It was music to the ears of farmers.

Congressman Jeff Denham told a group of Manteca farmers and other community members gathered at the MRPS Hall Thursday afternoon that he’s pushing for restoring full water allocations for farmers via the federal Central Valley Project.

“You got to have water,” Denham told those in the agriculture community.

While those in attendance receive their water from the South San Joaquin Irrigation District and the Stanislaus River watershed, they are never-the-less impacted by federal government decisions involving water in the Central Valley. The Bureau of Reclamation, for example, is essentially disputing SSJID’s historic rights to water conservation carryover due to the current rain and snow situation.

 Denham, R-Turlock, spent Thursday crisscrossing eight different cities including Manteca.

Since 2010, he’s been the congressman for District 19, consisting of northern Stanislaus County and Fresno County along with parts of eastern foothill region. Denham recently announced his candidacy for the newly formed 10th District that encompasses Stanislaus County and South San Joaquin County, including Escalon, Tracy, Ripon and Manteca.

“Many people shared the same concerns,” he said. “Like you, they’re frustrated.”

Denham addressed a small group at MRPS Hall. Included were area farmers, dairy folks, Manteca elected officials (council members Debby Moorhead and Steve DeBrum), and former Tracy councilman Bob Elliott, who is in the running for the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisor post.

“We were able to get him here on just a 24 hour notice,” said Mike Anderson, who’s the former fleet manager of the Manteca Auto Plaza currently on Denham’s staff as his military liaison.

Denham is a farmer, entrepreneur and former state senator. “I grew up on a farm,” he said.

A veteran of Desert Storm – he enlisted in the Air Force at age 17 – he attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, where he met his wife and also played football. Denham is an almond farmer and operates Denham Plastics, where he designed containers for produce shipping.

Many including Darryl Quaresma, who is also on the Manteca Chamber of Commerce board, are concerned about the future of their family farms yielding to corporate farms. “We’re worried about our children and grandchildren,” he said.

They’re looking at Denham to “get the ball rolling” on changes in Washington, D.C.

He’s expected to face a stiff challenge from former astronaut Jose Hernandez along with Manteca computer programmer Mike Barkley. Both are Democrats.

“It’s going to be an expensive election,” Denham said. “(But) I’m confident of what I believe.”

In his short time in congress, he’s proud of being part of an accomplished freshmen group.

“I try to look at a lot of bipartisan solutions – I want to get things done,” he said.

Paul Coit Jr. was appreciative of Denham’s Manteca visit.

“We admire that you’re out there fighting for us,” he said. “We need more people like you (as our representative).”