If you wonder why there is so much misinformation and mudslinging about local politics these days, the answer is simple: Development interests aren’t getting their way anymore after decades of influence over local land use decisions, and they are trying to tarnish leaders standing in their way.
Ever since the San Benito County Board of Supervisors shifted after the 2024 election, developers and their backers have been seeking ways to tarnish certain officials.
Spreading blatant misinformation about policy decisions and trying to intimidate elected leaders who support slower housing growth, these naysayers have a glaring common interest: They are all supporters of major housing growth in rural areas of San Benito County.
This is no coincidence, of course, looking at the main players involved: Former pro-housing Mayor of Hollister Mia Casey who lost her election in 2024; Mia’s pro-housing campaign advisers Heidi and James Connor who openly support rural housing growth; former pro-housing Hollister Councilman Rick Perez who lost in 2024 and supported expanding Hollister by 3,000 acres over prime farmland; failed pro-housing supervisorial candidate Elia Salinas (lost the last two elections) who openly supports sprawl; failed pro-housing supervisorial candidate Stacie McGrady who lost in 2024 and also openly supports sprawl; and the pro-growth anonymous cartoon characters behind the creepy cartoon page on Facebook.
There are other development advocates involved, but you get the point.
They are behind efforts to remove and intimidate local officials who support slow rural housing growth policies while upgrading infrastructure. It’s no coincidence who is involved, and the timing of their tactics is no coincidence, either.
In March 2024, Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez soundly defeated former Supervisor Bea Gonzales—one of housing developers’ favorite allies—to shift the county board majority toward prioritizing infrastructure improvements over more rural housing development. Before Velazquez took office in January 2025, members of the group and their allies started openly calling for a recall against him on social media.
If you thought recalls were reserved for egregious decisions or criminal behavior—the understood intent of the process—this begs the question: How can one rationalize a recall against an official who hadn’t even had the chance to represent the voters who elected him?
There was no rationale. So they strategically waited a few short months to fabricate a narrative about public safety to formally launch recall efforts against Velazquez and me. Their goal—outside of personal vendettas—was to remove one or both of us and sway the board back to stuffing developers’ pockets at the expense of local residents.
By abusing the recall process, they are wasting tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ money, having voters consider an extremely dangerous precedent with a recall election against an official who barely took office, and focusing discourse on fabricated negative narratives instead of progress.
Supervisors are addressing county challenges with regard to the housing-infrastructure imbalance, long-deferred road improvements, public safety resources and the economy.
We have implemented or started the process of sweeping reform to prevent further housing sprawl and encourage affordable housing options near existing services. We have approved more road repaving projects than any county board in decades.
We have increased our investment in the sheriff’s office and fire protection resources by millions of dollars. We have launched initiatives to boost tourism, create jobs and generate more revenue all while stabilizing the budget.
As the pro-growth naysayers resume their barrage of misinformation before the June election, please keep in mind who is behind these efforts and ask this question: Does our community want developers and their friends to take over local politics again and dictate how we grow for generations to come?
Kollin Kosmicki
San Benito County Supervisor
If you were being honest, you’d mention that a HUGE number of the developments that went in over the prior ten years are leftovers from when your supervisor no growth buddy was the mayor. And that these projects were postponed because of the sewer spill, or they’d have been in place before the crash in 2007.
But it’s better for you to be disingenuous and tell the folks that developers are mad and putting out bad information.
No growth equates to a dead town. If that’s what you’re looking for, keep moving forward with your current agenda.
It’s disappointing to see a sitting county supervisor publicly naming and attacking residents with false claims in a newspaper letter. And we wonder why people don’t want to participate or even run for local government?
Despite his false claims, over 60 proponents of District 5 signed that initial recall notice–many of whom have also participated in the campaign. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗼 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘇 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲! Interesting that number is twice the 1161 votes Velazquez received to get elected.
An elected official should be able to defend their policies without labeling residents who disagree with them. What is so hypocritical, is all these claims about people being pro-growth, when Supervisors Kosmicki and Velazquez just 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟰,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 — 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! That certainly isn’t slow growth!
People across the county raised concerns over his bad leadership decisions that have impacted public safety, infrastructure, and county finances — not because of some imagined conspiracy by developers.
The bottom line is this recall was brought by the voters of San Benito County, not developers – and the voters will be the ones to make the final decision.
𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩.