Pedrozo, Fragoso running for Merced County Board of Supervisor seat in District 2
Three of the five seats on the Merced County Board of Supervisors are up for election this march with Districts 1, 2 and 4 appearing on the ballot. The Merced County Supervisor races that have only two candidates will be decided in March.
The District 2 race between incumbent Josh Pedrozo, 41, and challenger Annissa Fragoso, 51, is one such race. District 2 encompasses the Western Region of Merced, including UC Merced and the surrounding area.
Pedrozo is a Merced native who has served on the Merced County Board of Supervisors since 2020. He also was a Merced City Councilman from 2009 until 2018.
Pedrozo feels public safety is one of the major issues facing Merced County and his district.
“Public safety is crucial to any community,” Pedrozo said. “It is important that we work together in order to make certain our community is protected and safe. Working with the Sheriff, District Attorney, and fire department is a critical part of the position to ensure our county is safe and protected.”
Pedrozo says other important issues facing District 2 are community and economic development, sustaining budgets in order to efficiently and effectively providing services to residents and tackling the homeless issue.
Pedrozo says, “Continued collaboration with our community partners to address our homeless situation, so that all people are treated humanely and have access to the services that are needed.”
Fragoso is an insurance agent who is currently the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board President. Fragoso feels one of the biggest needs in her district and Merced County is affordable housing.
“I believe that we can be creative in providing incentives to builders so they can offer homes to lower/medium income families below market rate so they can be encouraged at home ownership,” Fragoso said. “Some questions from the community is why don’t we invest in tiny homes, and or ADU’s (Acessory Dwelling Units)? Offer more visibility to programs that are available like the program called NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America)?”
“NACA housing programs provide opportunities to people of color and low income to purchase affordable homes,” Fragoso added. “The program offers below-market rates with no down payment, no closing costs, and those with no credit or low credit scores. This program helps address the under-served population.”
Fragoso also pointed toward the county budget and lack of money for law enforcement and the safety concerns that arise with the increasing vacancies in the Merced County Sheriff’s Department.
Both Pedrozo and Fragoso have ideas to attract new investments and jobs to the area.
“By taking a look at the current requirements for investors and possibly remove some of the barriers that have prevented such opportunities,” Fragoso said.
Pedrozo says Merced County needs to reduce permitting time frames, enhance Merced’s image and meet the needs of both business and community through workforce development.
“We can’t expect to bring business here, if we aren’t doing our part to enhance our community’s image through more effective marketing,” Pedrozo said. “I believe we must work with our city partners, economic development organizations, educational institutions, non-profits and private sector leaders to better highlight all that is good about Merced County.”
The Merced Sun-Star provided questions to each of the candidates. Here are their responses.
Josh Pedrozo
Age: 41
Birthplace: Merced
Residence: Merced
Occupation: Supervisor District 2 Merced County
Education: Master of Public Administration-Golden Gate University; Bachelor of Science Agriculture Business with a concentration on finance, California Polytechnic State University; Teaching Credential, San Joaquin Teacher’s College
Offices held: Merced County Board of Supervisors 2020; Merced City Council 2009-2018
Campaign website address: www.joshpedrozo.com; www.facebook.com/JoshPedrozo4District2/
Q: What do you feel are the most important issues facing your district?
Pedrozo: Public safety is crucial to any community. It is important that we work together in order to make certain our community is protected and safe. Working with the Sherriff, District Attorney, and fire department is a critical part of the position to ensure our county is safe and protected. 2. Community and economic development. Infrastructure as well as road improvements are critical to the prosperity of Merced County. 3. Sustainable budgets to ensure the efficiency of resources to continue to provide services to our county residents. 4. Continued collaboration with our community partners to address our homeless situation, so that all people are treated humanely and have access to the services that are needed.
Q: What can you do, if elected, to help improve the educational/economic outlook for Merced residents, young and old?
Pedrozo: More than one-half of Merced County residents receive Medi-Cal benefits, and many more face the daunting challenge of living paycheck to paycheck. At a time when every single person — young and old — feels the effects of higher costs at the gas pump and the increasing cost of food, Merced County is disproportionately affected.
This unfortunately leaves many feeling disenfranchised and hopeless. Most certainly a part of the answer is linking people with services to enhance their overall competitiveness in the workplace. For example, Merced County’s Department of Workforce Investment provides a number of leading programs for young adults aged 16 to 24 through collaborative partnerships with many of our local educational institutions and vocational training organizations. These programs aim to stimulate economic growth, to create jobs and to build the talent needed to increase upward income mobility. In short, we have to focus on up-skilling workers for long-term success, and it will in that process that we foster prosperity for individuals, businesses and our community as a whole.
