San Benito County District 5 Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez is on the verge of being recalled, with “yes” votes narrowly leading the tally in response to the ballot question in the June 2 election.
In other local races on the statewide primary ballot, other incumbents built solid leads in the early vote count. Supervisors Mindy Sotelo and Angela Curro handily beat their challengers, leaving the incumbents without opposition for the November general election.
The San Benito County Registrar of Voters Office reported a local turnout of only about
According to election results posted by the San Benito County Registrar of Voters Office about 18% in the June 2 election. Of the county’s 39,909 registered voters, 7,314 cast ballots, according to results posted about 2am June 3.
A substantial majority—6,263 voters—cast their ballots by mail; with 1,051 voters in person on election day.
The next results update is expected at 7pm June 4, elections officials said. That update was after this newspaper’s deadline.
Recall closes in
According to election results posted by the registrar’s office early Wednesday morning, 549 voters in District 5 chose “yes” in response to the ballot question “Shall Ignacio Velazquez be recalled (removed) from the office of County Supervisor?” Votes against the recall total 521—a gap of 28 votes with more ballots to count.
Proponents of the recall have said they wanted to remove Velazquez because of his support in 2025 of an updated county contract for fire services with the City of Hollister. Velazquez joined the board in January 2025, after winning the seat in the November 2024 election. His four-year term is set to expire at the end of 2028.
If a majority vote “yes” to recall Velazquez, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be tasked with appointing a replacement to serve the remainder of his term.
In the race for District 3 supervisor, Sotelo leads former Supervisor Peter Hernandez in the vote count with 823 ballots, or about 70% of the count so far. Hernandez has received 345 votes.
And District 4 Supervisor Curro has a solid lead over Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens, with 1,332 votes. Stephens has received 649 votes.
Gonzalez trails
San Benito County Auditor-Controller Joe Paul Gonzalez is trailing in his reelection bid, with challenger Laura Garcilazo leading the count with 3,778 votes, or about 56 percent. Gonzalez has received 2,910 votes or about 44% of the ballots counted.
Garcilazo is a certified public accountant whose candidate statement promises to “put safeguards in place” that would prevent the kinds of fraud or embezzlement that resulted in a $350,000 loss from the county library in recent years.
Cannabis tax measure wins
San Benito County Measure D, which establishes an ordinance to tax commercial cannabis cultivation by acreage, is on its way to passage, according to the latest June 2 election results. Nearly 68%, or 2,009 voters have voted “yes” to the measure.
The ordinance that will be adopted if Measure D remains successful will allow the county to tax cannabis cultivation in unincorporated areas at a rate of $1,000-$10,000 per acre. All revenues will go to the county’s general fund, which pays for local public safety, road improvements and other services.
The per-acre rate of taxation will replace the current system, which taxes cannabis cultivation on a per-square-foot basis. A fiscal impact statement on Measure D, compiled by County Auditor-Controller Joe Paul Gonzalez in March, says the new ordinance could generate between $2 million-$20 million in general fund revenues by Jan. 1, 2028.
More results
In the election for County Superintendent of Schools, Jennifer S. Logue leads the vote count with 3,801, or about 58% in her favor. Gwen Baquirian has received 2,758 votes. There is no incumbent in the race.
County Clerk-Recorder Francisco Diaz, whose position also serves as Registrar of Voters, handily defeated challenger Dane Sanchez with 81% of the votes so far, according to elections officials. Diaz has received 5,162 votes, to Sanchez’s 1,203 votes.
District 29 Assemblymember Robert Rivas leads his reelection bid with about 63% of the votes counted, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. As of early Wednesday morning, Rivas has received 26,871 votes throughout the district, leading the three-candidate field by a wide margin.
In the Nov. 3 general election, Rivas will face either J.W. Paine, who has received about 17% of votes counted in the June 2 primary; or Dennis P. Sanchez, who has received about 20% of the primary election ballots.
Incumbent U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren for District 18 enjoys a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Shane Lewis with 32,122 votes (52%) over Lewis’s 20,567 (33.3%), according to results posted on the secretary of state’s site.
Democratic challenger Luis Arreguin is in third place with 7,376 votes, or 11.9%, while independent candidate and Gilroy resident Chris Demers trails with 1,660 votes, or 2.7 percent. The top two vote-getters will face off in the November general election.
In San Benito County, Lewis fared much better than he did districtwide, garnering about 43% of the local vote so far. Lofgren has received about 46% of the local vote.
At the top of the June 2 ballot were numerous statewide offices, most notably governor. Republican Steve Hilton leads the vote count with 27.8%, followed by Democrats Xavier Becerra with 25.4% and Tom Steyer with 19.6 percent.
Calvin Nuttall contributed reporting to this story.
