidate

In a recent episode of The Toast Podcast, Riverside County Sheriff and 2026 California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco laid out his vision for California — one that puts farmers, rural communities, and working families back at the center of state priorities.

Bianco, who runs the second-largest sheriff’s office in California and the fourth-largest in the nation, manages a $1.3 billion budget and says he’s proud to have kept operations in the black every single year. But his campaign platform reaches far beyond law enforcement. For Bianco, public safety, agriculture, and small business health are all connected — and all critical to reviving what he calls the “California dream.”

Regulation Rollback and Water Access on Day One

Bianco’s message to the ag community is clear: California’s farms are being suffocated by regulations, and change needs to happen fast. He’s promising to use the power of the governor’s office to immediately sign executive orders removing appointed boards, commissions, and red tape that delay water projects and slow down farm operations.

His stance on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is blunt. Calling it a “political squeeze” on agriculture, Bianco says capping groundwater pumping while limiting surface water deliveries is putting multi-generation farms out of business. Instead of shrinking California agriculture, he wants to invest in large-scale desalination plants, upgrade water storage infrastructure, and replenish groundwater reserves.

“If you want to control a population, you control their water and food,” Bianco said. “California should be leading the nation in agricultural output — not forcing farmers to cut back because of bad policy.”

Linking Public Safety to Economic Survival

Bianco’s career has been built on protecting communities, and he says that commitment applies equally to protecting the livelihoods of those in California’s heartland.

“You can lower taxes, you can cut regulations, but none of that matters if we’re not safe,” he said. For Bianco, safety is more than policing — it includes ensuring businesses can operate without theft and vandalism, rural infrastructure is maintained, and families can live without fear in their own communities.

He also wants to overhaul policies that he says drive businesses out of the state, from excessive payroll and business taxes to costly compliance requirements. By removing those burdens, Bianco believes California can become a place where farmers and entrepreneurs alike can expand, hire, and reinvest locally.

A Campaign for Californians — Not Just a Party Base

Bianco is positioning himself as a candidate who can speak to voters across the political spectrum. “I’m not running for Republicans or Democrats — I’m running for Californians,” he stated. “This is about common priorities: safety, infrastructure, affordability, and protecting the industries that keep this state alive.”

While his roots are in law enforcement, his comfort with the ag community comes from growing up in rural, farming-and-ranching environments. That background, he says, drives his understanding of the unique challenges farmers face — and his resolve to make sure those policies are shaped by people who actually work the land, not lawmakers from city offices who’ve never stepped foot on a farm.

For California’s farmers, Bianco’s pitch is simple: less regulation, more water, stronger safety, and a state government that serves its people rather than special interests. Whether voters agree with his politics or not, his appearance on The Toast made one thing clear — if elected, Chad Bianco plans to make agriculture a front-line priority in Sacramento.

To watch the full episode on The Toast Podcast, visit the link here!