For our older residents, it’s imperative that we continue to diversify our economy so that the private sector can create jobs and opportunities for our community. As the economy grows, our overall quality of life is correspondingly enhanced. As people get older, their needs and priorities change. They often want simple things like having their streets swept on time and even more importantly, to feel safe at home. By doing what we can to make doing business easier, local government’s ability to provide services is also improved. While agriculture is our bread and butter industry, I will continue the fight to bring in technology and logistics companies to our county and region so we can provide the services our residents both expect and deserve.
Q: What are the most important steps Merced government could take, if any, to attract new investment (jobs) to the area?
Pedrozo: I will continue to focus attention on the three following steps to bring new investment/jobs to the area:
1. Reduce permitting time frames — California is often viewed as being a state difficult to do business in. In this regard, we have to be perceived differently in Merced County. At the local level, we need to continue simplifying our permitting processes and removing barriers to success. I believe we need to be swift, efficient and focused on helping businesses — large or small — to grow, expand and site in Merced County.
2. Enhance our external image — It’s easy at times to focus on the negative but there is so much to be proud of in our community. From a world-class university that drives millions of dollars into our local economy to an agricultural engine that literally feeds the world, Merced County is quickly becoming the heartbeat of California’s economy. That said, economic development site selectors, those who make decisions as to where businesses go and grow, often evaluate the perception of a community. We can’t expect to bring business here, if we aren’t doing our part to enhance our community’;s image through more effective marketing. I believe we must work with our city partners, economic development organizations, educational institutions, non-profits and private sector leaders to better highlight all that is good about Merced County.
3. Meet the needs of both business and community through workforce development — We must continue to build on our successes with our workforce development programs, as it’s essential for businesses to have employees with the right skills to ensure productivity and profitability. These programs play such a pivotal role in fostering economic development, as they are designed to meet the needs of business today and tomorrow. By working with our workforce development partners, we can build a more resilient and competitive workforce. I believe that when we invest in our people by helping them up-skill, we can demonstrate to outside investors the potential within Merced County’s borders.
Annissa Fregoso
Age: 52
Birthplace: Tracy, CA
Residence: Merced since 1995
Occupation: Small business owner, Farmers Insurance
Education: Associate of Arts degree in criminal justice.
Offices held, if applicable: Current Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board President
Campaign website address: www.facebook.com/fragosofordistrict2supervisor/
Q: What do you feel are the most important issues facing your district?
Fragoso: Lack of affordable housing. I believe that we can be creative in providing incentives to builders so they can offer homes to lower/medium income families below market rate so they can be encouraged at home ownership. Some questions from the community is why don’t we invest in tiny homes, and or ADU’s? Offer more visibility to programs that are available like the program called NACA.
NACA housing programs provide opportunities to people of color and low income to purchase affordable homes. The program offers below-market rates with no down payment, no closing costs, and those with no credit or low credit scores. This program helps address the under-served population.
I have a friend who is in the middle of this process, so I am curious to see the end result. And lastly the important issues are the county budget and the allocated (lack of) money for Law Enforcement and the increasing vacancies in the Sheriff’s department, creating safety concerns among the residents of Merced County. This has been the most talked about issues of my campaign.
Q: What can you do, if elected, to help improve the educational/economic outlook for Merced residents, young and old?
Fragoso: Partnership is key. I believe we have great leaders and innovators in our community. I’d love to sit down with as many who would like to participate and collaborate on economic growth and what that looks like for our future. I am also interested in looking at our current programs for vocational education and training to see if we are keeping up with the demands and maybe changing or updating our focus.
As far as the educational outlook, early childhood education is very important. I want to work with my educators in our area as well as First 5 program to make sure we are aligned with our goals and priorities. And that our programs are equitable. My leadership in this community has always been about working together, being a team player and improving the community. I am open and ready to work for those who haven’t been heard and to help voice their concerns.
Q: What are the most important steps Merced government could take, if any, to attract new investment (jobs) to the area?
Fragoso: By taking a look at the current requirements for investors and possibly remove some of the barriers that have prevented such opportunities. I know that many people have expressed that there are not enough activities for families to participate in. That they have to drive to Atwater or Turlock to go bowling, and the UC Students express the same thing. Not enough for the youth to do (lack of infrastructure). Talk to the District 2 constituents and ask what they would like to see in the community. It is truly about what they want and not what I want.
