The campaign to recall San Benito County Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez has picked up significant financial support from former public officials and people representing land development related industries in recent months, according to the latest financial disclosure filings.
Most of those who have contributed $1,000 or more to the voter-initiated recall campaign appear to live outside Velazquez’s supervisorial district.
Meanwhile, an organized campaign to vote “no” on the recall is funded entirely by Velazquez, who has loaned just more than $8,000 of his own money to his effort to stay in office.
Velazquez, a Hollister business owner and former mayor of the city, represents District 5 on the board of supervisors. He was elected in 2024 and started his four-year term in January 2025.
Last summer, a group of San Benito County residents began circulating a petition to recall Velazquez from office. The group—which consists of a number of former local elected officials and candidates for office and bills itself the “Public Safety First” committee—collected more than 2,200 signatures from District 5 voters, surpassing the requirements to force a recall election.
Committee members have said they began the recall effort because they disapprove of Velazquez’s support and negotiation of a contract for fire services with the City of Hollister, that was approved by the supervisors in 2025.
The county elections office has scheduled the Velazquez recall to appear on the June 2 primary election ballot. If a majority of district voters vote “yes,” Gov. Gavin Newsom will be asked to appoint someone to replace Velazquez for the remainder of his term.
Major contributors to the committee to recall Velazquez include the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council Power PAC, which gave $5,000 in October; real estate agent and Hollister property owner Felicia Costa, who gave $6,000; Marina retiree Kristen Bogue, who gave a $5,000 contribution; Shawn Herrera, educational philanthropist and board member of the BenitoLink news website, who has contributed $1,000; and Justine Pereira, vice president of the construction company Devcon, who has given $2,000.
Former county supervisor and developer Richard Scagliotti, who was found liable for using his position for financial gain and failing to disclose financial interests while in office, has contributed $1,000 to the Velazquez recall campaign.
Royal Oaks Market, which is located in Watsonville, contributed $2,000 to the effort to recall Velazquez.
Additional contributors include Public Safety First committee members Heidi Connor and Celeste Toleda-Bocanegra. Former Mayor of Hollister Mia Casey has contributed as an individual and through her education and advocacy organization known as Voices of San Benito, which has contributed $2,400 to the recall campaign. Casey’s husband, Jon Casey—who is the chief financial officer for the Heritage on the Marina residential community in San Francisco, has contributed $1,000.
The recall committee has collected a total of $38,842 in contributions as of February.
Mia Casey, who lost a reelection bid for her former Hollister Mayoral seat in 2024, said her goal is to inform and educate the public at a time when local competing political interests are often accused of spreading misinformation and division. She added she has helped as an “advisor” to the Public Safety First committee, and she was among those concerned with the county’s approach to fire service negotiations with Hollister that started more than a year ago.
“They’re not going to stop me from trying to help people,” she said. “Somebody has to be a voice.”
Heidi Connor, who is listed as the treasurer of the committee, noted that the listed larger contributions do not reflect the “grassroots” nature of the effort to recall Velazquez. The petition to recall Velazquez, Connor said, was “initiated by voters and petition signatures, not by campaign donors.”
“Support for the campaign comes from across the community, including many small donors, local residents, union supporters, local businesses and members of the recall committee themselves,” Connor added. “Like most local campaigns, people from many different sectors of the community have participated.”
Velazquez, who ran on a campaign of slow growth, has repeatedly accused the recall committee of being driven by development interests that want to build more homes on vacant land in San Benito County.
“This is nothing more than developers who are angry that they can’t do whatever they want any longer,” he said.
The financial disclosures are required under California elections laws, and are on file on the San Benito County Registrar of Voters’ website. The next deadline is April 23 for candidates and committees campaigning for the June 2 primary to file the latest contributions and expenditures.
