Less than two months after the voters decided to remove him from office, former San Benito County Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez has thrown his hat in the ring to run again for the now vacant District 5 seat from which he was recalled in the June 2 primary.
The Nov. 3 election will decide who will finish the rest of Velazquez’s term, which ends in January 2029. Velazquez requested nomination paperwork from the Registrar of Voters’ office last week, but was initially met with pushback from election officials.
Registrar Francisco Diaz notified Velazquez by email that his request for nomination papers to run for his former seat in Nov. 3 was denied under an interpretation of state election law that governs whether recalled officials are eligible to “succeed themselves” in a subsequent election.
However, Velazquez and his attorney, Nicholas Sanders, argued that the law does not prohibit the former supervisor from running.
“Independently, you have no lawful authority to withhold nomination papers based on your (erroneous) opinion of a supervisorial candidate’s eligibility,” Sanders wrote in a July 22 demand letter to Diaz. “The Legislature has authorized elections officials to determine candidate eligibility only for the offices enumerated in Elections Code section 13.5. County supervisor is not among those enumerated offices.”
After receiving the demand letter, Diaz’s office reversed course and provided Velazquez to obtain the nomination paperwork he requested. Velazquez has a deadline of Aug. 7 to submit the filled out paperwork and qualify for the Nov. 3 election.
Also running for the remainder of the District 5 term are John Williams and Rodney Bianchi. Williams has qualified as of July 15, and Bianchi qualified for the ballot on July 17, according to the registrar’s website.
Velazquez said he wants to continue to serve as a supervisor in order to continue to promote controlled growth and to help keep the county’s finances in order.
“It’s about making sure we have rules in place so we don’t have out-of-control growth,” Velazquez said. “We want to make sure we’re taking care of county finances adequately, and focusing on roads. I was able to go from deficits to balanced budgets.”
Velazquez was elected to the board in 2024, and took office in January 2025. On the District 5 recall measure on the June 2 ballot, 1,312 people voted “yes” to recall Velazquez. A total of 1,279 voted “no,” according to the final election update posted Friday by the local registrar’s office.
Velazquez was removed from office immediately after election officials certified the June 2 results.
He maintains the citizen-initiated recall was based on false claims, and had nothing to do with public safety as the recall petitioners argued.
“They don’t like me bringing out facts, and they wonder why these things keep happening. I’m the biggest thorn in their side,” Velazquez said.
Supervisor District 5 encompasses northwest Hollister, north of South Street and west to Memorial Drive.
The Nov. 3 ballot will also feature races for Hollister mayor and city council, as well as numerous school boards and special districts throughout the county. As of July 28, the registrar’s website does not list any unofficial candidates for Hollister mayor or city council district 2 and 3.
