Brand Spotlight: R&G Electric, 42 Years in the Trade and Now a Father-Son Business

The first version of this article said the public record could tell us when a license existed and where Richard Rubalcava worked, but it could not tell us why he chose the electrical trade, what those years were actually like, what R&G means, or which jobs still make the work satisfying.

Then Richard replied and filled in exactly those missing pieces.

R&G Electric is not just a local electrical service business with a long-running license. It is the second half of a 42-year career story that now includes Richard working alongside his son.

The Spark Came From a Childhood Friend

Richard traces his interest in electrical work back to childhood. A close friend was always bragging about his older brother being an electrician, and the idea stuck with him.

Richard went on to graduate from Los Angeles Trade-Technical College in 1984. Looking back, he does not treat that as a minor credential. He describes the school as something that changed his life forever.

“I’m so proud to have gone to that school. It changed my life forever.”

By Richard’s count, he has now been in the electrical trade for 42 years.

Two Careers Running at the Same Time

Richard began working for the State of California in 1992. His work in the prison system was demanding, with late-night emergency calls and weekend work that did not care whether he already had plans.

When Richard’s second child was born, his wife left her State job. Richard got his contractor license and began doing something he now looks back on with a little disbelief: he kept the State career going while fitting R&G jobs into the spaces around it.

For years, that meant institutional electrical work, emergency calls, family responsibilities, and private electrical jobs all running in parallel. The California contractor record for R&G includes C-10 electrical license #772694, issued in 1999.

Richard retired from State service in 2020. R&G is now the full-time work.

What the R and the G Mean

The company name is also a family story.

R is Richard. G is Giovanni.

Giovanni is Richard’s only son, and he is currently working with his father at R&G. What began as work Richard squeezed in around a State career is now a father-and-son electrical business.

The Calls Richard Actually Likes

After four decades in the trade, Richard is especially drawn to the jobs that are not obvious.

His favorite calls are difficult troubleshooting problems where, as he puts it, you have to “really put your thinking cap on” and figure out what is happening. Solving that kind of problem is what he finds gratifying.

Installations and electrical panel upgrades are the other areas he identifies as specialties. The R&G Electric Brand profile now reflects those specialties along with residential and commercial electrical service, repairs, and troubleshooting.

R&G as a Minty Tees Client

Richard has also been a Minty Tees client since July 2025. One of the projects we produced for R&G was a set of custom branded hats using the company identity.

Those hats have their own R&G Electric Past Work project page, and the Brand profile connects the business, the project photos, and this story together.

A Living Brand Record

The earlier version of this article ended by saying that the public record could give us job titles and dates, but that we wanted the story directly from Richard.

He sent it.

That makes this version better, and it is exactly how the Minty Brand Ecosystem is supposed to work: start with what can be responsibly documented, invite the people behind the business to correct or deepen it, and let the page become more accurate and more human over time.

Explore R&G Electric in the Minty Brand Ecosystem or see the custom R&G hats in the Past Work Gallery.

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