For Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the campaign trail is a long way from home, but not geographically. He was raised in the small Fresno County town of San Joaquin, but his life now is miles from his birthplace.

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Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on the Issues

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"Tiny little home where three boys were in one bedroom, three girls in the other, Mom and Dad in the third bedroom and grandpa in the living room. And every morning, it was a mad dash to the bathroom," Bustamante said.

Bustamante's father worked three jobs -- including as a barber -- to support the family. And that's where Bustamante says he learned the value of hard work -- as he harvested crops to help pay the family bills.

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Cruz Bustamante

"I picked, packed and shipped just about every commodity there was out there, in the rural, out in the fields around the Central Valley," Bustamante said.

But Bustamante said his parents encouraged his education, making sure he did his homework and inspiring confidence that someday he would leave the fields behind.

"My mother wanted me to be a priest. My father wanted me to be an attorney. So I guess I kind of split the difference. I became a politician," Bustamante said.

In a sense, Bustamante views his job as a calling. It was sparked during a summer internship in the nation's capital. It was the first time he had left home.

"It really affected me. I was 19 years old, and all the activities that people talk about, all the patriotism, the flag, and what it all meant, all of a sudden just kind of came to a point that really inspired me. So when I came back, I felt different. I felt more focused than I'd ever felt before," Bustamante said.

Fresno City College was Bustamante's path to a bigger city and more opportunity. To get in, he applied to a specialty department, using his high school experience in a butcher shop.

"We didn't realize until we got there that we had to take a year's worth of butcher classes, and we had to pass them. Otherwise, you'd have had to go back. So if you want to know the parts of a cow, I'm your guy," Bustamante said.

Bustamante dropped out of Fresno City College but promised his mother he would finish school someday. Just this past May, he made good on that promise, completing a special Fresno State University program that combined political science and ethnic studies.

From the fields to the classroom, Bustamante credits one underlying strength for his success.

"I learned a long time ago I wasn't the smartest kid in class. But because of the work ethic my father had shown us, I realized that, through hard work, I could overcome a lot of obstacles. And my focus for me was just each and every day, try to progress a little bit, incrementally," Bustamante said.

And that's how his career has developed. First he was elected to the Assembly in 1993. Three years later, he became the first Latino speaker of the Assembly. It made him a role model to Latinos across the state.

"I understand the symbolism of it, and I feel good about it. I love my culture. I love everything about it. I love the music. I love the language. I love the food,. Look at me. I really love the food," Bustamante said.

Bustamante said his other passion is his family. His three girls range in age from 10 to 32 years old.

"I tell them the reason we had you so spaced out is so we'd always have a baby-sitter. They hate that," Bustamante said.

And Bustamante said many of his decisions now stem from his life at home -- the home where he now lives in Elk Grove and the home where he was raised.

"Concern about our kids, whether in their safety or in their school. I bring those things because, not of some poll, I bring them because they are me. I can't separate myself from that kind of politic," Bustamante said.