Election preview: San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
A total of 10 candidates are vying to fill two seats on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in the June 7 primary.
Both District 2 Supervisor Kathy Miller and District 4 Supervisor Chuck Winn are terming out this year.
There are four candidates for District 2, which includes part of north Stockton and unincorporated areas of the county.
Six candidates are running to represent District 4, which encompasses north and west San Joaquin County, including Lodi.
District 2
Dino Ballin
Dino Ballin owns Pomp Salon in Lincoln Center and is running in District 2 after initially registering to run in District 4. Ballin switched races due to redistricting, according to campaign documents.
More: New San Joaquin County Board of Supervisor district boundaries to shape elections for next decade
In 2020, state consumer affairs officials cited Ballin for opening his salon during the statewide COVID-19 lockdown. The San Joaquin County District Attorney did not press charges against Ballin. He later joined a lawsuit seeking to end the lockdown.
Among Ballin's donors is Robert Beadles: a cryptocurrency businessman from Lodi who also funds conservative political campaigns in Nevada, where he resides. Beadles has donated $4,900 to Ballin's campaign, documents show.
More: Robert Beadles is wealthy, new to town and wants to upend Reno's politics. Who is he?
Read about Ballin's platform here.
Paul Canepa
City councilman and business owner Paul Canepa is making his second bid for the District 2 seat after unsuccessfully challenging Kathy Miller in 2012.
Canepa's political experience includes two stints on the Stockton City Council: from 2008 to 2012, and from 2019 to the present. He began the latter term by unseating incumbent Susan Lofthus.
Canepa represents Council District 3, which includes areas north of West March Lane and east of I-5, and north of Benjamin Holt Dr. on both sides of I-5.
In addition to serving on City Council, the Stockton native owns Canepa's Car Wash on Pacific Avenue. Read about Canepa's platform here.
Elbert Holman
Former investigator and Stockton councilmember Elbert Holman is supported by District 2 Supervisor Kathy Miller, U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, according to a video posted to his campaign's Facebook page.
Starting in 2009, Holman represented District 1 on the Stockton City Council for a decade.
He has also run several campaigns. In 2006, he unsuccessfully ran for sheriff against Steve Moore, and in 2016 and 2020 he ran for the District 3 supervisor seat.
Before entering politics, Holman worked for the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office for 20 years and at the District Attorney's Office for 14 years, according to his campaign website.
He was the first Black investigator at the DA's office and the first Black chief investigator in California, according to the site.
Holman has made criticism of the community website the 209 Times a prominent part of his campaign. "There is a cabal of corrupt individuals masquerading as reformers that are seeking to elect politicians who will answer to them," Holman said in a video posted to his campaign's Facebook page.
"As a longtime government servant in this county, I will not stand by and let them peddle their falsehoods to hardworking folks." Read about Holman's platform here.
William C. "Bill" Smith
Former construction manager and current county facilities worker Bill Smith has said cleaning the Delta is a priority of his campaign.
The Delta was also central to Smith's run for Mayor of Stockton in 2020. Before that run, Smith had no experience in politics, according to a campaign video.
More: Primary answers: Bill Smith, mayor of Stockton
During his current campaign, Smith has said he would push to build a community for people experiencing homelessness similar to the Community First! Village in Austin, Texas, which aims to provide permanent housing to people who have been chronically homeless. Read more about Smith's platform here.
Before joining the county as Supervisor of Facilities Maintenance, Smith worked for forty years in the construction industry.
District 4
Paul Brennan
A former correctional and probation officer, Paul Brennan was a co-founder and leader of the San Joaquin County Probation Officers' Association, according to his campaign website. The union endorsed Kathy Miller's run for supervisor in 2014.
Among Brennan's campaign priorities are the hiring and retention of police officers, according to his campaign site. Read more about his platform here.
Brennan became a correctional officer at South Jail in 1995 and a probation officer in 2001. He serves on the Linden County Water District and was president of the Linden Chamber of Commerce.
In 2017, Brennan co-led a group opposing the opening of a new Dollar General in Linden.
Nancy G. St. Clair
If elected, Live Oak Elementary School teacher and Lodi resident Nancy G. St. Clair would be the first Latina on the Board of Supervisors, according to her campaign website.
Among her priorities are addressing the mental health impacts of COVID-19, according to her website. Also, improving services to immigrant communities and the LGBTQ community is also among her priorities.
St. Clair has served as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports coach and on the school site council and the leadership team.
She is completing a doctorate in education at University of the Pacific. She also has a master's degree in education from California State University, Stanislaus, and a bachelor's degree in English from CSU, Sacramento.
Steven Colangelo
Steve Colangelo's 2022 campaign is his third in a decade: he challenged U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney in the 2014 primary, and in 2016 he challenged Dan Wright for the Stockton City Council's District 2 seat.
Colangelo was CEO of the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds for almost two years starting in 2018. Twice he was president of the Stockton Asparagus Festival. Colangelo owns the event supply company American Event Rentals, according to his campaign website.
Read about Colangelo's platform here.
Steven J. Ding
Steve Ding is no newcomer to politics: he was chief of staff for former U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, a Republican from Tracy, and spent a decade working in Washington.
In 2013 Ding's restaurant, Woodbridge Crossing, hosted a Republican fundraiser attended by Karl Rove. Ding was also a strategist for former Stockton mayor Gary Podesto's unsuccessful campaign for state Senate in 2004.
Ding bought the historic Woodbridge restaurant Woodbridge Crossing in 2010.
Read about Ding's platform here.
Doug Kuehne
Doug Kuehne has served on the Lodi City Council since 2014, including as mayor. He also served on the Lodi Planning Commission from 2005-2007.
Kuehne is on the board of the San Joaquin Council of Governments, and he was a founding member of the Lodi Homelessness Committee.
Kuehne has said he supports increasing funding for first responders and that he would establish a homeless shelter offering case management and other resources. Read more about his platform here.
Kuehne owns King’s Carpet Service, which he founded after settling in Lodi 34 years ago.
Steve Moore
During his 12 years as San Joaquin County Sheriff — from 2007 to 2019 — Steve Moore established a "community cars" program that put more deputies in contact with the public. Moore also established programs for youth interested in law enforcement careers.
Moore's tenure as sheriff was also punctuated with controversy.
In 2017, the county’s forensic pathologists resigned after accusing Moore of reclassifying several homicides as accidents to cover up causes of death during arrest or custody. Moore and some deputies also allegedly bought evidence guns at steep discounts.
Thousands of pieces of evidence also allegedly disappeared from the Sheriff’s Office, and human remains were allegedly mishandled.
More: A complicated legacy
Moore has highlighted illegal dumping as a key issue in his campaign, saying if elected he would aim to add additional services to the county's waste disposal contract. Read more about his platform here.
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers business, housing, and land use. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: 10 candidates compete for two SJ Board of Supervisors seats in primary
