Here's who's running for public office in San Joaquin County in the June 7 primaries

Ben Irwin, The Record
·5 min read
Everyone will get a mail-in ballot this year. For those who do not wish to vote by mail, the polls open at 7 a.m. June 7 where voters can vote the old-fashioned way or drop-off their mail-in ballot.
Everyone will get a mail-in ballot this year. For those who do not wish to vote by mail, the polls open at 7 a.m. June 7 where voters can vote the old-fashioned way or drop-off their mail-in ballot.

Yard signs are out in force and election season has begun: The June 7 primary election is a chance to thin the herd, and in some cases, elect a representative outright. Here are the local races and faces that will be on the ballot.

Stockton City Council

Three seats are up for grabs on the Stockton City Council and will be on the ballot in the June 7 primary. Candidates will need a majority of the vote or 50%-plus-one vote to be elected outright. Otherwise, the top two vote getters in each district will move on to the November general election.

District 1 incumbent councilmember Sol Jobrack is seeking reelection. Prior to his election to District 1 seat, Jobrack served as a Stockton Planning Commissioner for four years. Social worker Felix Ogbah and educator Michele Padilla will also run for the District 1 seat.

In District 3, incumbent councilmember Paul Canepa has reached the two-term limit, opening up the seat to three new candidates. Business owner Michael Blower, businessman and engineer Shoua Lo and Lincoln Unified substitute teacher Bridget Hawley-Ortiz will run for Stockton City Council’s District 3 seat.

Elected in 2014 after serving eight years as a Stockton Planning Commissioner, Vice Mayor Christina Fugazi is also terming out of her District 5 seat. San Joaquin Delta College and UC Berkeley student and Reinvent South Stockton Coalition member Jewelian Johnson will face off against current Stockton Planning Commissioner Brando Villapudua — brother of State Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua — for the District 5 opening.

San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors — elected officials tasked with decision-making at the county level — has two openings on the June 7 ballot.

The District 2 race will host a field of familiar faces with Supervisor Kathy Miller terming out. Current Stockton city councilmember Paul Canepa, business owner Dino Ballin, county Supervisor of Facilities Maintenance Bill Smith and retired criminal investigator Elbert Holman Jr. will all be vying for the seat.

Current board chair and retired CHP officer Chuck Winn has reached his term limit, and six candidates will campaign for the District 4 seat. Former San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore, Lodi elementary school teacher Nancy G. St. Clair, retired probation officer Paul Brennan, current Lodi city councilmember Doug Kuehne, restaurant owner Steve Ding and business owner Steve Colangelo will all be on the ballot.

Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by June 7 at the latest and be received by the county Registrar of Voters within three days of the election. The county has 19 certified drop box locations, but voters can also simply stick their ballot in the mailbox.
Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by June 7 at the latest and be received by the county Registrar of Voters within three days of the election. The county has 19 certified drop box locations, but voters can also simply stick their ballot in the mailbox.

San Joaquin County Sheriff

The San Joaquin County Sheriff, an elected official, has three main duties: to keep the peace, attend the courts and to operate the county jail. The sheriff holds a considerable amount of power — though not absolute — and current San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow will go unopposed this election cycle.

San Joaquin County District Attorney

The district attorney represents the people of San Joaquin County in superior court. When someone is accused of committing a crime, the DA has sole power to decide if criminal charges will be filed, and how severe those charges will be. The DA is also tasked with holding police officers accountable, including the sheriff’s department.

Tori Verber Salazar is San Joaquin County District Attorney, elected in 2014 and again in 2018. One of her staff members, Deputy District Attorney Ron Frietas, will challenge Verber Salazar.

San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools

The county superintendent of schools is an elected position that serves as an intermediary between school districts and the California Department of Education.

Troy Brown, who was picked to replace the recently-retired Superintendent James A. Mousalimas, will be challenged by Brian Biedermann. Last year, Biedermann resigned from his post as interim superintendent of the Stockton Unified School district five months before his contract was set to expire, citing personal health reasons and wanting to spend more time with family.

San Joaquin County Auditor-Controller

The county auditor-controller is responsible for financial reporting and audits of certain agencies within the county.

Last year former San Joaquin County Auditor-Controller Jay Wilverding was selected by the Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote to permanently step into the role of county administrator, a staff position.

Acting San Joaquin County Auditor-Controller Jeffery Woltkamp will ask voters to elect him for a full term. Certified public accountant Shannon Esenwein will also run for the seat.

Those who miss the May 23 deadline to register to vote can still do so through Conditional Voter Registration — essentially no different than registering to vote before the deadline — at the county Registrar of Voters' office or at a polling location on Election Day.
Those who miss the May 23 deadline to register to vote can still do so through Conditional Voter Registration — essentially no different than registering to vote before the deadline — at the county Registrar of Voters' office or at a polling location on Election Day.

Judge of the Superior Court

Though four San Joaquin County Superior Court benches are up for grabs, only office No. 4 has more than one candidate. Superior Court Commissioner Jonathan Fattarsi will run against attorney Lou Tovar for the office No. 4 bench.

California State Assembly

San Joaquin County is currently split between three Assembly districts. Last year the California Citizens Redistricting Commission redrew the maps to have the county split between two districts — District 9 and District 13 — a preference for most polled San Joaquin County residents.

Heath Flora, who currently serves State Assembly District 12, is the sole candidate for the newly drawn District 9, which dips into some of Flora’s current constituency.

Three Democrats will face off to represent Stockton and Tracy in District 13, a territory largely unchanged by redistricting. Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, who currently represents District 13, will run to keep his seat in the State Assembly. Tracy Vice Mayor Veronica Vargas and Tracy city council member Mateo Bedolla will both challenge Villapudua.

United States Congress

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission has put almost all of San Joaquin County into Congressional District 9. A slew of candidates will take up a chunk of the June 7 ballot:

Democratic Representative Josh Harder, the Turlock native, Stanford grad who represents some of San Joaquin County in the 10th Congressional District, will run in the new 9th Congressional District. San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti is running on the Republican ticket to make the jump from the county dais to Washington, D.C.

Union organizer and Harpreet Singh Chima, Karena Apple Feng, Khalid Jeffrey Jafri — a registered Democrat who got a handful of write-in votes for State Assembly as a Republican in 2020 — litigator and business owner Jonathan Madison, business owner Jim Shoemaker and business owner Mark Andrews will all be on the June 7 ballot for the 9th Congressional District.

Five candidates will run for the 13th Congressional District, which scrapes the southernmost portion of San Joaquin County into Lathrop.

Madera teacher and business owner David Giglio, Fresno business owner Phil Arballo, Assemblymember Adam Gray, Modesto farmer John Duarte and bail bond agent Diego Martinez will all run to represent the 13th Congressional District.

Record reporter Ben Irwin covers Stockton and San Joaquin County government. He can be reached at birwin@recordnet.com or on Twitter @B1rwin. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: June 7 California Primary Election: San Joaquin County races and faces